British and Irish Lions produced a commanding performance in Brisbane, running in eight tries to overwhelm the Queensland Reds 52-12 and secure back-to-back wins on their Australian tour.
Despite a sluggish start, the Lions found their rhythm after the opening quarter and dominated proceedings from then on.
It was the hosts who struck first, with Hunter Paisami making a powerful break through midfield to set up Jeffery Toomaga-Allen for the opening try. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips added the conversion as the Suncorp crowd roared the Reds into a 7-0 lead.
The Lions responded through Cadan Murley Freeman, who finished well after a neat pass from Elliot Daly. Finn Russell slotted the conversion to level the scores. But the Reds weren’t done yet—Kalani Thomas rolled a clever grubber down the left flank, and Josh Flook beat Duhan van der Merwe to the bouncing ball to restore the Reds’ lead at 12-7.
From there, the tourists took full control. Andrew Porter crashed over from close range after a quick tap penalty from Ronan Kelleher, and Russell’s conversion edged the Lions ahead. Moments later, Van der Merwe finished off a flowing move involving Ollie Chessum and Jack Conan, with Russell nailing a superb conversion from out wide to make it 21-12 at the break.
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The Lions wasted no time adding to their tally in the second half. Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park drew defenders before slipping a slick inside pass to captain Maro Itoje, who powered over for the fourth try. Russell added the extras to extend the lead to 28-12.
Coach Andy Farrell made sweeping changes soon after, and the fresh legs brought even more energy.
Jac Morgan crossed for the fifth try off a pass from Alex Mitchell, underlining his influence in a standout performance. Freeman then bagged his second of the night, finishing a team move that saw Morgan heavily involved once again.
The Reds were out of answers by this stage. Huw Jones pounced on a loose chip ahead by Tim Ryan, sprinting more than half the length of the pitch for the Lions’ seventh. In the dying minutes, Garry Ringrose dotted down to seal the eighth and final try.
Queensland Reds: (12) 12
Tries: Toomaga-Allen, Flook Con: McLaughlin-Phillips
British and Irish Lions (21) 52
Tries: Freeman 2, Porter, Van der Merwe, Itoje, Morgan, Jones, Ringrose Cons: Russell 4, F Smith 2
Line-ups
Queensland Reds: Campbell (capt); Anderson, Flook, Paisami, Ryan; McLaughlin-Phillips, Thomas; Ross, Faessler, Toomaga-Allen, Canham, Salakaia-Loto, Uru, Bryant, Brial.
Replacements: Nasser, Blake, Fa’agase, Smith, Blyth, Vest, Werchon, Henry.
British and Irish Lions: Daly; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Van der Merwe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Stuart, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Curry, Morgan, Conan.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Genge, Bealham, Ryan, Earl, Mitchell, F Smith, Ringrose.
