11 DAYS OUT from the first of the three Test series against Australia, the British and Irish Lions had ended all hope of a contest in just 12 Newcastle minutes.
By that stage, the Combined Country selection that included a total of 10 amateurs in their match-day squad had already looked back to see Alex Cuthbert, Conor Murray and Stuart Hogg cross over.
By half-time it was 38-0. Whatever ire was directed towards Western Force for fielding weakened opposition when the Lions first touched down on green and gold soil, it was 10 times better preparation and entertainment than embarrassing a hastily put together squad from rival regions.
Before meeting the Reds on Saturday, Warren Gatland’s squad were in bad need of a serious challenge. Ewen McKenzie’s men brought that in spades, but the Kiwi coach must be left feeling his chances of beating the Wallabies would have been better served with an in-house training session or even a club side with their own ethos, style and pride.
Of course there are positives to a landslide 64-0 win. Stuart Hogg – bar one error that might have led to an embarrassing try – underlined his talent in any position in the back-line and convinced off the kicking tee too. The fluidity of passing and knowledge of one another’s running lines is ever-improving and the possible Test combination of Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll renewed their relationship.
“It was good to be back with the big fella,” O’Driscoll told SkySports post-match. ”We had a good partnership in South Africa and he’s good to play off, a big ball carrier. Similar to Manu Tuilagi, there’s a nice subtlety to his game. I think we read each other well, but there’s still room for improvement.”
For the time they played in tandem, the centres were able to play at around 70% of their capacity today, picking clever lines and using that subtlety to quickly distribute on to the desperate-to-impress back three.
Impress they did, this was a game tailor-made for superior physical specimens like Cuthbert and George North, with Sean Maitland at fullback and adding brains to the brawn.
Ever since Gatland admitted the this Saturday’s clash with the NSW Waratahs would comprise most of the test XV, minds had drifted past this game on onto Sydney. So, we were left in the unusual situation where Lions were hoping to be withdrawn early to give themselves time to recover in time for Saturday.
On that front, it’s good news for Jamie Heaslip who loped off before the hour mark and Jamie Roberts who swapped with Jonathan Davies. North tagged in Leigh Halfpenny at half-time, but his early withdrawal was a precautionary move owing to a tight hamstring.
The Waratahs game won’t reveal the full Test XV, but they will provide a very accurate barometer of who will be tasked with winning the first Lions series since 1997 on May 22.
“One of the most pleasing things is that we kept them to zero,” O’Driscoll summarised, “[worked] to the last second, pleased with that aspect today. 10 tries is a good outing against any opposition.
“The team is going to grow with games and we’re going to be able to try new things. Hopefully there’s a little bit more to come, the more opportunity we have to gel and the more we can enjoy each other’s company and express that out on the pitch.”
If room to express themselves was what the Lions needed, then they will have had their fill of that today and can go back to work in the second half of the week.
