Big Joe and Josh make early gains in bid for Test starts
Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier put themselves in the driving seat for a Test match start when the Lions meet Australia in Brisbane on July 19th. There is many a slip betwixt cup and lip over the next three weeks but the Leinster lock and openside flanker both had outstanding performances against Western Force and both were to the fore during the Australian side’s strongest phase of the match in the first half.
McCarthy’s all-round game, his ability to break and get stuck in, as well as his natural size and strength, will match up at Test level. Van der Flier also rose as the Lions struggled, his commitment to the defensive line, his engine and gainline breaks eye-catching throughout. It is too early for predictions but if they play once more like they did on Saturday they are in.
First-half defensive display would be fatal against Wallabies
So, what if the Lions turn up against Australia in three weeks’ time and put in a defensive display like the first half on Saturday. The short answer is they will be so far behind at half-time that the Wallabies will be out of sight. The breakdown area and the tackling were so far off that Western Force looked at one stage that they were going to force the Lions into a chasing game.
Some Lions players were stepping up, others were standing off, some high, some low, some drifting across the pitch and when they got there were making ineffective edge tackles. The breakdown area lacked focus, accuracy and but for a few players, a physical commitment and the hard edge required to set a tone and drain any of the confidence the opposition might have had. It was addressed at half-time by Andy Farrell. But against Joe Schmidt’s side anything similar will prove fatal.
Finn Russell’s skill set to the fore in Perth
Finn Russell, the Marmite man. Many people see just his errors and other people see just his ability. The coaches always weigh one against the other, but the outhalf charmed the socks off his fans with his feints and delayed passes, his vision and his sharpshooter kicking from both his hands and the tee.
Russell has also added a bit of rough and tumble to his game. His defence had been questioned in the past but it looked better against the Force and he was prepared to put his body on the line when the Lions were on the back foot. That said, Farrell will rightly want Russell on the ball going forward to stick defenders as they close him down, have them move for passes that he does not throw and make them try to anticipate what he is going to do next. Not a bad skill set.
Leinster players have cohesive effect
Cohesion was the word that Farrell mentioned most after last week’s defeat by Argentina, or the lack of it. And maybe that is why he picked eight Irish starters against Western Force, or over half the Lions team. Three more in backrow Jack Conan, hooker Rónan Kelleher and prop Andrew Porter came into the match in the second half and kicked on to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The next few matches will tell whether Farrell has settled on an Irish way of playing with Irish players dominating the selection as a means of short-circuiting the lack of time the team have been together. While there is plenty more to get right over the next three weeks, there is no doubt the Leinster players flooding back into the squad helped what Farrell has missed in spades last week in Dublin.
Jack van Poortvliet should keep his phone charged
When Lions scrumhalf Tomos Williams dived over the line after his brilliant exchange with James Lowe to sore his second try of the match, he appeared to immediately grab his hamstring and left the field for England’s Alex Mitchell. With Jamison Gibson-Park yet to play a match on the tour, it leaves the Lions with a what to do next question with regards to the scrumhalves.
Farrell was equivocal about the seriousness of Williams injury describing it as “a tight hamstring, so ... You don’t know what these things are like. Hopefully it’s a bit of cramp. We’ll assess that, certainly in the morning.” Last week Leicester Tigers and England scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet flew into Dublin to train with the Lions as they prepared for the 1888 Cup fixture against Argentina. Can you hear his phone ringing?
