British and Irish Lions player ratings: Englishman ‘lays down a marker’ but victory marred by ‘crushing blow’
British and Irish Lions player Garry Ringrose, Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum
Following the British and Irish Lions’ 36-24 victory over the Brumbies in Canberra, here are our player ratings.
British and Irish Lions player ratings v Brumbies
15 Blair Kinghorn: A gutting setback. Today was his game to nail down the starting Lions full-back role and was forced off after just 25 minutes. He entered the line nicely to combine with Russell, but didn’t really get a chance to impress. A crushing blow if that’s the end of his tour. It did not look good. 5
14 Tommy Freeman: Stock-standard shift from the always-solid at worst Englishman who battled superbly in the aerial game and was strong defensively. Limited with his involvements in attack, but by and large, a pretty error-free performance. 6
13 Garry Ringrose: Played a supporting role in the first half, which included perfect hands in the build-up to Lowe’s try, but burst into life in the second half with an outrageous dummy, link-up with Marcus Smith and speed to latch onto the latter’s grubber. 7
12 Bundee Aki: Very impressive when carrying into the heart of the Brumbies defence, but his link-up play left much to be desired. A few too many passes were unkind, found grass, or simply wayward. Few are better when being so direct, but Aki’s accuracy just wasn’t quite there. Advantage Sione Tuipulotu and Owen Farrell. 5
11 James Lowe: Did fantastically well to blunder a try in the first half, which was frankly embarrassing for a player of his quality. Did get over the line when there was no one in front of him soon after to make amends. He got his hands on the ball plenty and gained over 50 metres, but it was far from a compelling shift, which included two turnovers conceded. 5
10 Finn Russell: What’d you expect from the playmaker who dictated matters well with a lot of his excellence on attack spoiled by others’ handling errors. Was expected to get the better of young fly-half Declan Meredith and duly delivered. His assist for Chessum looked easy but was brilliant. The magician is keeping the other number 10s at bay as things stand as he continues to produce world-class displays with a sprinkling of ambition when it’s on. If we nit-pick, can maybe be a touch more aggressive with his line kicks. 8
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Touches of class lightly sprinkled throughout his performance, but still looks somewhat rusty. He picked up the man of the match award for his high bombs but certainly has room for improvement to hit his usual standards. He controlled the game well but was not the best on the park. 7
The pack
8 Jack Conan: All-action. The back-row is almost immediately balanced with him in it. Assisted a try, strong at the lineout, superb in the carries and defensively. Nailed on number eight for the Tests? Surely. 7
7 Tom Curry: Compounded a loose pass in the second half by conceding a penalty when the Brumbies broke away on the counter for a massive territorial deficit. He conceded another turnover in what was an underwhelming shift that included two missed tackles, too. In a congested loose trio, he did his chances of a Test start no favours in arguably his best position and was removed after 50 minutes. 4
6 Ollie Chessum: Laid down a marker against the Brumbies, producing in a much-improved lineout display while he impressed in every facet of the game. Grabbed a try, charged down a kick and worked relentlessly around the park. The one setback was that his big work-rate was a few turnovers conceded, but they were far less detrimental than his fellow flanker. He was also good on the scraps and did not let his performance slip when he moved into the second-row. 7
Tight five
5 Joe McCarthy: Added real physicality and aggression, proving to be an excellent foil to the brilliant Itoje. A clean, effective shift against an assertive Brumbies’ pack. Made way just before the hour mark. 7
4 Maro Itoje (c): A captain’s knock. Excellent in the lineouts, claimed key turnovers and powerful in the carries and in defence. Just the one penalty against and considering his immense work-rate, that’s good going. Hitting great form as he steams towards the Tests. 8
3 Tadhg Furlong: On the whole, he bettered the Brumbies at scrum time and was accurate defensively. Along with the rest of the starting front-row, he looks nailed-on for the Test series, whether the combination is starting or off the bench. Nothing flashy, did his job and did it well. 6
2 Dan Sheehan: A mesmerising break off the back of a bullish fend was the highlight of the Irish hooker’s game and while that will make the YouTube compilations, it was just the tip of the iceberg of his performance as he led the tackle count for the tourists for much of the match despite departing on the hour mark. The lineouts were accurate as were his passes. Not that there was much doubt about it, but his name is now in the Test team in pen. 8
1 Ellis Genge: Bundled over defenders with his strong ball carries and was part of a dominant scrummaging effort. Had a few softer touches with ball in hand too and made all but one of his tackles. Brutal and effective has been the story of Genge’s tour so far. 7
Replacements: The likes of Josh van der Flier and Henry Pollock were lively and, frankly, superb off the bench, adding real energy and accuracy. Mack Hansen had bright moments against his former employers while Marcus Smith really impressed at times, grabbing a try and assisting another with a deft grubber through for Ringrose. 7
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