The British & Irish Lions have continued their unbeaten run in Australia after a 21-10 win over a gritty NSW Waratahs outfit in Sydney.
The Waratahs pushed the Lions further than any of the Australian sides had previously, with their gutsy defence causing the visitors all sorts of headaches, led by Charlie Gamble and Darby Lancaster.
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But the Lions' class was telling as Scotland centre Huw Jones bagged a double, while scrum-half Alex Mitchell was a clear player-of-the-match as they came away with the win despite being below their best.
Coming into the game as heavy underdogs, the NSW Waratahs weren’t interested in what the odds said and threw it at the Lions early.
Teddy Wilson and Lancaster nearly combined for the opener after a loose pass fell into Wilson’s possession.
It took the Scottish and Glasgow combination of Sione Tuipulotu and Jones to break the game open for the first try after the former Rebel threw a trademark no-look ball for the centre to slice through.
The Lions kept the pressure on through their scrum but the work of Charlie Gamble kept the Waratahs in the game.
Gamble looked to have got the Waratahs on the board with a powerful run from a rolling maul, only for obstruction to bring it back.
It led to a 14-point swing when the visitors marched down the field as Jones crashed over for his second.
This failed to dent the Waratahs’ fight, eventually crashing over through winger Darby Lancaster.
Lancaster bulldozed over the covering defence after great hands from Taniela Tupou and Rob Leota put the winger into space, leaving the score at 14-5 at the break.
The Waratahs picked up where they left off as hooker Ethan Dobbins touched down from the rolling maul to reduce the margin to four.
Tom Lambert’s desperate defence kept out Josh van der Flier close to the line; however, an incorrect free kick close to their line gave the Lions another chance, and Mitchell stepped up.
The scrumhalf dummied and stepped past multiple defenders to dive over to extend the lead.
A 50-22 from the Saints' half gave the Lions another chance, but Ellis Genge dropped the ball over the line.
The Waratahs’ resolve ensured they were in the fight; however, they couldn’t breach the defensive line to get the margin back inside a converted try.
The Lions were denied another try late for obstruction, but the game was well and truly sorted as Andy Farrell’s side came away with the win.
British & Irish Lions 21 (Jones 2, Mitchell tries; F.Smith 3 cons) def NSW Waratahs 10 (Gamble, Dobbins tries)
