Review - Combined Queensland-New South Wales Country XV 0 - 64 British & Irish Lions

The Lions Tour has a rich history.  From classic clashes against Southern Hemisphere superpowers in 1971, 1997, 2001 and 2009, to the brutality of the Battle of Ballymore in 1989 and the '99' call from 1974 in South Africa, to the legendary stories of Willie John McBride trashing his hotel room and Brian O'Driscoll out-boxing Austin Healey.  How challenging that last one is, I'm not sure (not that I have the guts to find out).  Perhaps a slightly less glorious – but no less common – tradition is the good-old-fashioned hiding, with sides made up of accountants, farmers and professional jugglers taking on the best of the British and Irish with world-class amounts of enthusiasm but pub-class amounts of technical skill.  Of course, it was all part of spreading the joy of a Lions tour, a way of getting everyone in the host country involved – and as long as several beers were had by many, there was always good reason for these one-sided fixtures to take place.  Surely such a concept couldn't last in the professional era though?

It turns out it can.  With opinion split right down the middle, these matches between the professional elite and amateur part-timers still form part of one of the most lucrative sporting events on the planet.  For the host team, it is the chance of a lifetime – the pinnacle of their playing career, taking on the best, probably taking a hammering but having plenty of stories to tell afterwards.  For the Lions these days, it may be a way of bringing the game to other, less rugby-fied parts of the country, but they also offer a significant chance of injury with no real testing environment on how their combinations are coming together.  My view – before the game – was probably leaning towards the latter opinion.  Surely the Lions could get more out of playing somebody else – Australia 'A' for example (a cracking game in 2001) – rather than putting an embarrassing scoreline on a team of part-timers which neither helped the Lions in their preparations nor reflected the effort and commitment of a valiant home side.  What could a drubbing achieve?

A drubbing certainly seemed to be on the cards when the game kicked off between Queensland-New South Wales Combined XV and the British and Irish Lions on Tuesday night in Newcastle.  After a couple of gigantic shunts from the tourists' pack – featuring debutant call-up Alex Corbisiero at loosehead – the Lions gained good field position and, after Justin Tipuric had snaffled a loose lineout throw and made an incisive charge, the ball was shipped right into the hands of Alex Cuthbert, who scooted over in the right hand corner to atone for his missed chance against the Reds in his previous outing.  Stuart Hogg, starting his first ever professional game at 10, had taken on the kicking duties and certainly seemed comfortable with them as he slammed over the touchline conversion.

Three minutes later, the second try came along as George North – outstanding in Brisbane 3 days earlier – made inroads down the left flank.  The ball was spread all the way out to the right hand touchline to Cuthbert, who cut inside and offloaded well to scrum half Conor Murray, allowing the Irishman to dive in under the posts.  Hogg converted, and then added a try of his own 2 minutes later, spotting a gap the size of a small country and blasting through to slide in on the left.  The crowd looked unamused by the destruction they were witnessing, but then Hogg alleviated some of those frowns by cannoning his kick back of the post and into kicking coach Neil Jenkins' face.  Jenks didn't seem to notice.

The hosts did briefly threaten when Maitland's kick was charged down – opting for a couple of lineouts and some forward drives close the Lions' line, with Richard Stanford going close – but Justin Tipuric nabbed the ball for the Lions and it was shipped left to Maitland, who cruised down the touchline before delightfully offloading to North, who went over for a deserved score.  Hogg added the extras.  Five minutes later, a member of the pack finally got in on the act, with Richard Hibbard – the man who wouldn't be out of place on an early 80s adult film set (don’t ever let him fix your fridge when your wife's at home) – crashing over following a well-structured lineout drive from 10 metres.

With 15 minutes left in the half, you feared that the Lions may reach the half century before the half-time hooter but, thanks to a combination of rugged Combined Country defence and Jamie Roberts forgetting to hang on to the ball in contact, the hosts largely held out – despite George North going over on the left following more quick hands from the backline.  It left the score at the break as Combined Country 0 – 38 Lions.  Surely it wouldn't be any different after the break?

Well, yes and no.  The tourists continued to dominate the territory and possession but, thanks to substitutes Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny treating the ball like a bar of soap, didn't manage to get over the line.  That was coupled with a marvellous defensive effort from the 2 Combined Country wingers, Alex Gibbon and Tom Cox, who were applying plenty of pressure in the wider channels.  It couldn't last for long though, and eventually Brian O'Driscoll jogged over following good hands from Maitland. Shockingly, Leigh Halfpenny missed his first kick of the tour, but made up for it with a well taken try 5 minutes later, pacing through the gap and scuttling back inside the cover to touch down.  This time, the Welshman made no mistake with his conversion, bringing up the half century for the Lions.

Despite the huge scoreline, the hosts did not crumble.  Forcing turnovers from Conor Murray and Stuart Hogg, the Combined Country XV drew great appreciation from the crowd as they made the Lions work hard for their next score.  It eventually came, of course, through the battering ram that is Sean O'Brien, who ignored an overlap to charge over himself.  The visitors rounded off the scoring in the last minute through Jonathan Davies, following a gorgeous grubber from O'Driscoll, but not before the hosts' substitute winger – the magnificently named Dale Ah Wang – got the crowd on its feet by tapping down Davies' pass, hacking on and diving over for the score.  Only to be pulled back for a knock on.  It seemed overly harsh to go to the video referee and rule it out, but I suppose the laws are the laws.

