Forgive me for the Game of Thrones reference in my title for this piece, but I’m still in shock from the last episode despite all the not-so-subtle hints & warnings by those who had read the books.
Given the predominant colour for both of these teams plus the Rains of Queensland in second half I figure I just about get away with it.
Besides…there’s enough soldiers under the Lion banner falling by the wayside in recent weeks that you’d swear the script was being written by George RR Martin himself!
Lions Tours are like World Cups in many ways…we wait in eager anticipation for months leading up to them, which leads us to write bucket loads of copy about the first game or two, yet those early contests are but dots to the memory by the time the tour is over. Well after all the consternation about both the Heat in Hong Kong and the Paltry Pickings in Perth, we have already had a contest to help us forget them.
The Reds are actually my adopted team in Super Rugby, a choice inspired first by their visit to Donnybrook in 2008 and then having followed their march to the title in 2011. Unlike most other franchises in the southern hemisphere competition there is a clear sense of pride in those who wear the jersey whether they be on the pitch or in the crowd, and you always knew they were going to be well up for this contest even before you factored in the wily coaching talents of Ewan “Link” McKenzie.
For even though they were denied the immense talents of Horwill, Ioane, Gill and of course Genia, right from the very kickoff you could see the desire in the team as well as those very star players looking on from the dugout…an early knock-on by Beau Robinson led to a camera shot of Liam Gill screaming in frustration.
One thing that showed the home side’s intentions was just how early both sets of wingers were involved in the action. Back in the day when I played I used to be annoyed when I walked off the pitch with my fellow forwards caked head to toe in muck while at least one of the starting wingers would have kit worthy of an ad for Persil. Not so at the Suncorp.
Tommy Bowe did an uncharacteristic high tackle deep in the Reds 22 in the opening minute and although 99% of outhalves would have been happy to take the clearing penalty kick to touch at that stage, in this case we were talking about the less than 1% represented by Mr Quade Cooper who chose to run…and to his credit, it wasn’t long before the other Lions winger Alex Cuthbert was being put under pressure by his opposite number Luke Morahan before the Robinson knock-on I mentioned earlier halted the Queensland march down the field.
But this was only the first in a series of impressive possessions from the Reds as they did absolutely everything they could to keep the open play going, as this was the only way they felt confident of scoring, and on 17 minutes that confidence was justified by one of the tries of the year from Morahan who had a blinder of a first half.
Maybe there was a bit of a bump on Cuthbert by Reds full back Ben Lucas to give Morahan the space he needed to begin his run but he still had a hell of a lot of work to do in wading through the Lions defence, chipping ahead and then touching down in superb fashion. There were certainly no complaints from me, it was a spectacular score.
And although Morahan was taken off early in the second half, his replacement Shipperly picked up where he left off and not to be outdone on the other side of the pitch it was “Hot” Rod Davies who made the break letting in scrum-half Nick Frisby for their second try as they were rightly rewarded for their free-style approach.
There were even more wingers to be involved in the action…though George North came on for centre Tuilagi he immediately imposed himself on the play and firmly planted himself at the top of the test pecking order for the wide positions. Not far behind him was Bowe, though his hand injury may put paid to that…it will be interesting to see if Simon Zebo can make an immediate impact because there could well be a spot for the taking ahead of Maitland and Cuthbert.
So throughout the contest we could admire the Reds’ approach - however, there was a reason they craved the open-field play so much, that being the non-existence of their set-pieces. Being a side crafted from the union of four nations as the Lions are, it was always crucial that their set-piece units gelled quickly, and they already seem to be hitting their stride in those areas.
Lineouts were pilfered, restarts were claimed and penalties were won at scrums countless times by the tourists throughout the contest – in fact their only try came after a Reds scrum in their own 22 when a good strip & follow-up allowed Ben Youngs to touch down. This plus the kicking boots of Owen Farrell were enough to keep the home side at bay but with some better placekicking by Messrs Cooper and Harris it could have been a lot closer.
On the subject of Farrell, again his calmness with the tee cannot be questioned but I still have many, many reservations about his temperament for the rest of the action. He had a couple of good touches and tackles it’s true but then again he also over-ran a kick chase to be easily sidestepped and then towards the end was very lucky not to get another slap to the head from Reds hooker James Hanson after he got involved with him in a meaningless ruck with the result decided. Not what you need in the final quarter of a deciding 3rd test I’d wager.
Another area of concern was the back row. This is the one area where I feel Warren Gatland would wish to ignore any desire he may have not to appear biased, and this Lydiate/Warburton/Faletau trio could well start the first test.
But although Lydiate put himself about and made some tackles & steals, the squad captain Warburton was relatively invisible throughout…true, he is just back from injury, but given the form of Sean O’Brien I’d only be happy with Warbs making the test start if he has at least one stand out performance between now and then, and games are running out.
As for Faletau, well again he had some carries but once more was lacking at the back of the scrum and green goggles be-damned, Heaslip deserves the 8 jumper more right now. The Reds were running rampant at the breakdown Saturday and in the likes of Liam Gill they have much better talent in that area, let alone the Wallabies as a whole.
Another to impress me was Geoff Parling, so much so that he pips Richie Gray to my bench for the first test. He played with the “Lion” attitude much more than the Scot and was responsible for much of the lineout thievery.
One Scotsman who did impress was Stuart Hogg. I bet he’s kicking himself for one knock-on in the second half but overall his play was confident and often clinical. He now has my 23 test jumper since Halfpenny can move to the wing if needed.
Cuthbert despite his defensive issues is a powerful finisher and a great go-to guy with the extra man and I feel the Wallabies may attract a card or two in the series so he just about retains a starting role in my team, but only because of the terribly unfortunate Bowe injury.
A couple of Irish subs made good cameos…Sexton was called into the action probably earlier than planned and although the Sky commentators somehow didn’t notice, made more than one crucial tackle as the Reds pressed to close the gap in the final quarter.
But with the clock ticking down the Lions held on to their seven-point lead, and although the Reds will consider themselves unlucky for a forward pass to be called on Quade Cooper in his own 22 late on (given his involvement you couldn’t rule out a try could have resulted even from that deep!), it took a superb piece of Paul O’Connell jackling to earn the penalty that put the score beyond reach.
So full credit to the Reds and their fanatical support…I have to admit at one stage I had visions of Brisbane playwrights penning their own answer to “Alone It Stands”, but in the end the Lions were good enough to prevail and overall things are looking good as the first test draws nearer.
Let’s just hope Ser Gatland won’t need to dispatch any more ravens seeking replacements in the coming weeks. JLP
My test matchday 23 as it stands (players with a chance of pushing for a spot in brackets)
Halfpenny, Cuthbert (Zebo), O’Driscoll, Roberts, North, Sexton, Phillips. Vunipola, Hibbard, Adam Jones, O’Connell, AW Jones, Croft (Lydiate), Warburton (c), Heaslip. BENCH : T Youngs (Best), Corbisero (Grant), Cole, Parling, O’Brien, Murray (B Youngs), Farrell, Hogg.
PS - My writeup of USA v Ireland will post Tuesday.
