Key events
That was a very pointed comment from Farrell about the ground being wet “for some reason”. Sounded like he was insinuating it was on purpose to frustrate the Lions play somehow? Even if that is true, if players at this level can’t work out what to do with a wet ball then they need to find another job.
Andy Farrell is offering his thoughts.
“You have to celebrate every win, but to come away with so much dropped ball with our territory and possession is frustrating to say the least. Again we didn’t come out the blocks hard enough, we need to address our exits and restarts. It’s good for us as they played hard at the breakdown and made us work hard. The ground was wet for some reason.
“It’s fantastic learnings for us and we’ll carry that to the Brumbies game. They are a great side and have shown that this season and in 2013.”
Tadhg Beirne is chatting with Sky Sports
“Frustrated with us not being as clinical as we would like out there. There were individual errors, some dropped balls, they are easy fixes and on another day we catch all of those, but there’s certainly some positives in there as well.”
Alex Mitchell is awared Man of the Match.
“Breakdown made it tough for us, and our discipline didn’t help. Their jackal work made it a tough day for me. We needed to turn them a bit more, and we did it a bit in the second half but not enough and we go on from here.”
The best thing that can be said of that match is that no Lions players were injured in the making of that performance.
There needs to be significantly more dynamism and structure in the phased play as they move on from here. The Waratahs found it remarkably easy to defend the attacks as there was nothing about the Lions patterns that made them guess, held their defensive drift or blitz, and as a result everything was broadly covered. Let’s not forget, this NSW team is a B team club outfit at the end of a middling season.
Full Time! Lions win in Sydney!
80+2 mins. Another neat and tidy move works the ball to Duhan on the left wing, but the covering defence is plentiful, the ball goes loose and into touch to end the match.
80 mins. Play is midway in the Waratahs half and the Lions have another scrum platform to attack from.
79 mins. Another might shove by the Lions pack wins clean ball for an attack in the Waratahs half. A few passes later Beirne drops the ball.
77 mins. To summarise, this has been a terrible game of rugby, by the way.
76 mins. The lineout is won, but illegally due to Earl getting himself in an obstruction position in front of the jumper McCarthy as he returned to the ground. This a consistent decision with that given against Lee-Warner in the first half.
75 mins. The NSW scrum crumbles again but the Lions get the ball away into midfield for a move to Hansen, off his wing and receiving the ball. Again, though, the timing and precision is off and the ball goes to ground as Hansen fails to hold it. The penalty advantage was being played from the splintered scrum, so the Lions will have the ball back.
72 mins. One thing that continues to be top drawer for the Lions is the scrum and another penalty is won as they put pressure on the NSW pack. Fom the lineout they are up to into the 5m zone and threatening but a fabulous ruck intervention by Gamble wins a penalty for the home team. He’s had a great game, the Waratahs openside.
69 mins. Earl takes the ball at first receiver after a Lions maul and he steps a defender and muscles forward to put hs side on the front foot. The ball is recycled to Marcus Smith who fires a long pass out left to van der Merwe who is stopped in full flight. Genge has a run before Walton wins a turnover penalty for the prop holding on.
The one overarching them of the Lions performance is imprecision, and this was the latest example.
66 mins. Double damage for NSW from that questionable ref call as the Lions win the scrum penalty and clear the ball away.
64 mins. For the first time in a while the Waratahs find themselves in the Lions half with the ball. Gamble loses the ball under pressure from Jones but on the replay it’s clear the Lions centre knocked it forward and he’s very lucky it’s not awarded as penalty given he appeared to slap at the ball deliberately after Gamble offloaded.
62 mins. Passes move left and right from the Lions, probing for a gap in a very committed and organised NSW defence. The ball is floated by Kinghorn wide to Hansen who runs so far he isolates himself and Lancaster can clamp his hand on to win a not releasing penalty.
59 mins. Ellis Genge rattles up to the line and reaches out to ground the ball. It looked a little untidy and the TMO replay confirms he lost control of it under pressure from the tackler. NO TRY! The Lions will soon have the ball back, however, via the resulting drop-out from the Waratahs.
58 mins. We’re approaching the hour mark and as has happened in each game so far the Lions have emptied the bench and are beginning to dominate. Van Der Flier has a carry into the NSW half, but the clearout from his team mates is not legal.
TRY! Waratahs 10 – 21 Lions (Alex Mitchell)
54 mins. The resulting scrum gives the Lions possession in the Waratah’s half and the ball and runners work left that gives Mitchell the opportunity to dart over.
52 mins. Here is something I’ve never seen before. A free kick is awarded to the Waratahs after Lions engage early at the scrum, but then the player taking the tap passes the ball instead and is pinged for not playing the ball properly.
This feels like that time Graham Gooch was given out “handled the ball” and I couldn’t work out what had happened.
50 mins. The ball is exclusively with the Lions now and they work it out to the right touchline for Hansen to have a dart. The defence covers across and he tries to slide a grubber kick in behind but the blue defenders are first to it.
