British and Irish Lions 28 Japan 10
Warren Gatland has confirmed that he and his assistant coaches are considering their options as a replacement for their injured captain Alun Wyn Jones, ideally with a view to having them link up with the squad in time for their charter flight from Edinburgh to Johannesburg on Sunday.
“He dislocated his shoulder, it went back in pretty easily but the prognosis on him being fit is very, very, very best case scenario in time for the first Test,” said Gatland of Jones’s injury. “We’ll get it scanned, but we just had a chat and it’s looking like we’re going to have to replace him.”
Confirming that Jones’s tour is over before it effectively started, Gatland added: “It’s very disappointing, but he’s been around rugby long enough. He’ll be gutted, it’s very disappointing for him.
“But it’s one of those things, you’ve got to put that behind you and move on as quickly as you possibly can.”
“We’re discussing who to call up at the moment with the coaches, but I got called away for a press conference.”
Although Jones is a huge loss, Gatland said they’ll take it on the chin.
“No one’s in shock, if you’re in shock it reflects back into the squad,” he said.
“We’ve got to be fluid, react and make decisions. If you go into a shock scenario and look like you’re panicking it will reflect badly.
Justin Tipuric also suffered a shoulder ‘stinger’.
“We’re just going to check to make sure with a scan to make sure there’s no nerve damage. If there is any nerve damage then that could rule him out but at the moment we’re pretty confident that he’s going to be okay. It’s just a stinger in the shoulder but we’ll have to wait and see.”
“We just have to make the right decisions. We’ve got some experience, some good young blood. We’ve got some experience from the last couple of tours, a nice balance and a fantastic group of men.
“We’ve a lot of people who can fill in those roles.”
Near the end Jack Conan also went off, forcing the Lions to see out the game with 14 men as the bench had been emptied, although Jamie Heaslip, a Conan fan on Channel 4, was not too concerned.
Conan, remaining at No 8 even after a slightly sluggish looking Taulupe Faletau joined the fray in place of Tipuric in the first half, had a big game, winning turnovers and making a host of carries.
Bundee Aki, especially, and Robbie Henshaw caught the eye in midfield, the former supplementing some trademark carrying with a couple of superb turnovers on the deck and with a choke tackle.
The problem for Aki is that Dan Biggar looked the part of a Test outhalf, which could mean Owen Farrell’s introduction for Aki at 12 for the last quarter might be a portent of things to come.
Conor Murray was done like a kipper by the quick feet of the remarkable Kotaro Matsushima on one occasion (as was Iain Henderson late on), but there was no shame in that. Murray also recovered quickly and generally looked sharp and on top of his game, as did Tadhg Furlong, while Henderson called the lineouts and generally played well. Tadhg Beirne marked his Lions debut with, among other things, an impressive finish from 25 metres.
It will also have pleased Gatland and Gregor Townsend no end that Liam Williams scarcely looked like this was his first game in a dozen weeks.
Inevitably, the collective performance wasn’t without flaws. Some of the timing between the passes and the runs were awry, while they also under-resourced some rucks, and so other chances were left behind.
In what almost seemed a throwback to the Les Kiss system in Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam, a feature of the Lions’ tactics for this game was their targeting of the ball with choke tackles, Henshaw and Conan helping to earn early turnovers.
But the Lions also narrowed up in defence on occasions, especially on Duhan van der Merwe’s flank, where the Brave Blossoms – rusty but, as ever, very entertaining to watch – often found space and easy metres.
After a particularly dominant and clinical first half, the Lions’ discipline and control of both possession and territory wilted in the second half.
Setting the tone, Murray and Biggar were quick to go to the air, whereas Japan kept it in hand and played to both edges, only for Michael Leitch to knock on and then not release.
But after the Lions went to the corner, Murray sniped only for Lappies Labuschagné to win a relieving penalty in the jackal. Far worse followed though when the Lions captain went down and stayed down with what seemed an injury to his left or wrist, which had been caught in an attempted jackal when cleared out by James Moore.
