Andy Farrell opens up on British & Irish Lions’ win after ‘different type of game’ against Waratahs
British & Irish Lions scrum-half Alex Mitchell in action against the Waratahs and the famous touring side's head coach Andy Farrell.
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell couldn’t hide his frustration after the famous touring side had to dig deep to clinch a 21-10 triumph over the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
After starting their tour of Australia with back-to-back emphatic victories over the Western Force and Reds – in which they racked up half-century scorelines in both games – they were made to work much harder to see off the Waratahs.
Huw Jones was in fine form as he scored two of the Lions‘ tries while Alex Mitchell, who was the official player of the match, also crossed the whitewash.
Despite their 11-point winning margin, the tourists wasted other chances on a greasy surface at Allianz Stadium and Farrell believes his players could have been more ruthless.
‘You have to celebrate every win’
“We are satisfied with the win, you have to celebrate every win,” he said after the match.
“But with the amount of territory and possession we had, to come away with so much dropped ball, turnovers et cetera, to say we left a few out there is an understatement.
“It’s good learning for us, a different type of game, it was close and we were under pressure.
“We didn’t come out the blocks hard enough, we need to address that, we need to address our exits after scoring tries, we need to be more clinical there.
“It was a different type of game, the ground was wet, but it is good for us.
“They played hard at the breakdown, with big line speed. Sometimes we overplayed, it was better when we played more direct and off nine, so there are good learnings for us.”
The Lions could have won by a bigger margin but Josh van der Flier and Ellis Genge had tries disallowed. Van der Flier spilled the ball while reaching for the try-line in contact, while Genge’s effort was chalked off due to an earlier infringement at the lineout.
Farrell acknowledged that the Lions could have modified their style of play but was still happy that they managed to see off the Waratahs’ challenge.
“Playing off slow-ish ball, shovelling ball on, trying to find a way when it’s wet, it isn’t the right thing to do, you are going to lose collisions,” he added.
‘We keep bouncing from game to game’
“We have to state the obvious that for the Waratahs, they have been waiting for this a long time. We keep bouncing from game to game but these teams have been waiting for this chance and we have to be ready for that.
“It is fantastic learnings for us and we will address those before the Brumbies game.
“They are a great side, as they have showed not just this season but in 2013 as well, we know what we are in for up there.”
Mitchell echoed his coach’s sentiments on the Lions’ overall display.
“It is awesome to get the win,” he said. “It was a scrappy game, we struggled at the breakdown and in the air but we found a way to get a few points on the board and get the win.
“Fair play to the ‘Tahs, they were quality and made everything a fight. We are not there yet but we are getting there.”
READ MORE: British and Irish Lions dig deep as Huw Jones scores two tries in victory over the Waratahs
