Australia v British and Irish Lions preview: Andy Farrell’s men to ‘overpower’ weakened Wallabies in a hard-fought series opener
Wallabies centres Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and British and Irish Lions midfielder Huw Jones.
Here we go! After four years of patiently waiting, we have a British and Irish Lions Test match as the tourists take on the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Andy Farrell’s tenure in charge began on a low note, falling to a defeat at the hands of Argentina, but since arriving in Australia, the tourists have been peerless, sweeping aside the Western Force, Queensland Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies and an AUNZ Invitational XV.
The red machine comprehensively defeated the likes of the Force, Reds, and AUNZ, the latter being their most complete outing as they not only ran in seven tries but also nilled their opponents.
While the touring matches have proven to be largely lopsided affairs, they have given the British and Irish Lions coaches insight and clarity on their playing squad and the opportunity to bed in the systems in preparation for the highly anticipated Tests against the Wallabies.
As for the hosts, Joe Schmidt has been tasked with turning the once-proud rugby nation into a true force again following a disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign and to his credit, he has made a good fist of it.
After downing Wales 2-0 last year, Australia endured a tough Rugby Championship campaign but impressed during the November Tests, beating Wales and England while putting up a strong fight against Scotland and Ireland.
Still, Schmidt’s charges head into the Test series with just one game under their belt, producing an underwhelming performance, albeit in victory against Fiji, where captain Harry Wilson saved their blushes with a late try.
The visitors will go into the fixture as overwhelming favourites on current form, but the form guide goes out the window with the first blast of the referee’s whistle at Suncorp Stadium, a ground where the Wallabies are traditionally difficult to beat.
Where the game will be won
A theme of the tour has been the Lions’ inaccuracies at the breakdown and how their opponents have been able to force turnovers and pester the tourists’ attack.
Fraser McReight and Wilson will be licking their lips as they aim to get stuck into the rucks, as too will Carlo Tizzano in the latter stages of the match. While that has been a part of the Lions’ game that has misfired and an area that the Wallabies can target, it won’t be the deciding factor.
The selections paint the picture of the crucial battleground being set-pieces, with both coaches loading up on lineout options and selecting their best scrummagers.
Farrell has resisted the urge to field several openside flankers in his loose trio, with Tadhg Beirne the preferred option in the number six jersey, while Schmidt has gone for the athletic debutant Nick Champion de Crespigny.
While Schmidt has needed to make several improvements on the Wallabies’ game, their lineout has been working effectively during his tenure, spearheaded by the excellent Jeremy Williams, who has been ably assisted by Nick Frost.
The lineout has also been a work in progress for the Lions in Australia and has slowly improved game by game, but the Wallabies will see this as an area where they can apply the pressure.
In the other set-piece though, the scrum, the Lions have been superb, comfortably getting the better of most of their opposition with the exception of the Western Force. This is perhaps why Schmidt has backed Tom Robertson as the back-up tighthead to the experienced Allan Alaalatoa.
Last year, the Springboks powered past the Wallabies through their set-piece dominance, a fact that won’t have been overlooked by the Lions coaches. Being able to march up the field with penalties, particularly from the scrum, will be a massive boost for either team and on paper the tourists have the upper hand.
It’s clear to see that this match will be a power battle, one fought on the gain-line, at the set-pieces and at the breakdown, with the aerial game undoubtedly coming into play as well.
Last time they met
What they said
Unsurprisingly, the selection of the team to tackle the Wallabies has caused much debate, with head coach Farrell fielding several questions on key positions, notably the back row, with Beirne selected alongside Tom Curry and number eight Jack Conan.
“You take a lot of things into account: form is one but you also take into account big match temperament, and we’ve got a good few of those in the starting line-up,” the head coach explained.
“Tadhg’s had many big games in big games when it really matters, so I’ve no doubt Ollie (Chessum) will have an impact on the game also.
“That [back-row] was the hotly contested one. Part of the side that’s been talked about for quite some time and rightly so, because of the quality we’ve got there.
“Obviously we feel that’s the right balance for the first Test, the combination of Tadhg being the type of player that he is, his quality in the set-piece, but his all-round ability either as the jackaller or a ball playing six, complements Jack Conan.
“In a similar regard, Tom Curry being the engine that we all know that we need in regards to Test match football.”
Commenting on his selection on the blindside following the injury to Rob Valetini, Schmidt has explained handing a Test debut to Champion de Crespigny.
The back-rower earns his first international appearance after failing to earn a spot in a Super Rugby club before heading abroad to join Castres. He returned to Australia this year and was a standout performer for the Western Force.
“I keep an eye on the Top 14, having coached there many years ago,” said Schmidt.
“Obviously, Nick was playing for Castres and they’d been a high-performing team and so when he decided to come back he was immediately on the radar.
“The good thing with Nick, he’s a good line-out option… he is probably a bit more of a roving scavenger than ‘Bobby V’ [Valetini], who in the past has been a big ball-carrier for us, and so he’ll complement Fraser [McReight] in that respect.”
