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White (4')
Tries
Sheehan (1'), Williams (15', 46'), Daly (35', 70'), Ringrose (51'), McCarthy (53'), Mitchell (80')
Donaldson (5')
Conversions
Russell (2', 16', 36', 51', 54'), Smith (71', 81')
The British and Irish Lions marked their first match in Australia with a straightforward victory over a Western Force side that pushed them hard in the first half, but who ran out of gas after halftime.
Tomas Williams and Elliot Daly each scored a brace, and there were tries for captain Dan Sheehan, Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy, and Alex Mitchell.
Australia scrumhalf Nic White scored the Force’s only try. The hosts broke the Lions defence on multiple occasions but were unable to get past their scrambled defence.
Andy Farrell and his coaching team still have plenty to work on, discipline in defence being top of the list, and the lineout and scrum had issues at times.
There will also be plenty who winced along with Williams who pulled up and held his hamstring when scoring his second try. Mitchell immediately replaced him.
Overall, though, it was a win that will lift the spirits. Henry Pollock showed his impudent best and there was a collective desire to keep the ball alive, even after the fulltime whistle.
DREAM START
If Sheehan wanted a dream start as skipper he got it, collecting James Lowes offload from a Russell cross kick for a simple run in.
The lead didn’t last long and after the Force went on the attack straight from kick off, their pack battered the Lions line, and scrumhalf White slipped through a gap.
The try set up the Force to dominate the opening exchanges. The Lions’ defensive alignment was off, and penalties started to creep in. Four in the opening 10 minutes.
Still, Farrell’s charges held firm. McCarthy teamed up with Sione Tuipulotu to clear for the Lions, and soon after Pollock exchanged passes with Josh van der Flier to set Williams up for his first score.
TESTING THE DEFENCE
It settled the tourists, though the defence was still being tested. Sixty tackles in the first 20 minutes attested to the Force’s determination to push the Lions hard.
Russell again showed his class to set up Daly with a tapped penalty, but Pollock earned 10 minutes in the sinbin just before halftime.
Williams’ second rounded off a smart counterattack from Mack Hansen and James Lowe, but he exited immediately with what appeared to be a hamstring strain and received immediate treatment on the bench.
Ringrose marked his first Lions start with a try after he spotted a gap and straightened the line, then McCarthy had an equally simple finish after Pollock worked his magic with a chip and collect to break the Force defence.
By now the benches were unloaded. Huw Jones showed no sign of his Achilles injury when he intercepted and then hared off after his long kick.
Daly linked with Marcus Smith to score his second, and with the clock in the red Mitchell popped up on Hansen’s shoulder to bring up the half century.
