The British and Irish Lions claimed their first victory on Australian soil by overwhelming Western Force 54-7, but a possible injury crisis is brewing at scrum-half after Tomos Williams was forced off.
Williams was among the star performers at Optus Stadium, but his match was over when he injured his left hamstring during the act of finishing his second try in the 47th minute.
The Wales half-back limped from the pitch to leave the Lions sweating on his fitness, given Jamison Gibson-Park has yet to play on tour because of a glute problem, potentially leaving Alex Mitchell as the only available option in the position.
It was the biggest disappointment of a mixed evening for Andy Farrell’s men, who bounced back from their 28-24 defeat by Argentina with an eight-try demolition of the weakest of Australia’s Super Rugby franchises while exposing areas of concern.
The lack of cohesion in defence continued, the scrum took a step backwards after excelling against the Pumas as part of a shaky overall set-piece performance, but their passes stuck in attack as they created some classy tries.
Henry Pollock, Joe McCarthy and James Lowe all advanced their claims to Test selection against the Wallabies, while fly-half Finn Russell produced an inventive first outing on tour.
Russell’s fingerprints were over Dan Sheehan’s fourth-minute try, his pinpoint kick to Lowe making the score possible, but the Force hit back immediately with their first attack of the match when Nic White wriggled over.
All the early pressure was coming from the hosts, only for them to get turned over three times when in commanding positions, one of them occurring when man-of-the-match McCarthy pinched lineout ball.
The Force were showing plenty of endeavour, yet the Lions’ extra class was evident in the 16th minute when Pollock combined with Josh van der Flier, raced clear and then passed out of the tackle for Williams to score.
And their accuracy was on display again in the 36th minute when Russell ran a quickly taken free kick with Pollock and Elliot Daly in support, and when he was stopped just short of the line, Daly was able to touch down.
Pollock provocatively celebrated the try close to Force openside Nick Champion de Crespigny, igniting a flashpoint that drew in a large number of players.
The England back row was sin-binned just seconds before the interval, although his yellow card was the result of referee Ben O’Keeffe running out of patience with the number of Lions infringements.
Pollock had yet to rejoin play when the Lions struck again early in the second half. Wings Mack Hansen and Lowe were involved in a counterattack that ended with Williams diving over in the corner for his fateful finish.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Force defence was already tiring, allowing the tourists to force enough space for Hansen to supply Garry Ringrose with the scoring pass.
Back on the field, Pollock pounced on a loose ball to launch a counter that ended with McCarthy crossing. The gaps continued to appear with Marcus Smith, on for Russell at fly-half, sending Daly over before Alex Mitchell landed the final blow.
