Gday GAGRs and welcome to Saturday. I hope that regardless of how your week went, Saturday treated you better and that you got to feast on the buffet of Rugby that has been on offer today. We had too many options for your eyeballs with Fiji taking on Scotland, Japan hosted Wales, the All Blacks took on France, and the Black Ferns lined up against the Wallaroos.
All of these were part of the degustation that was to culminate in the clash between the Australia New Zealand Invitational team and the all conquering (so far) British and Irish Lions. Due to the timing (a week before the first test), this game has the potential to be a fourth test match, with the AUNZ side having a great opportunity to grab a win in Adelaide.
For all of our shared history, it’s only the second time (?) that a combined AUNZ side has been put together to take on the British and Irish Lions. The only other game that I could find was in 1989 when the invitational team (known as the ANZAC XV) played the final game of the tour on the 23 July at Ballymore, a week after the last test. Even with a host of contemporary Wallabies including Farr-Jones, Lynagh, and Campese, the Lions prevailed 19-15.
The Squads
Soon to be Wallabies coach Les Kiss has put together a very handy looking squad with a combination of experience, with some emerging players. The squads are:
AUNZ (15-1):Â Shaun Stevenson; AJ Lam, Ngani Laumape, David Havili (co-capt), Marika Koroibete; Tane Edmed, Folau Fakatava; Hoskins Sotutu, Pete Samu, Shannon Frizell; Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (co-capt), Angus Blyth; Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Aidan Ross.
Replacements:Â Kurt Eklund, Joshua Fusitu’a, George Dyer, Matt Philip, Joe Brial, Kalani Thomas, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Jock Campbell
LIONS (15-1): Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van Der Merwe; Fin Smith, Ben White; Ben Earl, Jac Morgan, Henry Pollock; Tadhg Beirne (capt), James Ryan; Will Stuart, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Finlay Bealham, Scott Cummings, Josh van der Flier, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell
The Match – First Half.
Lions had all the territory for the first 5 minutes and were definitely winning the aerial battle, that continued to be a problem for the AUNZ side al night, I’m struggling to recall a contested kick that the Lions didn’t regain. Â
It was scrappy for the first 5 minutes, with both sides making errors, but in the end, the Lions controlled the ball and territory, and Duhan van Der Merwe scored the first of his three tries. He really is playing well and looks seriously hard to stop. 5-0 to the Lions.
The Lions kept on winning the territory battle, and all of a sudden were in for their second try after halfback White raced through some non-existent ruck defence to score under the posts. All of a sudden it was 12-0 after 10 minutes and the Lions looked like they could rack up a cricket score.
It’s not like the AUNZ team weren’t in it, it’s just that the Lions had the game under control and were punishing mistakes.
The AUNZ team finally got some territory and a chance to attack after a good kick from Edmed put found the line 5 metres out. The home side had plenty of phases to attack the Lions, but ultimately the Lions Defence was up to the task, repelling the AUNZ side before centre Hum Jones punced on a loose ball, broke away, and put through a very good kick for his team to chase. Stevenson got back first though and combined with Edmed to clear it, but the Lions kept on winning the exchanges.
Mac Hansen proved how elusive he can be in setting up the Lions third try, he broke the line, evaded 4 or 5 tackles, and got the Lions to within 5 metres of the line. It was then a matter of hands, and van Der Merwe was in again for his second. The conversion was no good and it was 17-0. That’s how it stayed until half time, and the break left us wondering if the AUNZ team could stage a comeback and put some pain into the Lions.
The only downside for the Lions was an injury to hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie who was stretchered off after being knocked out attempting to tackle Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, who was having a great game.
The Second Half
Any hopes of an AUNZ comeback took a hit early in the second half as the Lions scored early to take a 24-0 lead.
I will spare you the play by play as the Lions went on to score another 24 points in the second half to take it out 48-0, but if you want to read about each of the tries, Nick Wasiliev has you covered over at rugby.com.au here. It’s apparently the first scoreless opposition since the Rebels in 2013.
Throughout the second half it seemed that the Lions were again in control of the game, and for short periods, the AUNZ had a crack, before play broke down and the Lions were in control again.
The benches added more impact for the Lions, which is to be expected given they are all proven internationals, and Owen Farrell improved the Lions direction when he made it onto the field. He’s unlikely to oust Finn Russell from the 10 jersey, but it does show how good he has been for a long period of time.
As you would expect the AUNZ side kept trying to play, and did threaten the Lions on occasion, but the Lions defence was excellent throughout the game including their line speed when set, and their cover and scramble when the AUNZ did get in behind.
The Wallabies are going to have to do something different to disrupt the Lions defensive pattern next week. Part of it will be having a better awareness of when to pick and drive, and when to play wider, if they can get that right, they will have more of a chance to beat the Lions than any of the teams to date have. If they stick with isolated runners without support, they will get murdered at the breakdown like the Force, Reds, and AUNZ have before them.
What did we learn
The Lions Defence – it was obviously outstanding to keep the AUNZ team to 0 points. Line speed, effective tackles, and great scrambling cover prevented the AUNZ team from bothering the scorers.
Player of the Match – went to Ben Earl, the number 8, who was excellent
Wallaby watch – Lukhan Salakaia-Loto put his hand up tonight. He carried the ball hard into contact and bent the Lions defencive line time and again. Probably the sole Wallaby eligible player who improved his standing in tonight’s match, though Edmed was willing throughout, and Aidan Ross held the scrum up well. Not criticising the kiwi players here, just recognising the Wallaby eligible players.
The AUNZ team – This concept has merit, though maybe it would be better served either as the first game of the tour with Wallaby and All Black players eligible, or with the squad picked with more notice to allow the team more time to gel. Either way, it would be good to see it carried over into the Lions tour of NZ in 2029.
Slow ruck ball – The Lions are very good at slowing down the ruck ball, or just turning it over. It seems that the Lions players are getting away away with holding onto the tackled player on the ground, or counter rucking while off their feet and ending up on the wrong side of the ruck. The Wallabies will need to be on their game to
The final say, it was disappointing for the game to be so one-sided on the score board, and hopefully the concept gets another chance in NZ in four years time.
As always, thanks for making it this far, and Look forward to the comments.
Cheers
