The key winners and losers as the British and Irish Lions got into their groove against Australia with first Test victory, while Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies now pin their hopes on injury returnees…

Andy Farrell’s Lions produced a dominant display on Saturday to win 27-19 and move 1-0 ahead in their three-Test series.

Below, we look at some of the main talking points to emerge from Brisbane…

Beirne, Curry, Russell the big Lions winners

As Andy Farrell himself referenced in his post-match press conference in Brisbane, much of the Lions coverage ahead of this first Test had centred on the head coach’s back-row selection.

Many wanted, and predicted, Jac Morgan and Ollie Chessum to start in the flanker positions, while others had Josh van der Flier or Henry Pollock in line for the openside role. Very few had Tom Curry inked in to face the Wallabies.

Tadhg Beirne, too, had faced scrutiny for some of his performances on tour, failing to reach the heights he has proven so capable of with Ireland despite captaining the Lions in two matches this summer.

But Farrell knows what he likes, and he likes what he knows. He turned to two experienced, physical, breakdown experts, both of whom toured as Lions previously in 2021.

The fact they combined to help get points on the board in the very first seconds of the contest was almost comical, Curry thundering into James Slipper in the first of many crunching hits, and Beirne soon jackaling over a breakdown to force a kickable penalty for 3-0.

Beirne was named player of the match, but the gong could so easily have gone to Curry, and Farrell has been left a coach very much vindicated.

Of the three best players on the pitch, Curry and Beirne were arguably No 1 and No 2 – though fly-half Finn Russell might have a word or two to say about that.

The mercurial Scot was at his languid, spellbinding best, producing offloads, attacking kicking and passing sequences from the very top drawer. It doesn’t get much better than what Russell displayed in the first half.

McCarthy, Kelleher, Keenan in for a nervous week

The Lions came out comfortable winners and, in many respects, have little to be too concerned about. Yet to think there will not be squad changes from Test one to Test two would be naïve.

One of those in the squad who may be in for an uncomfortable week – and not because of his performance, though he was at far from his rampaging best – will be lock Joe McCarthy.

Farrell revealed afterwards the bulky 24-year-old was forced off early in the second half due to a plantar fascia foot issue he has been managing. The Lions head coach confirmed they would have to see “if we got him off in time” with regards to his availability going forward.

One player it would be a surprise to see in the Test squad next Saturday in Melbourne would be replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher, after his introduction saw the lineout falter badly once again.

Of Kelleher’s five throws, three were lost – including the final-play chance to add a fourth try from within the Wallabies 22. If Luke Cowan-Dickie returns to fitness he is in with a big chance of coming into the squad, while Tuesday’s fixture against the First Nations & Pasifika XV may just open a door for one Jamie George.

Elsewhere, full-back Hugo Keenan will so disappointed with his role in Australia’s opening try after spilling the ball into the hands of the Wallabies scorer Max Jorgensen.

Keenan was violently ill earlier on tour, so much so he shockingly lost almost a stone in weight, but his high-ball work has not been to his usual standards and one suspects Blair Kinghorn will be breathing down his neck this week in training, provided the Scot has overcome his knee issue.

Schmidt pins hopes on Valetini, Skelton returns

Listening to Joe Schmidt’s post-match reflections in the bowels of Suncorp Stadium was almost like being teleported back to the Kiwi’s days in charge of Ireland in 2019. It was uncanny.

Schmidt is a perfectionist and deals in immense detail with regards to the attacking framework and plans he outlines to his players.

As such, in the aftermath of a loss he is very much focused on what he perceives to be the near-misses in attack.

“If Maro Itoje doesn’t get his hand in the way of one of our attacks, we had a lot of space out wide for Jorgensen,” or “if Joseph Suaalii’s try is given and the margin is 12 points heading into the final quarter…”

There were plenty of other similar sentiments expressed by Schmidt, who even went so far as to point to the margin of difference in terms of the score-line – eight points – being a decent reward for his side’s battling. What he failed to acknowledge was that it was flattery of the highest order for Australia to finish with such a small deficit.

Watching Ireland and the success Schmidt brought, supporters tended to be sucked in by such rhetoric and would think along similar lines – I should know, as I was one – but it can be an exhausting way to digest a defeat.

All the more so when, by any objective standard, the Lions were far and away the better side on Saturday.

Schmidt confirmed afterwards that back-row Rob Valetini and lock Will Skelton are both fit and available for Melbourne, and Australia’s second-Test hopes are now firmly pinned on the returns of those two in the hope it will somewhat equal the stakes from a power perspective.

As Sky Sports’ Ronan O’Gara pointed out at full-time, however, the Lions could have been ahead by 40 points in that opening Test, such was their domination and ascendancy.

Schmidt has a lot of work to do.

What’s next: British and Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and seven tour matches to be shown exclusively live.

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