Andy Farrell believes the Lions can push on and clinch the series with a week to spare after their first Test win over Australia in Brisbane. It is the head coach’s view that the pressure is now firmly on the Wallabies and that his team also have plenty of improvement still in them.
While the Lions lost some momentum in the second half of their 27-19 victory at Suncorp Stadium, they were 24-5 ahead after 41 minutes and Farrell says they will be even harder to beat in Melbourne next Saturday. “There is so much more in us,” said Farrell, suggesting the Lions were now in “a fantastic place” in terms of the series.
“To get off to a winning start is huge. I thought we started very well, our game control was excellent throughout and the back row were immense throughout. I thought we did the shirt proud and how we attacked the game, especially in the first half, was very pleasing.
“That puts the pressure on for next week. The Wallabies would have been desperate for it today. We know what coming to Suncorp means to Australia so they would have been targeting this. We’re delighted to come away with this victory … but we expect ourselves to be better again.”
Farrell did acknowledge that the Wallabies would be desperate to stay in the series and that the Lions would need to tighten up in certain areas. “I thought we let them back into the game. Our lack of discipline gave them a bit of a sniff,” he said. “Our physicality was spot-on in the first half, but in the second we were a bit loose. We will be dealing with a wounded animal second up. We expect a different game next week but we expect more of ourselves as well.”
The forwards Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne and the half-backs Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park were also singled out for praise by Farrell, who had selected Curry ahead of several other potential contenders. “For those who know him and know his character, that was always going to happen. We talked during the week about big-game players and Tom massively fits into that bracket.”
Maro Itoje also made clear the Lions would not be easing up, with a first Lions series victory since 2013 now within reach. “It puts us in a good position but we definitely aren’t complacent or comfortable,” said the Lions captain. “I think we were a bit inaccurate with our decision-making and when you do that against a good team you tend to put yourself under pressure.
“Today was a high-intensity game but next week will be a higher-intensity game, so the challenge for us is to raise our game and performance because we know Australia definitely will. We want to win the Test series and we will only do that by getting better.”
The Lions will now relocate to Melbourne before Tuesday’s game against a First Nations & Pasifika XV and are awaiting an injury update on the lock Joe McCarthy. The Irish forward is suffering from plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the heel, and was withdrawn at the start of the second half. “It was niggling away at him; hopefully we got him off in time,” said Farrell.
The full-back Blair Kinghorn and the centre Garry Ringrose are making progress and could be available for both Tuesday’s game and the second Test.
The Wallabies head coach, Joe Schmidt, meanwhile, admitted it was now a case of all or nothing for his side. “We’ve got to hit the ground running otherwise it’ll be a dead rubber in Sydney,” he said. “We’ll have a look in the cold light of day but I’m very proud of the way the players fought their way back. This time last year we probably would have melted. I felt the bench added value when they came on.”