At least the excellence of the Lions lineout was maintained in Jones’s absence, Tipuric peeling around the tail to feed Aki, charging onto the ball with an out-in line and then bouncing to his feet to put the Lions on the front foot. Classic Bundee.
Four phases later, after a good carry by Henshaw, Murray fed Josh Adams, and superb footwork by the Welsh winger completed a fine in and out finish.
After a Henshaw intercept stopped an inventive passage of Japanese offloading, Biggar put plenty of width on the ball to hit both wingers in turn before Van der Merwe skipped over an unguarded blindside untouched in the same corner.
Biggar converted from the right touchline again.
But, as with the captain, his Ospreys and Wales team-mate Tipuric also departed with what seemed a rib injury when he was trapped in the tackle and cleared out by Leitch.
Again that pain was at least partially eased when the Lions went to the corner, Henderson called the ball on himself and Henshaw steamed onto Murray’s pass to break Timothy Lafaele’s tackle for their third try.
Beirne and Courtney Lawes conceded ruck penalties to give Japan two attacking platforms deep inside the 22, but the half ended with big shots by Furlong, on Amanaki Mafi, and Murray, before Aki, with help from Ken Owens, held up Ryoto Nakamura in a choke tackle.
On the resumption, Aki’s strength over the ball earned another turnover penalty as the Lions’ twice went to the corner. But a knock-on by Williams from Biggar’s deft chip denied Conan a try, as did a knock-on by Lawes before grounding on the line after a big, leg-pumping rumble by Furlong.
But the fourth try wasn’t long in coming. After Williams’s counter, Biggar pulled the strings masterfully in midfield through the phases. Conan twice carried well on the outside before Beirne steamed onto Biggar’s skip pass from outside the 22 to score with a flourish.
With that, Beirne was unleashed, a gallop up the touchline and offload being followed by a cultured left-footed punt downfield.
The Lions did lose their shape a little and were again outflanked a mite too easily on the edges in the lead up to Japan kicking a penalty to the corner.
Kazuki Himeno, a week after playing for the Hurricanes in the Trans Tasman final, peeled around the tail of a dummy maul to power through the tackles of Faletau and Jamie George to score.
Yu Tamura converted and added a penalty as Japan came seeking another try which the 14-man Lions denied them in a weary endgame.
Made 19-point favourites by the bookies, the Lions had won by 18.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 14 mins: Adams try, Biggar con 7-0; 18: Van der Merwe try, Biggar con 14-0; 23: Henshaw try, Biggar con 21-0; (half-time 21-0); 49: Beirne try, Biggar con 28-0; 59: Himeno try, Tamura con 28-7; 69: Tamura pen 28-10.
BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS: Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales); Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland); Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales), Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland); Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland), Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland); Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland), Alun Wyn Jones - Captain (Ospreys, Wales); Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, Wales), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland).
Replacements: Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) for A W Jones (8 mins), Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) for Tipuric (21 mins), Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) for Sutherland for Sutherland, Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) for Furlong (both 51 mins), Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) for Aki, Jamie George (Saracens, England) for Owens (both 55 mins), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) for Murray (63 mins), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) for Williams (65 mins).
JAPAN: Ryohei Yamanaka; Kotaro Matsushima, Timothy Lafaele, Ryoto Nakamura, Siosaia Fifita; Yu Tamura, Kaito Shigeno; Keita Inagaki, Atsushi Sakate, Jiwon Koo; Wimpie van der Walt, James Moore; Michael Leitch (capt), Lappies Labuschagné, Amanaki Mafi.
Replacements: Asaeli Ai Valu for Koo, Naoto Saito for Shigeno Kazuki Himeno for Leitch, Tevita Tatafu for Mafi (all 50 mins), Craig Millar for Inagaki (54 mins), Jack Cornelson for van der Walt (61 mins). Not used: Kosuke Horikoshi, Rikiya Matsuda.
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère.
