Jeremy Guscott: Our power defence will have worried Wallabies

There’s a reason why this was billed as the fourth Test and the Reds duly obliged in asking questions of Warren Gatland‘s men from the off. It was the kind of match the Lions desperately needed after their opening two walk-overs.
It seemed the Lions were not prepared for the opening onslaught, with Quade Cooper at his best orchestrating his side at a million miles per hour.
The Reds fly-half dug deep into his bag of tricks and his range of passing in the first half was impressive. Although he tries to play too much rugby in his own half at times, his array of passing skills undid the Lions early on creating the break for Ben Tapuai with an audacious miss-pass that almost set-up the first try of the match if not for a great cover tackle from Stuart Hogg. And he was at it again with another superb pass for winger Rod Davies.
It’s just a shame the rain started to come down in the second half which limited his input thereafter.
However, for all the glitz and glamour of Cooper’s play, the Lions more than proved their scramble defence will take some beating.
In fact, it was remarkable at times. When it comes to tackling the stats don’t lie, and so far they have been successful with 91 per cent against the Barbarians, 95 per cent against the Force and 91 per cent against this well-oiled Reds side.
Owen Farrell stood up in this department yet again and also showed last week’s rush of blood in the Schalk Brits incident will hopefully be a one-off.
His dad, Andy, has clearly done a superb job galvanising the Lions defensive line. It’s far more difficult to keep the defence tight in an open game like this, and except for Luke Morahan’s individual brilliance, the Lions demonstrated a power in the tackle that will have worried the Wallabies.
What Farrell must do now though is work on his game-management because there were times when he didn’t have total control. He looked more assured when the rain came – as it became a more structured game like with Saracens.
But Jonny Sexton is my starting 10, no doubt. He is a complete footballer and brings a calmness to the midfield. Farrell would do well to learn from him that sometimes it’s not a bad thing just to pass the ball along the line when he’s unsure of what to do, rather than kick possession away.
Too often he put the ball down the throat of the Reds back three – shown by the Morahan try.
Tries will be at a premium when it comes to the Tests and the goal-kickers will need to be on their mark. Farrell continued where Leigh Halfpenny left off, with his six from six successes including a few tough ones from just inside touch. But he should have been stronger and finished off his try chance before Morahan knocked the ball out of his grasp.
Inside him I thought Ben Youngs put his hand up as real competition for Mike Phillips. Phillips was the star last week against the Baa-baas, but don’t rule out Youngs from that first Test team. The thing that really impressed me with the young Tigers No.9 was his box-kicking.
He is the best kicking scrum-half the Lions have and his accuracy against the Reds was crucial in relieving pressure and gaining territory. He gets great hang-time which enables him go for more distance. And, when the Lions have to, they showed they are adept at the kick-chase, territory gameplan.
Youngs demonstrated great maturity for a 23-year-old and although he may be disadvantaged by not playing the Welsh way, he is good enough to adapt. He rarely makes mistakes and his speed around the fringes keeps the defence honest.
Out wide it’s a real shame Tommy Bowe’s tour has come to a premature end. He looked electric in the first half, with his mazy run almost setting up a try. I think he was pretty much nailed-on for the Test team after his performance in midweek and it’s interesting now to see who Gatland calls up.
Due to the injuries and reshuffling of the midfield, it was difficult to get any fluidity to the back play. The weather also hindered their ability to create continuity. Jonathan Davies was fairly quiet and it’s a pity Manu Tuilagi had to leave the field in the first half. But it proved that the Lions are adaptable.
Up front the scrum was rock solid and the lineout was great. Tom Youngs proved his throwing is good enough for this level with 100 per cent accuracy with six from six. It helped having Geoff Parling and Richie Gray to aim at, both were immense and made life difficult for the Reds on their throw-ins. This will be a big warning to the Wallabies.
One worry for me is the fitness of captain Sam Warburton. It’s one thing to be fit, but match fitness is an entirely different thing. He didn’t suffer any ill-effects from his knee injury, but I think it would have been a massive shock to the system playing at that pace. And I think he would have scored from his 25-metre dash had he been totally 100 per cent.
He needs more game time so it will be intriguing to see how the teams shape up this week. With Justin Tipuric and Sean O’Brien fighting hard, I think Warburton needs to play a big part in the next two games to justify his spot.
The back row in general is incredibly competitive. Toby Faletau pushed his case further for inclusion. He is a steely performer with phenomenal skills. But don’t count out Jamie Heaslip just yet.
Dan Lydiate got through a mountain of work again but I have him behind Tom Croft at the moment, and there’s a chance Gatland may opt to switch O’Brien to blindside for his carrying ability.
Mako Vunipola is now in pole for the loosehead shirt after another outstanding display – but both Ryan Grant and Alex Corbisiero will be hungry to prove they should have been in the initial squad. I expect them both to hit the ground running this week.
While selection up front is tricky, the back line is taking shape nicely. Although it will be a close call between Phillips and Youngs, outside them I expect it to be: Sexton, North, Roberts, O’Driscoll, Cuthbert and Halfpenny. Cuthbert was exposed on a couple of occasions against the lightning-quick Morahan – the Welsh wing could have stopped his try at source if he had been chasing harder and taken man and ball – but Bowe’s injury should see him get the right wing slot.
It’s a shame Tuilagi did not last longer to showcase his skills, because he will need something special to oust O’Driscoll who looked imperious on Wednesday.
That lineup against the Force looked more of a Test team to me, whereas this was all about winning. With the exception of the Morahan try, and the injury to Bowe, Warren Gatland will be very happy with this performance. It was a comfortable win against a good side, built upon a rock-solid display up front.