What a way to kick off this Lions series. A cracking Test that ebbed and flowed right to the end. Until Kurtley slipped it could have been either team going one up in the series.
Anyhoo, here are my Wallabies vs Lions player ratings for the first Test. We don’t usually do the reserves as well, but for the Wallabies so many got so much game time!
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THE WALLABIES
Benn Robinson
Was industrious around the field including one dummy. Loses a mark for the pack at scrum time 6
Stephen Moore
Really showed some starch. Worked hard all night. Top throwing had lineout purring. 6
Ben Alexander
Not the tighthead we were looking for. Worked around the field but scrum was terrible. 4
James Horwill
Barn dancing aside, he led well. Was his usual energetic self around the field. Great to have him back. 6
Kane Douglas
Got through plenty of grunt work and wasn’t lost in a titanic breakdown battle. Carried well too. 6
Ben Mowen
Impact all night. A great debut and gave plenty to prove he is worthy of the gold jersey. 8
Michael Hooper
As an inside centre, he makes a great flanker. Good running game as usual but not helped by the positional mix-ups. 6
Wycliff Palu
Drifted in and out of the game a little, not having the level of impact we’d hope. Is he really fit? 5
Will Genia
Fantastic. Could have been playing 9 and 10 as he created plenty. Ever so close to MOTM. 9
James O’Connor
There were times I forgot he was on the field. No game management, added to kicking yips. 3
Digby Ioane
Hardworking all night but very heavily marked so limited spoils from that work. 5
Christian Leali’ifano
Lasted exactly 42 seconds in his Test debut and only attempted one tackle. Sorry, too soon DNF
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Was strong in all he did until leaving the field, a rock in the backline. 7
Israel Folau
Izzy put in a performance to silence the doubters. Did everything asked of him and more. 9
Berrick Barnes
Kicked poorly, one leading directly to North’s try. 3
James Slipper
Hard to say if it was him coming on or the Lions’ changes, but the scrum improved. Worked well around the field as always. 7
Sekope Kepu
Didn’t make the same impact as Slipper, though had more time to do it in. Busy but not hard enough. 5
Rob Simmons
Had a decent amount of time to really make a claim to start, I don’t think he made enough of it. 5
Liam Gill
Played well in the limited time he had. Was hard at the breakdown. Never lets the team down when he’s on. 6
Pat McCabe
Got a decent amount of time on the park and delivered what was expected. Nothing more. 5
Kurtley Beale
Made a difference the moment he came on. Almost did enough to win the match but for slipping over. Great return. 7
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BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
Alex Corbisiero
Was busy around the park and contributed to the strength of the visitor’s scrum. 6
Tom Youngs
Played a good solid game throughout with plenty of grunt in the tight stuff. 7
Adam Jones
The hair bear delivered pretty much what was expected. The scrum was weaker for him being subbed. 7
Alun-Wyn Jones
Typical head down, bum up performance you would want from your lock. Careless with his head. 7
Paul O’Connell
Always steps up for the Lions, even when not captain. Great work from the Irishman, lineouts especially. 8
Tom Croft
Was quieter than I thought he would be. Worked hard at all times but effectiveness was lacking. 6
Sam Warburton
A captain’s knock from Saint Sam. Less pilfering that we would ask of our No.7, but hit hard and often. 8
Jamie Heaslip
Quiet. Tough but quiet. I’m not sure he was effective enough to keep his starting spot given the Lion’s backrow riches. 5
Mike Phillips
Was dwarfed by his opponent, and given Genia’s stature that says plenty. Things looked up when subbed. 4
Jonathan Sexton
This is what a real flyhalf plays like. Directed his team wonderfully, made up for any mistakes. 7
George North
Bagged one try, came close to two. Always trouble. The Lions MoTM 9
Jonathan Davies
The charge that knocked Lilo out an example of his strong running. Didn’t quite click with BO’D. 6
Brian O’Driscoll
Classy knock from a classy player. Defended well. Should have done more with the ad-hoc Wallabies centres 7
Alex Cuthbert
Got himself a Lions try with a nice bit of support running. Probably needed to look for more work. 6
Leigh Halfpenny
Packed his kicking boots, his kicking was the difference. Defended and countered well. 8
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RaboDirect G&GR Man of the Match:
You have to give a very solid mention to Will Genia but the popular choice was Israel Folau and it’s hard to argue against him. Just about everything he touched turned to gold – scored two tries and saved another.
The patented G&GR ratings guide:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all-round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