And so both sides trudged off the field with the score at 0-64 to the tourists.  A crushing defeat? Yes.  But a satisfying win?  Not by the looks on the Lions' faces – there were too many dropped balls, skewed lineouts and general inaccuracies for that.  But to look at the faces of the defeated – the Combined Country players – was to tell a different story, and one which may have changed my mind on this kind of fixture.  There was a genuine pride there, a delight at having taken on some of the best in the world and (particularly in second half) held their own.  And as they happily mingled amongst some of the current greats in the world game, you couldn't help but hope that Lions tours continue to provide these kinds of moments for those not blessed with skills worthy of a professional contract for many years to come.

 

Queensland-New South Wales Combined XV Player Ratings

Nathan Trist – 5 – Dropped a couple of high balls and kicks were occasionally aimless, but tackled well
Alex Gibbon – 7 – A strong defensive display, particularly in the last 20 minutes, saw him save a couple of certain tries
Lewie Catt – 4 – Hopelessly out of position for several tries but, in fairness, charging up was probably the only option to stop this Lions attack
Tareta-Junior Siakisini – 5 – Missed a couple of basic tackles but otherwise carried strongly when given the opportunity
Tom Cox – 6 – A lively and gutsy display that complemented the defensive efforts of his fellow winger very well.  No chance in attack though.
Angus Roberts – 5 – Made a decent effort in defence but impossible to start any attacks on 30% when going backwards
Michael Snowden – 5 – The ball was nearly always scrappy but he dealt with the difficulties reasonably well
Haydn Hirsimaki – 4 – Marmalised in the scrum and unable to make his presence felt elsewhere
Josh Mann-Rae – 6 – Lineout didn't go too badly but spent his entire afternoon trying to reach the breakdown
Tim Metcher – 4 – Caught the eye more than most, but unfortunately that was for his dreadlocks.  Difficult time up front.
Phoenix Battye – 6 – Never stopped going and was a useful lineout option
Blake Enever – 7 – Useful display around the park and was one of the chief reasons the side didn't collapse in the second half
Richard Stanford – 7 – An impressive effort.  Made some notable hits and worked his socks off in the loose.
Jarrad Butler – 5 – I'm not saying Gerard Butler would have played better but an A-lister would have been more noticeable.  The openside was just too quiet, although he didn't do anything wrong.
Tim Davidson (capt) – 6 – It's hard to generate go-forward when your side is constantly on the back foot, but the captain gave a valiant effort.

Subs

Tom Kearney – 6 – Decent showing, keeping the lineout functioning well
Dylan Evans – 6 – Fair play to the lad, the scrum seemed to steady slightly upon his introduction Rikki Abraham – Not enough time to make an impact
Rory Arnold – Not enough time to make an impact
Trent Dyer – 5 – Pretty anonymous but tackled well.
Adam McCormack – Not enough time to make an impact
Shaun McCarthy – 6 – A couple of useful kicks helped relieve pressure for his side
Dale Ah Wang – 6 – Must have thought it was Christmas when he went over for an interception try before being hauled back for a knock on.  Lively showing, though.

 

Lions Player Ratings

Sean Maitland – 7 – Lovely smooth running style was at its most noticeable when setting up George North.  Unspectacular but quick and very solid.
Alex Cuthbert – 7 – A better display from the big winger, scoring 2 and teeing up another.  Still looks a tad cumbersome though.
Brian O'Driscoll – 8 – Some lovely hands and a delightful grubber through were reminders of the great man's class.  Scored a well taken try, too…and managed to avoid injury despite doing the splits.
Jamie Roberts – 5 – A pretty sub-par showing from the big man.  Improved as the game went on but losing the ball 3 times in contact wasn't good enough against this opposition.
George North – 8 – Another fine display, looking constantly dangerous, and this time he got the tries he deserved.
Stuart Hogg – 8 – A great effort from the full-back playing out of position.  Distribution was fine, kicking was decent and showed off his electric pace for a try of his own.
Conor Murray - 6 - Solid enough.  Scored a well taken try and looked good in the first half, but his distribution suffered as the game went on and the weather turned.
Alex Corbisiero – 7 – Was part of a dominant scrum effort and carried pretty well on his debut.
Richard Hibbard – 6 – One poor lineout throw and a miscommunication may be costly to his Test hopes.  Finished off a pack try and got himself about though.
Dan Cole – 7 – Another solid display from the man who looks like he should be an Oceana bouncer.  Dominated the scrum and made a couple of decent carries well.
Richie Gray – 7 – Considering he played a tough game on Saturday, put himself about well and was a physical force in the loose
Ian Evans – 8 – A strong display from the Welshman.  Some lovely hands showed a part of his game that may have surprised some.
Sean O'Brien – 7 – Always a threat with the ball in hand but got a wee bit selfish on occasions.
Justin Tipuric – 9 – It's hard to gauge how well someone played against this type of opposition, but the Ospreys man was once again everywhere in a hugely impressive showing.  Man of the Match.
Jamie Heaslip – 6 – Much quieter from the big Leinsterman and didn't get galloping as he would have liked.

Subs

Rory Best – 5 – Unfortunately it was another average display for the Irishman, with a skewed lineout highlighting concerns on his throwing.

Ryan Grant – 6 – Some good work in the loose but the scrum seemed to lose its obvious edge when Corbisiero and Cole went off.
Matt Stevens – 5 – Not quite as effective as Cole in the tight, but carried reasonably well, despite the odd howler of a dropped catch.
Alun Wyn Jones – 4 – Not particularly impressive.  A fair few drops, and seemed to spend a lot of his time sulking about it
Toby Faletau – 6 – A typically workmanlike effort, putting in a couple of big charges.
Mike Phillips – Not enough time to make an impact
Jonathan Davies – 7 – An improvement on Roberts with some energetic carries and a well taken score
Leigh Halfpenny – 5 – A well taken score but uncharacteristically made some unenforced handling errors.