Ryan’s physicality puts him on front foot for second Test
Joe McCarthy’s foot injury meant that there was a sharp focus on secondrows James Ryan and Scott Cummings in Melbourne. England’s Ollie Chessum backed up in the matchday 23 in the first Test. Hopefully McCarthy, who provided a significant physical presence in his 42 minutes in Brisbane, will be fit to take his place.
Ryan and Cummings offered different qualities in terms of their contributions. The Scot called the lineout and took responsibility for securing the lion’s share of possession out of touch – the tourists had 23 throws and lost three. Cummings was relentless, hardworking and athletic.
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
Ryan, though, brought a physical edge to his work in terms of tackling and at the breakdown, where his counter-rucking led to a couple of turnovers. His yellow card for two offences in the red zone will disappoint him but the fact that he was removed on 53 minutes can be viewed in the context of the fact that they wanted to save his legs for the weekend. Cummings played the 80 minutes.
There should be no mitigation for poor technique
Richard Kelly, the foul play review officer, found some mitigation is the actions of Pasifika left wing Triston Reilly when he clobbered Lions right wing Darcy Graham with a shoulder to the chin. Presumably it was due to Graham dipping slightly just before contact because Reilly certainly didn’t deserve to be absolved based on poor technique.
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The Pasifika wing had a good line of sight to his intended tackle target and wasn’t flummoxed by a late step, so his decision to go with his right shoulder instead of his left meant that he got the contact point all wrong. There’s an argument that in those circumstances the mitigation for the drop in height is less relevant than the cavalier and reckless disregard for good technique in contact.
And while we’re at it, a yellow card for a player after a try has been scored, in this case James Ryan, has a double punishment bang off it. No try, then yellow card. Try, then a quiet word. That law is an ass.
Van der Flier another possible second Test flyer
There is little doubt that three of the unluckiest players not to make the Lions’ matchday 23 for the first Test – Jac Morgan, Josh van der Flier and Henry Pollock – took the field in Melbourne hoping to persuade Andy Farrell that they warranted a place in Saturday’s second Test.
Morgan and Pollock were asked to play out of position at blindside flanker and number eight respectively. But without any recourse to green-tinted glasses, Josh van der Flier eclipsed his team-mates with the substance of his performance; diligent and effective.
Morgan had some excellent contributions but less stellar than previous displays, while Pollock didn’t get a chance to demonstrate his remarkable skill set. Van der Flier’s industry set him apart. Blair Kinghorn was another under the spotlight, and apart from throwing an intercept for Triston Reilly’s try, he had a fine match.
Farrell’s shrewd selection policy vindicated
Andy Farrell’s decision to call up several players to the tour met with raised eyebrows in some quarters. Okay the British media to be precise, as they felt it was perhaps too Irish centric. But even they will struggle to argue against his intuition. The decision to call up scrumhalf Ben White may have been partially down to the player’s proximity on tour with Scotland but it has proven to be a shrewd move.
White has grasped the opportunity impressively both in his first outing and now this match, where his contribution in the second half was pivotal to a positive outcome. Jamie Osborne scored two tries in a super debut, Owen Farrell played with authority while Thomas Clarkson and Gregor Brown can also be happy with their impact off the bench.
Farrell may make the matchday 23 for the second Test irrespective of whether Marcus Smith fails or passes his head injury assessment (HIA).
Ringrose takes his chance with both hands
Andy Farrell would have directly or indirectly asked to be given a headache when it came to selecting the Lions team for the second Test. Garry Ringrose fulfilled that brief to the letter. He came on earlier than anticipated following the injury to the unfortunate Darcy Graham, but Ringrose took the chance with both hands.
His arrival meant a reshuffle in the backline with Jamie Osborne moving to the wing from outside centre to accommodate his Leinster and Ireland team-mate’s arrival. In what would go on to become quite a disjointed display by the Lions, Ringrose rose above the general malaise to consistently add value every time he touched the ball.
He carried, straightened the line, supported, chased and tackled with an impressive energy and dynamism to a point where he could not really have done much more to try and advance his case for a shot at Saturday’s 23.
