Hansen hot on Pollock’s tail when it comes to star quality
The continued reference to Henry Pollock as one of the Lions player that has star quality might be true of the young backrow from England. But an objective take on Saturday’s match is that a lot of the star quality was shining from another player, Mack Hansen.
The Lions and Ireland right wing may have had the number 14 on his back but Hansen showed yet again that the number can mean whatever he wants it to mean. He popped up everywhere, taking high balls, linking into the midfield, taking off on rangy runs and ghosting through gaps to send the opposition into a flapping scramble. James Lowe does it too. He goes and gets the ball instead of waiting for it coming to him and he ends up in all areas of the pitch.
AU/NZ selection fail to make a case for the defence
For all the talk of AU/NZ having more international players to draw on than the club sides like Brumbies and Waratahs, they forgot to mention that just like the Lions throwing together a team of good players in a week, a collection of internationals from two countries doesn’t always add up to the sum of its parts.
Connections, cohesion and understanding were words used to describe just what the Lions lacked until Saturday’s 48-0 win in Adelaide. But the words could be used to describe AU/NZ. As Sam Warburton put it, the team actually lacked a defensive system. Eight tries will keep Andy Farrell pleased but that it was against a side whose defence was not as strong as some of the club sides should also be taken into consideration. What will please him is that they nilled AU/NZ and keeping the scores out might just have pleased him a little bit more.
RM Block
Booing of Owen Farrell all too predicable
It was predictable what the crowd reaction would be when Owen Farrell was introduced as one of the replacements in the second half of the match. As he stood on the touchline waiting to come into the Lions midfield, where he played well, the stadium erupted into a chorus of booing.
The irony was that Farrell is back with Saracens having had an injury-plagued time in France but had stepped away from international rugby following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, citing a need to focus on his and his family’s wellbeing. He followed athletes such as gymnast Simone Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka and cricketer Ben Stokes, who all took time out of their sporting careers to address issues. Then in his first major game back, the stadium starts booing. It was hardly the welcome he would have wanted, although given the recent history maybe one he might have expected.
Van der Merwe’s hat-trick keeps him in Test frame
Scotland’s South African-born winger Duhan van der Merwe might have rightly believed when he left the pitch on Saturday he had made a loud claim to Farrell for a Test match jersey. After all it is not every Lions left wing that gets a hat-trick a week out from the first game against Australia.
Van der Merwe scored the first, the third and the sixth of eight tries from the Lions. Ireland’s New Zealand-born James Lowe would have also believed the same thing after the match against Brumbies. Lowe may not have scored three tries but his general all-round play on the wing and mixing it up in the centre of the park too, has been impactful and eye-catching. Van der Merwe knocked on in contact early in the match and made some mistakes during play, but his finishing and his power running was undeniably strong, and his reputation is as a high-end try scorer further enhanced.
Things click into gear for Lions at last
Saturday was the first match the Lions truly clicked into gear and looked like a team more than a collection of players. It has been a feature of each game that they have shown improvement and from the thrown away balls to the fumbled passes and knock-ons and handling errors of the first few outings, the game at the Adelaide Oval was another timely step forward.
The Lions finished the match with almost twice the number of metres for carrying the ball and twice the tackles of their opponents. Individually Ben Earl made hard carries and Jac Morgan’s tackles were touching 20 by the end of the match, giving Farrell plenty to think about when it comes to the starting backrow to face the Wallabies in Brisbane next Saturday.
