5 Things we learned from B&I Lions v Waratahs

The British & Irish Lions edged the Waratahs 21-10 in Sydney on Saturday.

Here are 5 things we learned from the game. 

1. Waratahs proved to be no walkover

All the stats suggest that the Lions should’ve won by a mile but that was not the case. The Lions made 16 entries into the Waratahs 22, had 61% possession but only managed to score 3 tries.

2. Midfield combo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones worked well.

On attack and defence the centre pairing worked well together. They orchestrated the first try of the game when Tuipulotu assisted Jones, who went on to score a brace.

3. Lions scrum was effective

The Lions scrum was dominant, proving that experience truly counts. The Waratahs conceded 7 Scrum penalties, while the Lions only conceded 1.

4. Finn Smith was not convincing.

With Owen Farrell being called up to the squad, it shaked things up and caused some controversy, but it should also push the players to perform at their best and Finn Smith was not at his best today.

5. Plenty to work on for Andy Farrell

The Lions made a lot of mistakes that they should not be making, they lacked cohesion and didn’t seem to have a clear game plan. It could be attributed to the fact that they made so many changes to the squad that triumphed over the Reds on Wednesday but nonetheless, there’s a lot of room for improvement.