So much for the theory that the British & Irish Lions are building smoothly towards the start to the Test series against the Wallabies. Exactly how many members of this Lions team will feature in the first Test starting XV remains to be seen but here was a reminder that Australian opposition are not necessarily going to wave their visitors through when the bigger games come around.
It took a 54th-minute try by the scrum-half, Alex Mitchell, to save his side’s blushes in an encounter that will sit uneasily with the management at this delicate stage of the trip. Two first-half tries from the alert Huw Jones, some strong scrummaging and a typically energetic display from Ben Earl in the back row were among a rather short list of positives with the first match of the best-of-three Test series less than a fortnight away.
