The Lions have finally made it to Australia and the excitement is building quickly. The Force is the first Aussie team to take them on. The force have put together a decent side, but the Lions team looks scarily good. Can the Force make a game of it? I’m hoping so! Stick around and I’ll tell you how it went.
The Match.
The Force received the kick off deep in their 22 and failed to find touch on their clearance kick, gifting the Lions field position. They attacked for the next 85 seconds until a cross field kick found his hooker Dan Sheehan loitering on the wing. A Very nice interchange between Sheehan and Lowe saw the hooker cross for the first score.
The Force struck back almost Immediately after recovering the kick off and camping deep in the Lions 22 until eventually Nic White snuck across.
Thing settled down for ten minutes until Henry Pollock broke the line and sent Tomas Williams over for the Lions second score. The Lions were in front 14-7 at the 20 minute mark.
The Lions scored their third try just before half time, Fin Russell took a quick tap and jinked through before popping a delightful pass in the tackle to Elliot Daly for the score. The force did manage to get the pill over the line, put the ball was held up.
The Force were pretty good in the first half, with their scrum and lineout holding their own. While their attack and defence went pretty well, the kicking from hand let them down several times.
The Lions next try was a classic, travelling 90 metres and passing through multiple hands until Tomas Williams touched down in the right corner. A few minutes later, slick hands on a wide blind side saw the Lions bust through the Force’s left side defence again. Mac Hanson found himself in behind the Force’s first line of defence, and he shovelled back inside to Ringrose who had a clear run to the line.
A third quick try in the 54 minute put an end to any thought that the Force could keep up with the Lions, who now led 40-7!
Surprisingly, the Lions didn’t score again until the 70 minute, when Marcus Smith put Elliot Daly through a gap for his second try. The Lions went quiet again and didn’t score until after the final hooter sounded. Once again, the went through the Force’s left side defence.
The final score was 54-7. The force were very good for long periods of the game, but the Lions were a clear level above them and the score reflected that.
From a Wallabies’ perspective, I think there is plenty for the coaching staff to take heart from, and I’m certain plans are forming.
Stay tuned for the next game against the Reds on Wednesday night.
