Player Ratings: British and Irish Lions

OPINION: Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions made it two wins from two on Australian soil with a 52-12 victory against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

Farrell originally made 14 changes to the starting XV from the 54-7 win over the Western Force, with just Finn Russell retaining his place.

#REPORT: A slick British and Irish Lions crushed the Queensland Reds on Wednesday 👇#Lions2025 #QueenslandReds #Australia https://t.co/vaMehWeD9J

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 2, 2025

However, he was forced to make an additional change when Hugo Keenan was withdrawn just before kick-off due to injury. Elliot Daly was drafted into the team in his place.

Jon Newcombe rates the British and Irish Lions:

15. Elliot Daly – 7
England’s ‘Mr Versatile’ got off to a shaky start after his late call-up, finding the grass with a switch-pass instead of Tom Curry’s hands out wide in the Reds’ 22. It was typical of the type of disconnect that has dogged the Lions on tour thus far, but the full-back rallied well, fizzing out a pass off his left hand to Freeman for the Lions’ first try. Generally looked lively as a ball receiver, giving Gibson-Park and Russell plenty of options, but took a worrying blow to the wrist in a late tackle and appeared to be in some discomfort.

14. Tommy Freeman – 7.5
Unusually suspect aerially but always looked a threat carrying the ball, and there was no stopping the Northampton man from 10 metres out at the end of the first quarter. Could have had a second but was inches short after muscling his way through a pile of podies in the shadow of the posts. However, a second try arrived on the hour mark when he muscled his way over from close range.

13. Huw Jones – 6
Quiet game in attack from the Scotland international until he sped home for an intercept try from 55 metres with 15 minutes to go. Jumped out of line and exposed space, which the Reds exploited for their second try, and his passing was anything but on point at times. Blew a big overlap near the end of the first half when he threw a pass in front of Ronan Kelleher.

12. Bundee Aki – 6
Did what he always does in defence and in the carry, making plenty of post-contact metres. But it was a dithering performance when it came to distribution. Also made a bad decision at the back of a maul to plunge for the line when there was a mass of bodies on the floor and was, inevitably, held up, costing the Lions a score.

11. Duhan van der Merwe – 5
The Reds exploited his slowness to turn with some probing kicks and he was nearly made to pay for a casual one-handed gather when under pressure on his own try line. It took 14 minutes before he received his first pass and was largely anonymous as an attacker until the game started to break up. Nice finish for the Lions’ third try atoned for some of his backfield errors, but was overshadowed by his fellow winger Freeman.

10. Finn Russell – 8
Fizzed passes around as he always does and nailed two touchline conversions in the first half. Has only missed one kick at goal in his last five games.Had an ice pack on his wrist when benched on 50 minutes.

9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7
A few signs of rust after his injury lay-off, not least from the Reds’ kick-off just before half-tim,e when he allowed the ball to bounce and Lachie Anderson nearly made him pay. However, he brought the tempo that the Lions needed, picking the right option more often than not, and he can be pleased with his Lions debut.

1. Andrew Porter – 5.5
Guilty of a missed tackle which gave the Reds the platform they needed to score their first try and also conceded a scrum penalty. The Ireland international showed good strength, though, to pile over from close range for a try,

2. Ronan Kelleher – 5.5
Ireland’s hooker was certainly not the only player guilty of costly handling errors but the one that he spilt from Jones’ pass was particularly bad given it looked easier for the Lions to score. Also missed his first lineout throw and never really got going as a ball carrier. Clocked up the tackles though and can’t be faulted for his effort.

3. Will Stuart – 4.5
Failed in his audition for the Lions No.3 jersey despite going into the match in a rich vein of form. Gave away an early scrum penalty, handing the Reds a cheap out and also gave away a ‘coach-killer’ penalty when he illegally stripped the ball on the floor. Compounded that with a tired-looking high shot in the second half, which earned him a third penalty. Hooked after 50 minutes.

4. Maro Itoje (captain) – 9
Leading the Lions for the first time on Australian soil, Itoje proved a real nuisance at lineout time and showed real intent in defence and in the carry. Won every 50:50 and capped his performance with the Lions’ first try. Much more like it.

5. Ollie Chessum – 6
Unflashy but industrious display from the Leicester loose forward. Tackled everything that moved and also showed good hands in the build-up to van der Merwe’s try.

6. Tom Curry – 5
Well below his usual world-class standards. Dropped passes and dropped off a couple of tackles, although he did link up well at times in the wide channels

7. Jac Morgan – 8
Another strong performance from the Lions’ only Welshman. Made an excellent turnover early in the game and came up with two more. His effort couldn’t be faulted in all aspects of the game. Hit a great line for his try in the second half.

8. Jack Conan – 8
Arguably the Lions’ only big, bruising ball-carrying No.8, and he played to type, giving his team some good front-foot ball. Carried hard multiple times but also showed his handling skills in contributing to the Van der Merwe try.

Replacements – 7

Andy Farrell unloaded his entire bench, but it was Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith who had the most noticeable impact. The Northampton duo had strong 30-minute outings, bringing pace and composure to proceedings. James Ryan came on to make his Lions debut with 22 minutes to go.

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