Lions Player Ratings As Brumbies Fall 36-24 To Seal Aussie Sweep
Lions Player Ratings As Brumbies Fall 36-24 To Seal Aussie Sweep
The British & Irish Lions swept Aussie Super Rugby sides with a 36-24 win over the Brumbies. Player ratings reveal stars, weak links and team clues.
Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions completed a sweep of the Australian Super Rugby franchises with a 36-24 win over the Brumbies in Canberra.
Still far from being as fluid as they would hope, the Lions flashed moments of the brilliant and the bizarre at times.
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Once again conceding an early try, the trend of starting slow is still a major concern for the Lions, who will know that against the Wallabies, this could see matches slip away early.
Here is how the Lions players fared against the Brumbies:
1. Ellis Genge – 5
Heading into this fixture as the Lions’ form loosehead, Genge had his quietest outing to date.
Conceding a penalty with a clearance way past the ruck in the first half summed up Genge’s frustration.
At set-piece, he remained dominant and caused the Brumbies all sorts of issues.
2. Dan Sheehan – 8
Combative from minute zero, Sheehan was world-class in all departments, with his burgeoning line-out connection with Skipper Maro Itoje being a significant development for the Lions.
He departed in the 61st minute with a 100% line-out win rate (16 from 16) to go with 46 meters made from eight carries, two line breaks, one offload, one defender beaten and 10 tackles.
3. Tadhg Furlong – 8
Rounding into form at just the right time, the Ireland veteran is inching closer back to his best form.
Dominant at scrum time, active with his carries and involved with a huge amount of rucks, Furlong repaid the faith shown by Farrell in him.
Set to face off with the dynamic pairing of James Slipper and Angus Bell, Furlong will be crucial to the Lions continuing their scrum dominance.
4. Maro Itoje (C) – 8
Ruling the skies, the Lions skipper nabbed ten line-outs, shored up the kickoff issues, carried seven times, made 10 tackles and was a constant pest at the breakdown, winning a nice turnover.
His performances are matched only by his cool and calm nature when dealing with the referees. Overall, it was a great captain’s performance.
5. Joe McCarthy – 4
Dropping down a rung or two from his lofty previous performances, big Joe looked a touch off the pace.
Replaced in the 57th minute, having made five carries, nine tackles and a defender beaten are average enough stats.
By the eye test, his combination with the skipper lacked balance and, as such, could well have dented his chances of starting the tests.
6. Ollie Chessum – 8
Dominant at line-out time, making hard yards with dynamic carries into traffic and having a huge amount of ruck involvements, Chessum fully justified his selection in the No. 6 shirt.
Beating three defenders, making one line break, three defenders beaten and scoring a try on nine carries is a serious return.
Defensively, Chessum made nine tackles to go with five line-out grabs.
More importantly, he brought balance to the back row that was absent in all of the Lions’ other fixtures.
7. Tom Curry - 5
Reverting back to his favored position of openside, the England backrow was industrious but lacked the clinical edge for which he is renowned.
Clearly acknowledging that he is playing catch-up on Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan for a starting role, Curry forced his hand a few times, notably in the 41st minute, which killed a Lions attack and sent the Brumbies on their way for a long-range attack.
Replaced in the 50th minute, having made 10 tackles (two missed) and four carries, while one carry was not the momentum-shifting performance for which he would’ve hoped.
8. Jack Conan – 8.5
Quite clearly the only out-and-out No. 8 in the squad, Conan’s work rate was off the charts in Canberra.
Getting from flank to flank, the Leinster eighth man continually popped up as a willing carrier in mismatch positions.
This was a real highlight of his comfort in the Lions’ 1-3-3-1 system.
Conan’s ability to catch and pass under pressure made him a key link player who was notable in the build-up to the Lions’ first-half tries.
Ending his day as the top carrier with 17, top tackler with 14, two line-out grabs and a try assist, Conan cemented himself as a key cog for this side.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park - 8
Debate over, the Irish scrumhalf put on a clinic in getting a team on the front foot with his quick service from the breakdown.
Mixing in his trademark snipe running, pinpoint box kicking that allowed his chasers to compete and, most importantly, linking perfectly with Finn Russell, JGP had a masterful showing.
10. Finn Russell - 8
Clearly relishing playing behind a pack that’s rumbling forward and the perfect service from Gibson Park, Russell looks so assured as the chief playmaker.
Dispelling the unfounded notion that he is a maverick who doesn’t control games, Russell’s timing on when to call the ball from his forward pods was pretty much always on point.
This allowed the pack to do hard yards, opening space for Russell to release the back line.
From the boot, his range of kicking is such a weapon, both as an attacking weapon and a defensive pressure release valve.
