British and Irish Lions dominate early and hang on for a 27-19 win over Australia

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Flyhalf Finn Russell kicked a penalty, landed three conversions and set up the first try as the British and Irish Lions dominated early and then held on for a 27-19 win over Australia in Saturday’s series-opening test.

In their first test match in Australia in 12 years, the Lions took control from the opening kickoff and led 17-5 at halftime following tries to Australia-born center Sione Tuipulotu in the 9th minute and flanker Tom Curry in the 36th.

A blowout was looming when hooker Dan Sheehan scored two minutes into the second half to make it 24-5, but the Lions lost some momentum and the Australians rallied with two late tries to close the gap.

Ireland flanker Tadhg Beirne was voted player of the match in a forward pack that set the platform for the Lions by getting on top in the early collisions.

“Incredible win,” he said. “I thought our defense was very good for the most part. The last quarter there we started leaking a lot of penalties (so) we’re certainly going to have to fix up those areas.”

The Lions go to Melbourne with a chance to clinch victory in the three-test rugby series next Saturday and retain the trophy they won here in 2013.

“It’s huge. It puts the pressure on (Australia) for next week and it keeps us in the tour certainly to the last game, that’s guaranteed,” Lions coach Andy Farrell said. “We started the game unbelievably well (when) we were able to play the type of rugby that we wanted to play.”

In the second half, he said, “we made a few errors and we lost a few collisions on the back of that, which gave them a sniff in the game.”

The Lions were consistently dangerous in attack in the first 50 minutes, led by halves pairing Jamison Gibson-Park and Russell, and played with better structure than the Australians.

Australia’s only points of the first half were against the run of play in the 29th, cutting the margin to 10-5, when winger Max Jorgensen contested Jake Gordon’s high box kick in the air, stripped fullback Hugo Keenan of possession and sprinted 22 meters to score in the right corner.

The Wallabies, playing their second test of the season, warmed into the game. After having a try by Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i disallowed on the hour, scored late tries via replacements backrower Carlo Tizzano and scrumhalf Tate McDermott either side of Marcus Smith’s penalty goal for the Lions.

The Lions are now 6-0 in their Australian tour after wins over Super Rugby franchises Western Force,Queensland Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies and an Australia-New Zealand invitational XV.

The foundations

The Lions scored two tries, had one disallowed and went close to scoring three other tries in a first half that set the tone.

Australia’s Nick Champion de Crespigny bravely took an aerial catch from the kickoff for his first touch in international rugby but things started going badly for the home team two phases later when Sua’ali’i was penalized for not releasing in the tackle.

Russell slotted the goal from 30 meters out to give the Lions a 3-0 and, seven minutes later, he sent Tuipulotu in for a try and converted it for a 10-0 margin.

It looked almost too easy when, after a series of rucks in the attacking quarter, Russell ran left to right and floated a long cut-out pass to Tuipulotu in open space and the former Australia Under-20 player strolled over to score.

The scoreboard briefly registered 15-0 when center Huw Jones crossed in the 19th minute, but the try was disallowed on review when the Television Match Official ruled that the Scottish midfielder didn’t release the ball when he was dragged down in a tackle five yards out before regaining his feet to score.

The Lions went close to scoring a few times before Curry muscled his way over from the back of a ruck following a succession of penalties in the attacking quarter.

Next week

The Wallabies will get a full week to recover and regroup ahead of the second test in Melbourne next Saturday — and expect to have backrower Rob Valetini and lock Will Skelton returning from injuries to add some size and weight.

“A margin of eight points, I think is testament to the character of the players and the way they fought back,” Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said. “There are some positives for us to take away.”

The Lions take on a First Nations and Pasifika lineup on Tuesday night in Melbourne, their last tour game before the second and third tests.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby