Perfect start to their tour as B&I Lions run in eight tries

MATCH REPORT: The British and Irish Lions kicked off their tour in Australia with a convincing win over the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.

The Lions scored nine tries on their last meeting with the Western Force back in 2013; this time, they managed to cross eight times in their 54-7 victory.

If hosting the British and Irish Lions for the first time in twelve years wasn’t enough of a driver, there was also the emotional factor of two players retiring after the game.

Force veteran Sam Carter will say farewell to Australian Rugby, after close to 15 years of service, while prop Ollie Hoskins came back to strengthen the Force scrum before he retires.

It took the Lions only one minute to cross the whitewash with a strong statement in the opening game of their tour in Australia.

Finn Russell stabbed a cross-kick that found Dan Sheehan lurking in the trams for the inside pass to James Lowe, who offloaded back to his captain to get over for the try on debut.

But the Force was not deterred. They smashed against the red wall for a few phases before Nic White spotted a gap around the fringes of the breakdown to sneak in over the line.

It was clear from the outset that the Force was not fazed by the men in red.

The Lions were conceding too many penalties in the opening exchanges.

They gave away five in the whole game against Argentina, but by the ten-minute mark, they had already conceded four. This kept the Force’s tails up.

Then the wizz kid, Henry Pollock, broke away, ran down the middle, and managed to pop the ball to Tomos Williams, who dotted down behind the poles.

It was a lovely try with an Irishman making the burst, an Englishman taking it on, and a Welshman finishing it off.

What a way to mark your Lions debut ⭐️🦁

Watch every match live on @SkySports.#Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/ozew6Bw4L7

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025

The aerial contest gave the Lions the upper hand to pin the Force over their line.

The Lions got a penalty and looked like they were about to kick for touch as they caught the Force napping with a sneaky tap and go by Russell, who got tackled short of the line but managed to offload to Elliot Daly, who crashed over for the try.

With a minute to spare in the first half, the visitors had a comfortable 21-7 lead.

Just before halftime, Pollock, who had a busy first half, got his marching orders, being penalised for trying to play the ball at the breakdown.

As the second half started, the question was if the Force would utilise their numerical advantage with Pollock in the sin bin, but it was the visitors who struck first through an absolute humdinger of a try.

The Lions turned defence into attack and launched a counter from deep inside their own territory.

They went coast to coast with some slick handling from both the wingers, which saw Williams deal the final blow in the corner for his second try of the match.

The visitors followed it up with a beautiful draw and pass from a number of their players to put Garry Ringrose into space and over the try-line, stretching their lead to 33-7.

It was time for every Lion to try and get their name on the scorers list as Joe McCarthy got over after a deft little overhead pass from Josh van der Flier.

As the stadium clock hit an hour, the British and Irish Lions were leading 40-7.

The Force were blown away in the second half, but they remained committed to the contest.

It became all too easy for the Lions to suck the defense in midfield and swing the ball wide.

Marcus Smith’s deft touch put Daly into space, who scored his second try, converted by Smith, who had replaced Russell at flyhalf.

In the closing stages, the Lions finally cracked the half century as Alex Mitchell scored try number eight.

Man of the Match: Joe McCarthy, one of the try scorers, but also a livewire who was all over the field.

Scorers:

For Western Province:
Tries: White
Cons: Donaldson

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries: Sheehan, Williams 2, Daly 2, Ringrose, McCarthy, Mitchell
Cons: Russell 5, Smith 2

Yellow card: Henry Pollock (B&I Lions, 39’ – no clear release of the player)

Teams

Western Force: 15 Ben Donaldson, 14 Mac Grealy, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Alex Harford, 9 Nic White (captain), 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 6 Will Harris, 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Tiaan Tauakipulu, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Reed Prinsep, 21 Henry Robertson, 22 Max Burey, 23 Bayley Kuenzle

British and Irish Lions: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Marcus Smith

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Marius v d Westhuizen (South Africa)