One such moment was in the 58th minute when the Lions had firmly lost momentum, he slotted into the pocket and found a brilliant touch 5 meters from the Brumbies' line.
11. James Lowe – 6
Caught red-faced in the 22nd minute when Andy Muirhead managed to get his leg underneath the ball for what should’ve been Lowe’s first try.
Immediately parking this, Lowe made no mistake seven minutes later to dot down.
What is undeniable is that Lowe’s work rate in attack is off the charts and massively valued by Andy Farrell.
He topped the carry charts for the Lions' backs.
12. Bundee Aki – 7
Physical from the off, Aki’s Irish combination with Garry Ringrose now sets up the inevitable national combination debate.
Does Farrell go all Scottish or all Irish? Today would indicate he will back the all-Irish pairing.
Aki’s power game sets him up not only as a gainline bashing presence, but more importantly as a brilliant distributor who occupies the attention of multiple defenders.
13. Garry Ringrose – 8.5
Laid down a marker as the front-runner for the first test, the differences between Ringrose and Jones at the moment are the Irish centers' ability to operate as a distributor and defensive leader.
Ringrose had two half breaks in the third and eighth minutes before finding Bundee Aki with a perfect pass to set up James Lowe, who was world-class.
Scoring his third try of the tour in the 47th minute, Ringrose’s dummy and square running at the line split the Brumbies' defense with ease. Racing away to finish the move, Ringrose proved that his top-end pace and finishing ability are on par with Huw Jones.
14. Tommy Freeman – 5
Another player who had a down day in terms of simple mistakes, the Northampton Saints flyer worked hard in particular on kick chase, where he competed well.
One area that will put doubt in the coaching staff’s minds is his propensity to take unnecessary risks – namely, the pass behind his goal line in the first half to Gibson Park, which led to a Brumbies score.
This being said, he remains the front-runner for the No. 14 shirt given his explosive carrying ability that can flip a match on its head.
15. Blair Kinghorn – 7.5
Kinghorn was removed in the 24th minute with a worrying-looking injury, but prior to that, the Scottish fullback was exceptional.
Linking with Finn Russell seamlessly as a second distributor, his ability to get the ball in the wide channels opened up the Lions' attack.
Notably, his pass to Dan Sheehan in the 19th minute, which set up a great break down the right flank and James Lowe for a try that should’ve been in the 22nd, were pure class.
Hopefully, he will be fit for the first test.
Replacements
16. Ronan Kelleher – 4
Nailing his line-out throws, which have been a struggle for him on this tour (and with Leinster and Ireland recently), Kelleher will be pleased with that area of his game.
Making four tackles in his 20 minutes on the park, and with no carries, it wasn't the most impactful showing, meaning his contest with Luke Cowan-Dickie remains live for the backup hooker role.
17. Andrew Porter – 7
Porter was ultra busy and clearly relishing entering the contest fresh with 30 minutes to play after Genge has done the hard yards.
Based on recent form, Porter has a real case to start, but with the work Genge gets through early, it allows the Irish loosehead to have even more impact.
The same can be said the other way around.
Either way, the Lions will have a dominant 1-2 punch at loosehead.
18. Will Stuart – 4
Another performance where the big Bath tighthead struggled to leave his mark on proceedings.
At scrum time, he was far better than his outing against the Reds in Brisbane, but around the park, he lacks the ball-playing abilities of Furlong and Bealham.
Making just the one carry and three tackles, most of Stuart’s work came at the ruck, with a decent showing there.
19. Josh van der Flier - 8
Completely dominant when he replaced Curry, the former World Player of the Year might have ended the debate about who will start in the No. 7 shirt.
Getting over the line twice (one held up) at the back of the maul was an interesting wrinkle for the backrow who shifted the point of contact well to get the Lions' maul rolling.
20. Henry Pollock – 7
Explosive and rangy, it is impossible to rule the English youngster out of a test spot at this stage.
His ability to make chunk yard plays in the wide channels dovetails beautifully with the distribution of Russell, Ringrose and company.
21. Alex Mitchell - 5
Did exactly what the coaches would’ve hoped and kept the team ticking along with snappy service from the breakdown.
Still, he doesn't look comfortable with taking on carrying responsibility in the same way he does with the Saints and England.
22. Marcus Smith – 6
Defensively, Smith remains a mile off the mark at fullback, but you can see what the coaches like with his attacking game as a second distributor.
The question will be, can the Lions work a way to negate his frailties in the backfield?
Unfortunately, his lack of game time at 10 feels set to be a deciding factor that could drop him out of contention.
23. Mack Hansen – 4
It was a very quiet return home to Canberra for Hansen, who had just two carries, one offload and two tackles.
In his defense, he did only have 18 minutes on the park, and the match had slipped in terms of intensity at that stage.
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