The Lions might have beaten the Brumbies to clean sweep Australia’s four Super Rugby sides, but Joe Schmidt won’t exactly have seen anything to scare him.
While there was no repeat of the boilover from 12 years ago, the Lions scratched their way to another underwhelming 36-24 victory in front of 23,116 fans in Canberra on Wednesday night.
Despite the Brumbies missing eight Wallabies regulars, including their entire front-row, star loose-forward, fly-half, key centre and fullback, the Lions only managed a five tries to four win as passes continued to go to ground, players fluffed their lines and their defence proved nothing remotely what you would expect from an Andy Farrell coached side.
Nor could Farrell – a man previously known for not making excuses – blame the surface, with the pitch at GIO Stadium perfect for running rugby on a crisp evening.
Adding to the eyebrow raising performance, Lions captain Maro Itoje extraordinarily opted for a shot at goals when the tourists led 26-17 to show the Brumbies the ultimate sign of respect. It came after the Lions’ maul had once again been denied.
Marcus Smith scored for the British & Irish Lions during their 36-24 win over the Brumbies at GIO Stadium on July 09, 2025 in Canberra. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
The Lions dominated possession (57 per cent) and territory (61 per cent), but made 15 turnovers to stifle their attacking raids. The Lions also conceded 11 penalties, with Luke Reimer causing havoc at the breakdown after a typically strong final quarter after coming off the bench.
Jamison Gibson-Park was awarded player of the match, but he was the best of a mediocre bunch.
Finn Russell looked comfortable and pulled the strings nicely, but he was let down by his pack, who didn’t look anything like world beaters.
Exciting loose-forward Henry Pollock did make an impression off the bench, while the Lions’ lineout, led by Itoje, was strong.
Making matters worse, a week after losing Elliot Daly, Farrell will be sweating on the fitness of fellow fullback Blair Kinghorn, who limped away from a breakdown with a knee-injury. Eventually, the Scottish back was replaced.
Replacement Marcus Smith showed promise with ball-in-hand, but it’s under the high ball that the English back struggled – and that is proving to be a problematic position for Farrell to fill.
Lions fullback Blair Kinghorn departed early in Canberra. Photo: Getty Images
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will take the result as a moral victory.
The Brumbies’ desperation in defence was a feature of their play, as they held the Lions up on several occasions, including in the final play of the match to deny Ollie Chessum a second try.
Their execution inside the attacking 22 was also outstanding, as the Brumbies regularly came away with points from most entries inside the opposition A-zone.
Corey Toole had a strong evening on both sides of the ball, scoring a try and standing up defensively to give Joe Schmidt, who was sitting inside the stands alongside assistant Laurie Fisher, something to think about.