46 mins. More possession for the Lions, more examples of flinging it about until something emerges resembling a gap. It’s scrappy but dramatic in its own way, but I’m not sure what it’s telling us about how the side want to play in the Test series upcoming.
44 mins. The Lions try to make amends immediately with the usual mix of fast offloading and broken play busyness. Mitchell dummies and dashes through a gap before floating a long pass left to Kinghorn who finds Van Der Flier on the loop who dives for the left corner but is just in touch before grounding.
TRY! Waratahs 10 – 14 Lions (Ethan Dobbins)
42 mins. Earl catches the kick off and has a run back, but then there is a stupid penalty given away due to Lions players in front of the clearing kicker. The ball is put into the corner and from the lineout it’s a textbook catch and big maul drive for Ethan Dobbins to score.
Conversion missed.
Second Half!
The Lions receive the restart as the second forty commences.
Andrew Sparrow emails
“No names, no packdrill, but there’s a few playing themselves firmly into the ‘midweek only’ ranks here. Good to see the Tahs with a bit of mongrel in them – hope they can keep it up beyond the hour.”
It’s not great, I have to agree.
Half Time! Waratahs 5 – 14 Lions
40 mins. Lots of passes from the Lions, lots of them leading to a very lateral attack which broadly goes nowhere. The ball spills and the half is over.
Elsewhere …
39 mins. A massive kick from Kinghorn pins the Waratahs into their 22 and the Lions will have the last attack of the half as a chance to extend their lead
36 mins. There was a long TMO chat before that was awarded as it appeared Lee-Warner clattered Hansen’s noggin with an illegal clearout at the run prior to Tupou working his big man magic.
The ref had a look but disagreed, reasoning that Hansen was low to the ground and the Waratah lock was wrapping his arms. The former is true, the latter is not. He got away with that.
TRY! Waratahs 5 – 14 Lions (Darby Lancaster)
35 mins. Tupou picks from the ruck and pops a delightful pass to Leotai to feed Lancaster who bumps Keenan to gallop up the left touchline. He lost his footing a but managed to crawl-run (crun?) far enough to reach out and ground the ball.
Conversion is missed from out wide.
TRY! Waratahs 0 – 14 Lions (Huw Jones)
32 mins. The handling issues for the Waratahs crop up again and the Lions waste no time with the possession it gives them. Earl carries up to the line and Mitchell throws from the base of the ruck to Jones who deftly steps away from his tackler and then drives hard to the line to ground the ball one handed.
Fin Smith converts.
29 mins. A simple short lineout from the Waratahs inches forward a few feet before Gamble breaks off and charges to the left corner and over the line to score! The stadium erupts but it shortly changes to a chuntering grumble as the TMO intervenes to point out that Lee-Warner has obstructed the Lions defenders in the setup of the maul at the lineout.
It’s the right call, but the theme of the home side getting at the Lions to easily in possession continues. If they could just stopped dropping the ball they could be causing quite a bit of bother to the tourist.
28 mins. More phases for the home side close to the Lions line and as the carries some hard and regular Cowan-Dickie charges offside as the defending becomes increasingly desperate. The penalty is tapped and three phases later another infringement, this time from Ryan, has Ref Paul Williams warning Tadhg Beirne that another one in this area will be card.
25 mins. A lineout is won by the Waratahs on the Lions 22 after the visitors are penalised for not releasing in the tackle. There’s a good carry from Gamble and discipline fails the Lions once more, this time Earl off his feet at the breakdown.
“Morning Lee. Another chance for Lions to test combinations and get new players into the fold.” suggests Guy Hornsby, “And another scrappy opening, which seems to be the vibe of this tour as the Australian sides exert the most pressure in the first 20 and Lions search for cohesion.
“Crucial for Kinghorn and Keenan to get into the groove this next week, as 15 is very much up for grabs. It’ll certainly be calmer than 2001, not that it could be less so! I was in Australia that glorious summer, and snagged a ticket to the Gabba. A day for the ages, if hazy in recollection 24 years later.”
23 mins. Waratahs work the ball clear from a scrum they finally manage to hold up, but the clearance kick is a poor one and the Lions have a lineout on the 22.
Drinks break is taken.
20 mins. Numerous phases in the five metre area from the Lions batter the Waratahs line as the home side aggressively repel the attacks. There are repeated short carries, probably a few too many, as the Lions lose shape and momentum and there’s another knock-on due to forcing it. Fin Smith should have done more there to call the ball to himself and get the backs to form up into something more organised.
17 mins. Another strong run from Earl, who is clearly benefitting from a gameplan to get him on the ball in the open more, get the Lions going forward again. There’s more imprecision in handling, but this is mattering less for the Lions as their scrum is now regularly marmalising the Waratahs pack to win back possession via penalties.
