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Owen Farrell suggested he and his British and Irish Lions teammates should have stayed calmer when the First Nations & Pasifika XV (FNP) raised their intensity in the Lions’ final midweek match of the 2025 tour.
The Lions held on for a 24-19 victory in Melbourne on Tuesday, but it was a bitty, stop-start performance.
FNP flanker Charlie Gamble was man of the match after a performance where he was an utter pest at the breakdown, just as he was for New South Wales Waratahs earlier in the tour.
BREAKDOWN PEST
That couple with Lions errors, and a James Ryan yellow card, meant this was one of the toughest matches the tourists have faced.
“They came out and fired into us today,” Farrell told Sky Sports. “We got a great start to the game, but we didn't manage to get a foothold in the in the last 60 minutes of the game. Thankfully, we got the job done in the end.
“It felt a bit frantic at times. If we could have been a bit calmer at times, I felt like we could have settled into what we do and do that a bit better. We didn't do that.
“We spoke after halftime and regrouped a little bit. We managed to be a bit more direct at the start of that second half and get a bit more territory to get back into the game again.”
Jamie Osbourne scored twice, once either side of halftime. Darcy Graham scored the second, and Duhan van der Merwe added the Lions’ fourth try to settle nerves.
FIGHTING TILL THE END
However, Rob Leota scored a late try that meant the Lions were fighting to hold on to their advantage over the last five minutes.
“In that second half, particularly, we went direct again, and people started working it out. You see some of the chasers in the kick chases in the second half compared to some in the first half,” Farrell said.
“We were miles better. That's probably the little things that got us the win in the end. I enjoyed being out there. It’s a good tour to be involved with and it's been pretty good so far. There's a lot more to come, and two big, massive games to come.”
There was heartbreak for Graham though. Moments after he scored his try, the Scot took a knock to his ankle and despite the best efforts of the Lions medical staff left the field looking distraught.
“He was so upset,” Andy Farrell told Sky Sports. “It shows how much it means to him, to be coming hobbling off, but he's got a Lions cap. He's played for the British and Irish lions. He scored a try at that. So, he’ll remember that forever.”