By Aidan Leo
The British and Irish Lions thrashed the Australia–New Zealand Invitational side 48–0, wrapping up their warm-up games with a perfect winning record.
Andy Farrell will be pleased with the weekend performance of his mixed-and-matched side, who head into the Wallabies Tests in strong form.
However, he may have emerged with more selection headaches than he had going in, as several Lions players made compelling cases for starting spots.
Match highlights
Of the Lions’ eight unanswered tries, winger Duhan van der Merwe stood out with a hat-trick, supported by fellow Scotland internationals Ben White, Sione Tuipulotu, and Scott Cummings.
Hooker Ronan Kelleher, likely to back up Dan Sheehan in the Tests, also got on the scoresheet, while explosive England loose forward Henry Pollock delivered the final blow to cap the rout.
The recent call-up of Owen Farrell paid off immediately, as it was his well-weighted grubber that set up Pollock’s try in style.
The veteran England fly-half brings a renewed attacking dimension and will be a valuable asset if involved in the Tests.
Marcus Smith also showcased his versatility, slotting in seamlessly at fly-half when he came off the bench.
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Andy Farrell reflects on performance and selection headaches
“I thought it was a good and professional performance,” Farrell told Sky Sports.
“When you play these types of games and the types of personnel you can face, anything can happen, but I thought we played nice, controlled rugby and we didn’t let them in the game. We are pleased with our game control.
“We stayed at it, it was never going to be perfect, and kept going as a team, that’s the main thing. There were some great individual performances, but we gelled well as a team.”
Reflecting on his players’ performances over the past two weeks, Farrell said: “We need to enjoy a bit of down time as it has been full on for 14 days, it has been a tough old block. We want people to put their hands up and this group will roll on together and go after the Test series together.”
Injury-hit Lions prepare for Tests
After a progressively dominant first half, England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was stretchered off after what initially appeared to be a serious neck injury.
Farrell and his staff have since called up fellow Englishman Jamie George as Cowan-Dickie’s replacement.
Cowan-Dickie’s tour may not be over, as he is expected to stay with the squad while he recovers.
This will be George’s third Lions tour.
“We’re absolutely delighted for Jamie’s selection,” said England head coach Steve Borthwick.
Outside-centre Garry Ringrose, sidelined by a concussion sustained against the Brumbies, is set to miss the opening Test against Australia in line with the 12-day concussion protocol.
As a result, Scotland centre Huw Jones is all but certain to claim the number 13 jersey in Ringrose’s absence.
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Similarly, the Lions have called up Irish utility-back Jamie Osborne to cover for the injured Blair Kinghorn, whose scans confirmed he will be sidelined for a short period.
Kinghorn will miss the early part of the Test series as he recovers.
Osborne is expected to bolster the Lions’ outside-back options, providing cover should anything happen to Hugo Keenan, who appears to be returning to form after an assertive performance against the AU-NZ Invitational side.
Additionally, Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, and Darcy Graham have been called up to bolster Farrell’s depth and selection options ahead of the First Nations & Pasifika XV game, scheduled for midweek after the first Test.
This will allow Farrell to rest key players in preparation for the second Test later that week.
The highly anticipated first Test match of the tour kicks off this weekend on Saturday, July 19, in Brisbane.
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