14 mins. The perennial issue for the Lions of not securing restarts raises its head again, with a lazy defender penalised for obstructing the Waratahs’ chasers. The home side work a short lineout and drive up to the line before spilling the ball under pressure from the red defence which allows Mitchell to clear it upfield with his boot.
TRY! Waratahs 0 – 7 Lions (Huw Jones)
11 mins. Earl drives forward but is stopped by the scrambling blue defence who strike for he ball but knock it on. The scrum gives a penalty to the Lions and from the resulting lineout it’s a very simple catch-drive-release drill to find Tuipulotu who drives to the defensive line and feeds Jones to score.
9 mins. There is some phased possession from the home side, with the passes busy enough, but their territory is repeatedly driven backwards by a Lions defence that finally appears to be co-ordinated in their press forward. There’s an inevitable turnover under pressure and the Lions fire the ball rightwards through hands to Earl out on the wing.
6 mins. We’ve had a scrum, from which not much happened other than some more handling errors that lead us to another scrum, this one for the Waratahs just inside their own half.
Hannah Sumby has a query: “Van der Merwe covering forwards position from the bench seems a bit odd?”
It’s a 5-3 bench now, so he’s not covering forwards. It appears he was just chucked Cummings’s shirt to put on as the changes were so late.
3 mins. The first period of possession is for the Lions after they win a lineout on halfway. Lots of busy recycling and short passing look to be building some momentum before the ball goes to the deck and Walton is first to it to race 30 metres into the Lions half. He offloads to Lancaster, but a brilliant cover tackle from Cummings drops him and dislodges the ball.
Kick-Off!
Fin Smith clips the ball up and away into the smoky sky to get us underway
There’s a decent crowd in and they ramp up the volume as the obligatory pre kick-off dimming of the lights signals the start of the pumping music and pitch-side flame throwers. The teams and the match are imminent.
In rugby news from the lower reaches of the international tiers, Hong Kong have beaten South Korea 70-22 in Incheon to win the Asia Rugby Championship and qualify for the World Cup for the first time. The Hong Kong side has got to the last stage of qualifying for the last two World Cups only to fall short but will now take their place at the expanded 24-team showpiece tournament in Australia in 2027. What a moment for the nation.
On a related but clearly irrelevant note, I was made in Hong Kong. True story.
On the late Pollock injury Andy Farrell, speaking to Sky Sports:
“Yes, he’s got a slight problem with his calf – nothing too serious. Knowing what we know, we thought it wasn’t right to risk him so we reshuffle.”
Have a read while you wait
He might not be playing for the Waratahs today, but Joseph Suaalii is likely to play for the Wallabies. Read more about it here
Your views are always welcome and today is no exception so send them to me on the Email. I may even tolerate Owen Faz chat, but don’t bank on it.
Teams
Rotation once more as the fixtures pile up quickly for Andy Farrell and the Lions, made more tricky by Henry Pollock withdrawing with a tight calf late on. Apparently it’s ‘precautionary’. Tadhg Beirne will have the honour of captaining from six, Scott Cummings now starts in the second row and Duhan van der Merwe comes onto the bench. Hugo Keenan has his first start of the tour at fullback along with Blair Kinghorn on the wing, while Fin Smith returns at stand-off.
The Waratahs have a few internationals in their lineup in Taniela Tupou, Andrew Kellaway, Rob Leota, Lalakai Foketi, and Darby Lancaster. Number 8, Hugh Sinclair, is awarded the captaincy in this his last ever game of professional rugby so expect some emotional scenes.
British & Irish Lions:
15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 James Ryan, 6 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Ellis Genge, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Jac Morgan, Ben White, Marcus Smith, Duhan van der Merwe.
NSW Waratahs:
15 Lawson Creighton, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 12 Joey Walton, 11 Darby Lancaster, 10 Jack Bowen, 9 Teddy Wilson; 1 Tom Lambert, 2 Ethan Dobbins, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Miles Amatosero, 6 Rob Leota, 7 Charlie Gamble, 8 Hugh Sinclair (captain).
Replacements: Mahe Vailanu, Jack Barrett, Daniel Botha, Matt Philip, Jamie Adamson, Jack Grant, Tane Edmed, Henry O’Donnell
Preamble
Welcome to Sydney, where a game of rugby is in danger of breaking out in the midst of the Owen Farrell’s Worth Tour 2025. You would be forgiven if this match involving 23 British & Irish people – none of whom are Owen Farrell – has taken you by surprise at the end of this week of quite remarkable discourse.
But there is a match for the Lions to play against the Waratahs, a team that has had a fiercely mediocre season in their domestic competition and this isn’t even their first choice selection.
At this stage Farrell Snr’s men should be putting together more complete performances that address the issues so far. So look out for more energy in defence, a consistent lineout and a better kicking game out of hand that has been witnessed so far.
The Wallabies are waiting in a fortnight and Joe Schmidt will be watching with his notebook. I wonder what he would write about Owen Farrell.
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