For the second successive game in Australia there is bittersweet news for the British & Irish Lions. Another half-century of points was a decent return against initially spirited opponents but, once again, they look likely to lose a potentially significant player to injury with the best-of-three Test series kicking off at this same venue in just over a fortnight.
For now there is no official confirmation but Elliot Daly’s tour is expected to be cruelly curtailed after the nasty forearm injury he sustained in the second half. He was taken to hospital for X-rays on a suspected fracture which will almost certainly require the Lions to summon another replacement, having already lost the scrum-half Tomos Williams to a torn hamstring.
As with Williams, Daly was emerging as a strong contender for the Test matchday 23 and was only called up late for this fixture after Hugo Keenan withdrew because of illness. It made no difference to the final outcome but the Lions will now have to think about whistling up another reinforcement, with Scotland’s utility back Tom Jordan a strong contender.
On the upside, though, the Lions are making a habit of finishing games strongly and competition for Test places is hotting up. In Maro Itoje they have a captain determined to lead from the front and a couple of tries for his English teammate Tommy Freeman helped the touring side rack up a final tally of eight tries.
Considering the hectic travel logistics Andy Farrell’s squad are also having to negotiate it was no mean effort, with the nascent half-back combination of Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell looking to have considerable potential. Both have the ability to think at least a couple of phases ahead and there was encouraging evidence that the two playmakers are already on each other’s wavelength.
Jack Conan and Ollie Chessum also put in wholehearted performances while there were morale-boosting second-half tries for a motivated Jac Morgan and Huw Jones. All of them will now be waiting to see whether they have done enough to play themselves into the selection frame for the first Test back here on 19 July.
The Lions do still have a tendency to blow hot and cold and they are still searching for their best scrummaging combinations. They could also have been more ruthless, contriving to drop eight balls in the first half alone when they struggled for both accuracy and cohesion and let the Reds steal ahead through an early try from their big prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen.
In the first quarter the Lions defensive line was also pierced too often for comfort so it was a timely bonus when an Itoje turnover set up a promising position from which Daly put the unmarked Freeman over on the right. On the other flank, however, Duhan van der Merwe was not having a particularly great time. First he almost got into a tangle trying to deal with a cross kick on his own line and not long afterwards he was left flat-footed as Josh Flook nipped in to collect another rolling ball and restore the Reds’ lead.
Queensland Reds: Campbell; Anderson, Flook (Henry 54), Paisami, Ryan;
McLaughlin-Phillips, Thomas (Werchon 59); Ross, Faessler (Nasser 53), Toomaga-Allen (Fa’agase 57) Canham (Smith 59), Salakaia-Loto (Blyth 54), Uru, Bryant, Brial (Vest 64).
Tries Toomaga-Allen, Flook. Con McLaughlin-Phillip
British & Irish Lions: Daly (Ringrose 67); Freeman, Jones, Aki (Earl 67), Van der Merwe; Russell (F Smith 51), Gibson-Park (Mitchell 51); Porter (Genge 51), Kelleher (Cowan-Dickie 51), Stuart (Bealham 51), Itoje, Chessum (Ryan 59), Curry, Morgan, Conan.
Tries Freeman 2, Porter, Van der Merwe, Itoje, Morgan, Jones, Ringrose. Cons Russell 4, F Smith 2.
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand).
Again it seemed to stir the Lions into life and, after a quick penalty tap by Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter burrowed his way to the line. There was also a relieving moment for Van der Merwe when, put away by slick offloads from Chessum and Conan, he finished emphatically in the left corner.
The Lions’ 21-12 half-time lead could not mask some self-inflicted wounds. Daly and Jones are both gifted sportsmen but both made a hash of giving potential scoring passes that might have given the Lions a more comfortable cushion.
On another day it might have been more costly but not this one. Gibson-Park expertly exploited a small gap in the home defence to set up Itoje for his side’s fourth try before wholesale changes saw both starting half-backs and the entire front row replaced with half an hour left.
It made little difference with Morgan bursting through a widening hole to score the Lions’ fifth try, Freeman twisting cleverly over for his second and Jones completing a long-range interception score. The Lions did turn over the ball a fair amount but had long since cracked the QR code by the time Garry Ringrose’s late score took them to their half-century.
From a Wallaby perspective there are slightly worrying reports surrounding two of their most influential forwards, Will Skelton and Rob Valetini. Both are poised to miss this weekend’s game against Fiji in Newcastle with calf issues which, unless they heal swiftly, could threaten their first Test participation.
Joe Schmidt and his assistants can ill afford to lose either man and must also find ways to combat the areas where the Lions are particularly strong, namely their defensive breakdowns and strength in depth across the back row.
While Tom Curry has yet to hit his best form, the re-emergence of Morgan and the energy of Chessum will have caught Farrell’s eye. By the time the Lions return to Brisbane for the opening Test there is every likelihood that, despite their injury setbacks, they will be even tougher nuts for the Wallabies to crack.
