British and Irish Lions Player Ratings vs First Nations & Pasifika

The British and Irish Lions survived a serious examination against First Nations and Pasifika to continue their winning run on Australian soil.

On a nervy night at Marvel Stadium, Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham scored early tries to put the Lions into what looked like a commanding 14-0 lead, but things started to go awry from there.

Graham went off injured not long after he scored and the Scotland wing, parachuted in for this game, was emotional as he left the field.

Pasifika then thundered their way into contention when wing Triston Reilly and flanker Seru Uru went over for converted scores to level it at 14-14 at the break.

The Lions experienced significant problems in dealing with the physicality of their hosts, but Osborne's second try put them back in front.

Just after the hour mark, Duhan van der Merwe scored in the corner - his fifth try of the tour - from captain Owen Farrell's lovely delayed pass, but the underdogs roared back again.

With 10 minutes left, Pasifika scored when Rob Leota piled over after another bombardment. The conversion was missed, much to the Lions relief, and the gap was five.

That is how it ended on a bruising and uncomfortable night for the tourists, who won the first Test comfortably last weekend.

Here’s how we rated the Lions:

1. Pierre Schoeman  6/10
Struggled in the scrums and went down with a injury late in the first half but played on. Carried frequently in traffic for the Lions.

2. Jamie George 7/10
Accurate line-out throws as ever, it was good to see the former Lions mid-week captain back in red. Sent some nice offloads in contact, yet threw an unforced forward pass that left him frustrated at 48 minutes.

3. Finlay Bealham 5/10
Struggled in the scrums and on attack with the ball.

4. James Ryan 7/10
Solid on the attacking lineouts. Yellowed for a professional foul on 25 minutes. Some decent work before being subbed off on 54 minutes.

5. Scott Cummings 7/10
Penalised near the First Nations line on six minutes and got pick-pocketed on occasion at the lineout – although he proved the Lions’ most reliable option in that phase of play.

6. Jac Morgan 7/10
Big shift on defence. Also slowed down their ball and won a penalty at the breakdown

7. Josh van der Flier  7/10
Some metre-eating carrying moments early doors, when it looked like the Lions were set to run away with it. Had a 51st-minute try chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up and coughed the ball up on the line a few minutes later.

8. Henry Pollock 7/10
Proved more annoying than anything else; just ask big Sere Uru, who took him to task for some scrum-half tugging action. Some solid lineout work might have been the highlight here, but the all-action version was nowhere to be seen.

9. Ben White 8/10
Sharp service from the Toulon half-back, who combined well with Smith.

10. Fin Smith 8/10
Best of a mixed bunch, making a handful of line breaks in the first half, albeit against a porous defence.

11. Duhan van der Merwe 6/10
One or two loose-handling moments, although he drew defenders when called on to truck it up. Stayed in the fight and was rewarded for his efforts with a 63rd-minute try in the corner. A player low on confidence, he often looked a beat off here.

12. Owen Farrell 7/10
His 20th game as a Lion and his first as skipper, Farrell didn’t miss a beat getting stuck in. A deft chip saw Osborne pick up the visitors’ first try, and he looked to create for those around him.

13. Jamie Osborne 7/10
The recent addition from Ireland’s summer tour was the first man over the try-line for the Lions. Osbourne was fastest to Owen Farrell’s chip over the defence, grounding the ball in-goal after seven minutes. Couldn’t gather the 39th-minute kick, with his touch handing the ball back to FN&P for a line-out. Started strong in the second half to bag his brace with a try out wide.

14. Darcy Graham 7/10
Unlucky to step slightly into touch as the Lions broke free and Duhan van der Merwe’s try was ruled out in the early goings. Took a dangerous hit from Riley, yet rode the contact to stay on and then scored a first-half try out wide. Suffered an ankle injury and was withdrawn after 16 minutes.

15. Blair Kinghorn 8/10
Back from injury and vying for a Test spot, the Scot had little in the way of defensive work in the first half, but had a few decent upfield gallops. Threw a careless pass that was duly intercepted by Reilly for the home side’s first try. Made up for it with a bobby-dazzler of a pass to put Osborne in. Not his finest effort in the air, as he spilled a 31st-minute box kick

REPLACEMENTS 7/10
Ben Earl brought a directness otherwise missing from a Lions side intent on trying to be fancy, while Garry Ringrose was called upon to play over 65 minutes due to Graham’s early night and ran some really nice lines. Tom Clarkson improved the scrum, while Gregor Brown didn’t look out of his depth. The rest weren’t on long enough to rate or were unused.