Osborne brace helps Lions limp over the line against a stern First Nations and Pasifika side
BRACE: Jamie Osborne got a brace for the Lions on his debut. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The British & Irish Lions chalked up another midweek win as Jamie Osborne scored two tries on debut but the tourists were pushed all the way by the First Nations & Pasifika XV playing together for the first time at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday.
On a night when head coach Andy Farrell had thrown down the gauntlet to players on the fringes of Test selection, there were few positives for a side captained by Owen Farrell in terms of advancing claims for inclusion in the two remaining Tests against Australia.
Head coach Farrell will gather his coaching staff for a final time on Wednesday to nail down his matchday 23 for Saturday’s second Test and potential series decider for the Lions. And though his midweek side outscored their opponents drawn from Australia’s indigenous peoples and Pacific islanders by four tries to three, they failed to shine in the face of the strongest opposition seen on tour outside last Saturday’s first Test.
It was also the most entertaining contest of the tour, including that series opener with the Wallabies in Brisbane three days earlier when the Lions won 27-19 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test set.
Farrell had insisted places in the Lions matchday 23 were still up for grabs ahead of that final selection meeting for the second Test, so there was plenty of incentive for strong performances.
And this midweek side got off to a solid start, taking a 14-0 lead through two of the Lions’ new arrivals Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham inside 11 minutes, both the result of lineout starter plays and both converted by Fin Smith after the First Nations & Pasifika lost wing Tristan Reilly to a fifth-minute yellow card for a high hit on opposite number Graham.
Osborne struck after chasing down a perfectly weighted kick through from midfield partner and match captain Owen Farrell soon after while Graham’s try came courtesy of a superbly dispatched long pass from fly-half Fin Smith.
Yet at 14-0 up and seemingly cruising, the Lions lost their way as their hosts started to flex their muscles and dominate the contact area. It was some sloppy play from the tourists, though, that opened the gate, full-back Blair Kinghorn letting the First Nations and Pasifika back into the contest with a lazy pass intercepted by Reilly, recently returned from his sin-binning. Reilly ran into open space and scored unopposed on 17 minutes, his skipper Kurtley Beale adding the extras and the FN&P side were energised, tighthead prop Taniela Tupou and flankers Seru Uru and Charlie Gamble leading the way in terms of physicality and Tupou, overlooked for the first Test in Brisbane last Saturday, making his presence felt at scrum-time also as the Lions front row struggled.
It was a Tupou carry that helped bring the FN&P level on 22 minutes as Uru crashed over, James Ryan earning a yellow card in the process with Beale’s conversion making it 14-14, and that was the way it stayed until half-time, the indigenous and islander players full value for their parity with the Lions.
Just as in the first Test three days earlier in Brisbane, the Lions struck early in the second half as Osborne grabbed his second on 45 minutes. It might have been more, Fin Smith missing the touchline conversion and then Josh van der Flier seeing his potential try chalked off for a knock-on in contact from Garry Ringrose as he chased down a through kick, Henry Pollock linking neatly between the two Irishmen though ultimately in vain.
The Lions did extend their lead eventually, Duhan van der Merwe scoring in the left corner with a penalty advantage on 63 minutes to open a 10-point lead, though it was a cushion that lasted just seven minutes, replacement back-rower Rob Leota crashing over as FN&P’s ball carriers made some hard yards off a lineout.
Beale’s missed conversion meant it was 24-19 to the Lions heading into the final 10 minutes but FN&P tails were up as the tourists struggled for momentum right until the final whistle.
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Jamie Osborne’s try, his second of the game, soon after half-time broke the 14-14 interval deadlock but it needed Duhan van der Merwe’s score on 63 minutes to give the Lions the breathing space they needed to see off a battling and ultra-physical First Nations & Pasifika side.
An opportunity lost for the Lions’ Test hopefuls given this opportunity to impress ahead of Saturday’s second rubber of their series with Australia but this was a belter of a contest, the most exciting match-up of the tour so far with a First Nations & Pasifika side offering the stiffest challenge of the Lions’ journey Down Under.
Well, no, not really, at least from the Lions. FN&P tighthead Taniela Tupou put in a strong bid for a return to the Wallabies Test squad but this performance did very few favours to the team selected by Andy Farrell. Blair Kinghorn blotted his credentials for ousting Hugo Keenan at full-back when two passes in the backfield were intercepted, one of them costing his side a try.
A possible signal of intent from the head coach was the removal of flanker Jac Morgan on 50 minutes, perhaps in readiness for a place on Saturday’s Test bench but all will be revealed with Thursday’s team announcement.
Nika Amakusheli had a tidy game at Marvel Stadium, issuing a yellow card apiece with the minimum of fuss and enhancing his reputation as a more than competent official.
FN&P XV 12 Lions 8
There was agony for Scotland wing Darcy Graham, whose Lions debut was cut short by injury after just 16 minutes, his heartache writ large across his face as he limped off the field having scored a try five minutes later.
With their final midweek fixture in the record books, the Lions can focus solely on this Saturday’s second Test and potential series decider against the Wallabies, across the city at the legendary, 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground. MCG officials are confident the Lions Test record attendance of 84,188, at Sydney’s Stadium Australia in 2001 will be broken.
A Muirhead; F Daugunu (J Debreczeni, 10 - HIA), L Foketi, D Feliuai (J McLeod, 41 - HIA), T Reilly; K Beale – captain; K Thomas (H Goddard, 55); L Ieli (M Pearce, 54), B Paenga-Amosa (R Asiata, 45), T Tupou (M Doge, 45); D Swain, L Salakaia-Loto; S Uru (R Leota, 51), C Gamble, T Taii Tualima (M Vocevoce, 67).
: T Reilly 5-10 mins
: B Kinghorn; D Graham (G Ringrose, 16), J Osborne, O Farrell – captain, D van der Merwe; F Smith (M Smith, 66, F Smith 72 - HIA), B White; P Schoeman (R Sutherland, 74), J George (E Ashman, 74), F Bealham (T Clarkson, 50); J Ryan (G Brown, 55), S Cummings; J Morgan (B Earl, 50), J van der Flier, H Pollock.
: J Ryan
: A Mitchell.
: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
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