Lions too strong for Reds
The British and Irish Lions held off an eager Reds team to secure a tough 22-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The victory kept the Lions'unbeaten run on their tour going, but they were forced to work much harder than in their first two matches against a willing Reds outfit in wet conditions in Brisbane.
The Reds outscored the visitors by two tries to one, but the flawless boot of Owen Farrell ensured that the Lions were always ahead.
After a tense opening period in which both sides had opportunities that they could not convert the Lions drew first blood through an Owen Farrell penalty.
However, a scorching try from Luke Morahan, who collected the ball in his own half and chipped ahead before collecting just short of the line, gave the Reds a 7-3 advantage.
Farrell narrowed the gap to 7-6 with another penalty and almost finished off a good backline movement which featured George North steaming down the touchline, but lost the ball short of the line.
However, Youngs stole the ball at the back of the resulting scrum and dived over for a try that gave his side a 13-7 lead.
North was involved again when he made a break from his own 22 and stepped on the gas before releasing his captain Sam Warburton on the outside, but he was hauled down and held up over the line by some desperate Reds defenders.
The Lions took some consolation from a late penalty which gave them a 16-7 half-time advantage.
They continued to put the Reds under pressure at the start of the second half and another Farrell penalty edged them further ahead.
But the Reds were back in it when their attacking intent finally paid off and Davies found himself in some space before putting Nick Frisby over for the try which put them within striking distance of the Lions at 19-12 with Mike Harris hitting the upright with his conversion attempt.
The Reds continued to plug away and took the ball deep into the Lions' 22 but they were denied by some great defensive work from the visitors.
A late penalty from Farrell made the game safe for the Lions, who held off a late Reds attack to secure a tough ten-point win in the wet conditions.
Man of the match: Owen Farrell was very solid, but the most impressive player was George North who looked a real threat every time he got the ball.
The scorers:
For the Reds:
Tries: Morahan, Frisby
Con: Cooper
For the British and Irish Lions:
Try: Youngs
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 4
Teams:
Reds: 15 Ben Lucas, 14 Rod Davies, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Luke Morahan, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Ed O'Donoghue, 4 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Sam Denny, 18 Jono Owen, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Jono Lance, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Dom Shipperley.
British and Irish Lions: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Dan Cole, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Paul O'Connell, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jonathan Sexton, 23 George North.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) , Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman(New Zealand)
