Murray Kinsella reports from Toll Stadium, Whangarei
THE LIONS WON on the opening night of their tour of New Zealand, beating the Provincial Barbarians 13-9, although their performance was unconvincing.
Read our match report here, but below we focus on the Irish players involved in the win.
Johnny Sexton
Owen Farrell’s form in recent times with Saracens, as well as in England’s 12 shirt, had put huge pressure on Sexton coming into this game and the Leinster man struggled badly against the Barbarians.
Missing a shot at goal after 10 minutes meant the Ireland out-half got off to a bad start and he never really recovered. There was uncharacteristically poor passing from Sexton throughout, while his kicking from hand was off-key as well.
The 31-year-old received treatment as Greig Laidlaw took over place-kicking duties in the second half and he was replaced by Farrell soon after.
Warren Gatland confirmed post-match that Sexton had not picked up an injury, and the out-half will have now to wait for another opportunity, with Farrell and Dan Biggar set to get a start each in the next two games against the Blues and the Crusaders.
With the pressure on, Sexton failed to deliver and his Test chances have taken a signifiant blow.
Rory Best
The Ulster hooker delivered a solid performance for the Lions, with his work at the breakdown particularly impressive.
Best won a handful of turnovers on the deck, showing his class in that department, but he did also cough the ball up on two occasions to stymie the Lions’ attacking efforts.
The Ireland captain was one of the busiest defenders for the Lions as the Barbarians caused them problems with ball in hand, and his robust ability in contact was useful.
There were no real highlight moments from Best – his throwing was good after one early miss at the lineout – but providing those moments is not really his role. The experienced hooker was solid and now it’s up to Jamie George and Ken Owens to show if they can bring more to the party.
Iain Henderson
The 25-year-old lock has had a long time to prepare for this Lions tour, but he will be disappointed with how his first appearance in the red shirt went.
The Ulster lock allowed Barbarians hooker Sam Anderson-Heather to go through him for his first-half try too easily, having already missed a tackle early in the game. That try came during a penalty advantage for a Henderson infringement, in what was a bad passage for him.
Henderson did his best to get onto the ball for the Lions but he was unable to make an impact with his seven carries. That area of the Ireland lock’s game appears to have slipped backwards this season and he will be eager to show more the next time he pulls on a Lions shirt.
George Kruis made a strong impact off the bench, however, and Maro Itoje looks like an almost certain Test starter, meaning Henderson needed to make a lasting impression here. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Tadhg Furlong
The Wexford man got 30 minutes off the bench in Whangarei after starting tighthead Kyle Sinckler shone in the number three shirt.
The England prop did make one rash decision to quick-tap a penalty, getting turned over, but his carrying, passing and aggressive attitude were all impressive.
Furlong didn’t get many opportunities on the ball, carrying just twice, but he was as competent defensively as ever. There is certainly more to come from the Leinster prop on this tour, but 30 minutes off the bench to blow off any cobwebs will have been helpful.
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