Schmidt did not shy away from the task that lay ahead for his charges either.
“The whole squad has worked hard as a group to prepare for what’s going to be a massive challenge against an in-form Lions team,” he said.
“With the short runway leading up to such a big Test match, we know we must adapt fast and improve quickly, from the performance we had against Fiji recently.
“We’re very much aware of the occasion and conscious of earning the support from the public through the effort they see on the field.”
Players to watch
The big, big selection call from Schmidt comes in the number 10 jumper as Tom Lynagh is handed the playmaking reins against the British and Irish Lions, which will be his first Test start for the Wallabies. The son of Wallabies legend Michael, Tom gets the opportunity to etch out a lasting legacy of his own, but has a mighty challenge ahead of him in order to do so. Frankly, this Wallabies team is not of the same ilk as that of his father, but the Queensland youngster certainly has the raw talent and skillset to be remembered as a great Wallaby. The 22-year-old’s task is made no easier as he goes up against the fantastic Finn Russell, but if there were ever to be a game to sensationally break onto the scene, this would be the one.
The loss of Valetini is a major one for the Wallabies, but the presence of Fraser McReight in the loose trio will give Australian fans some comfort. It would not be hyperbolic to suggest that the Reds star is one of the finest openside flankers in the game right now. He’s all-action, all the time and has the full skillset to cause all kinds of trouble for the Lions.
Schmidt may not be spoilt for choice across his squad but on the wing he certainly is with Max Jorgensen getting the nod for the starting role on the right-hand side of the pitch. Another son of former Wallaby and league legend Peter, Max at his best is box-office and if given an inch, he will take a mile.
Tom Curry‘s selection has proven to be rather controversial, which means that all eyes will be heavily scrutinising his performance against the Wallabies. While the Englishman hasn’t had a standout tour, he has earned enough credit to nudge ahead of the likes of Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier. Much like Owen Farrell, Curry comfortably fills the cliche of a ‘Test match animal’ and don’t be shocked if he proves so again on Saturday with an abrasive performance married with excellent ball skills.
Further into the pack and it’s been a sterling tour for all three of the Lions’ starting front-rowers, Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong. Genge has been particularly brilliant, decimating opposition scrums and blasting holes into the defence, while Sheehan has only got more accurate and impactful the more minutes he has racked up on the park. As for Furlong, he has proved just how valuable experience is and has been solid as a rock up front in the scrums and equally so around the paddock.
But the threat that the Wallabies will be most aware of is that of Finn Russell, who will look to weave his playmaking magic and dictate proceedings with his excellent tactical boot. The Scotsman has been the standout fly-half this tour, with the Lions playing their best rugby with him on the park.
Main head-to-head
There is no shortage of mouth-watering head-to-heads throughout the run-on teams, with the number eight battle between Wilson and Conan narrowly beaten to the main tag by the thrilling battle between Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Huw Jones.
Rugby Australia made a mighty gamble on Suaalii when they splashed the cash and lured him away from rugby league, and while that bet was highly criticised, so far it has paid off. Despite not playing a professional game of rugby union before debuting for the Wallabies, Suaalii proved his worth during the November tour, showing incredible athleticism and skills. Australia were in dire need of a superstar, and while he came with a hefty price tag, he does possess the skillset to wreak havoc and inspire an unlikely victory.
But his rugby union learnings will be put to the ultimate test against the world-class Jones in every facet of the game. While the Scotsman’s brilliance in attack overshadows his defensive prowess, he is as sharp as it gets when needing to read and react to threatening attacks. His pace, paired with his eye for a gap, will prove to be incredibly testing for the Wallabies’ defence too.
While the battle lines will be drawn up front at the rucks and set-pieces, the two outside centres are bound to play a pivotal role in making the most of the opportunities that arise, but also in spoiling the opposition’s chances.
Prediction
As mentioned above, the Lions come into the Test match as overwhelming favourites, and while many will be predicting a massive winning margin in their favour, one has to remember that was very much the case with the Argentina game too.
While a lot of time has passed since then and the Lions have become a more well-oiled machine, dismissing the threat that the Wallabies pose, even without their star number 10, four and six, would be foolish at best if not plainly idiotic. The emotional drive of proving a point and doing so at a venue where they are traditionally strong against a team they only get an opportunity to face every 12 years cannot be understated either.
Still, the quality of the Lions looks to be too much of a task for the hosts to overcome, with the tourists notching up a 1-0 series lead with a hard-fought eight-point victory over a valiant Wallabies’ effort.
Previous results
2013: Lions won 41-16 in Sydney, New South Wales
2013: Australia won 16-15 in Melbourne, Victoria
2013: Australia won 21-23 in Brisbane, Queensland
2001: Australia won 29-23 in Sydney, New South Wales
2001: Australia won 35-14 in Melbourne, Victoria
2001: Lions won 29-13 at The Gabba
The teams
Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Andrew Kellaway
British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Bundee Aki
Date: Saturday, July 19
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
