This should have been a whole lot more comfortable for the Lions. They will take the win, and played brilliantly in establishing their lead, but the way they fell off the pace in the final half-hour was worrying.
They lost their fury, their discipline and their decision-making and accuracy went south. They have much to work on before the second Test in Melbourne, but they will take comfort from the fact that when they were good, they were very good and really should have blown the Wallabies away.
There was a power coming from the Lions in that first 50 that the Wallabies were utterly incapable of handling. Curry typified the ferocity up front, with Russell pulling the strings with ease.
If the Lions were looking to lay down an early marker they did so not once, not twice but three times in the opening minute or so.
Curry buried James Slipper in the tackle, Tadhg Beirne won a breakdown penalty in the next wave and Russell lashed it between the posts. A dream beginning for the tourists. And it got better.
The Lions were so much better than the Wallabies it was almost indecent. Their first try was a peach, starting with the irresistible Russell putting Sheehan away. The home side never recovered. Power and precision did for them in the first instance and Russell’s audaciousness finished them off.
When he flung a floated pass beyond helpless Wallabies it landed in the grateful mitts of Tuipulotu, who went over at the posts. Gorgeous. Incredibly, Tuipulotu became the first Scot in 28 years to score a Lions Test try. The conversion was good and the Lions had a 10-point lead.
They were fluid and dominant in all areas. The wonderful Beirne and Curry were like hunters looking for prey. The Wallabies were in survival mode.
The Lions thought they had scored again midway through the half when Tuipulotu’s midfield partner, Huw Jones, went over, but it was chalked off for not releasing.
That was the only negative for the Lions at that point because they should have been further ahead – and then came the sucker punch from the Wallabies, a box-kick from Jake Gordo,n with Jorgensen beating Hugo Keenan in the air and running away to score.
The respite was brief. More creative stuff from the Lions with Russell cross-kicking to Joe McCarthy, who was not far from scoring. Never mind, the score would come. The Wallabies, mistakes coming in droves, gave away penalty after penalty in their own 22. At the last one, the Lions tapped and Curry drove over. Russell converted and the scoreline now bore some kind of reflection to the flow of the game.
