Africa-Press – South-Africa. British & Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell said Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne had fully justified their selection after playing key roles as the tourists dominated Australia physically early in their first Test victory on Saturday.
Farrell said he had noted the media commentary around the form of the two flankers when he included them in his team at the expense of Wales captain Jac Morgan and Irish loose forward Josh van der Flier.
Curry scored one try and provided a pass for another, while Beirne was hard on the ball at the breakdown throughout the match at Lang Park, where the Lions earned a comfortable 27-19 victory.
“Immense, absolutely immense,” Farrell told reporters.
“Big game players, who were probably challenged by a good few. And I think it told the story. I think Tom Curry put in some really nice shots defensively.
“Tadhg got the turnover very early doors that set the tone really, and I don’t think it stopped there. He carried on for the rest of the game.
“(Number eight) Jack Conan’s carrying was very much on the front foot, wasn’t it? So those three guys, I’m sure they’d be delighted with how they responded to selection.
“They are men of their word and they delivered.”
Farrell was also impressed with how effective the more direct running from the Lions was as they scored three tries in the first 41 minutes.
“You could see the difference in our game,” he said. “As I’ve said all along, the hardest part about any team coming together is gelling attack because it takes a lot of cohesion for that to happen.
“So we’re trying to find out about ourselves in that regard.”
Farrell was disappointed that the Lions let Australia back into the game in the last quarter when the Wallabies scored two tries.
“I thought we let them back into the game in regard to a lack of discipline in the second half, which gave them a bit of a sniff to get back in the game,” he said.
“Physically, I suppose when you give a couple of penalties away, or you’re getting warnings, or there’s a loose offload or a loose carry, that suppresses you a little bit, and we started losing a few collisions. “(But) I actually believe that’s a fantastic place for us to be, because there’s so much more in us.”
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