British & Irish Lions Player Ratings: Hansen's Mixed Performance in Victory Over Western Force

Following the British and Irish Lions’ emphatic 54-7 victory over the Western Force, here’s how we rated Andy Farrell’s charges in Perth.

British and Irish Lions player ratings

15 Elliot Daly: A smart and effective outing from Daly at full-back as he followed Finn Russell well to score his first and did the same with Marcus Smith for his second. He gained good metres from the back with ball in hand and kicked well too. A surprise inclusion in the touring squad but he was outstanding today. 8

14 Mack Hansen: On his return to Australia, the winger really struggled in the first half and was rather lucky not to be sin-binned for a high tackle on Ben Donaldson in the build-up to Nic White’s try. Dylan Pietsch also caused him all kinds of issues. After conceding a silly penalty early in the second half, things turned for Hansen as he sent James Lowe charging through a gap leading to Williams’ second try before assisting Garry Ringrose not too long after. Grabbed a try right at the end in what was a real curate’s egg shift. 6

13 Garry Ringrose: The Irishman crossed the whitewash shortly before he was called to the sidelines which was just reward for a strong outing where he spent most of the first half melting Western Force attackers. He made good inroads with ball in hand too. He has been unfortunate to debut for the Lions before today but did make the most of his chance. 7

12 Sione Tuipulotu: Nothing box-office from the inside centre but still influential as he combined well with Ringrose and Russell to carve open the Force defence. Quality distribution and brutal with ball in hand when required. 7

11 James Lowe: Produced real highlight plays in between a few mishaps on defence and his boom boot that was too powerful at time. Still, the good outweighs the bad as he played a role in two stunning tries and racked up over 80 metres. 7

10 Finn Russell: One miss from the tee from his six attempts, which was a rare error in a stunning performance that was kick-started by a brilliant cross-field kick to Dan Sheehan for the opening try. Russell was firm defensively with the Force flooding his channel and the magician weaved his magic, catching the Force unawares with a quick tap leading to Daly’s try. While he pulled out a few tricks from his box, it was still a strong game in terms of game management. He looked the nailed-on starting 10 when the squad was named and that hasn’t changed yet. 8

9 Tomos Williams: A cracking shift from the Welshman who grabbed a brace with classic scrum-half support lines. He combined particularly well with Lowe for the second and while those two scores will make the highlight reels, he was excellent in all other facets of the game. He kicked sharply getting good purchase from his clearances and provided wonderful service to Russell. Hobbled off which will be a concern going forward. 8

The forwards

8 Henry Pollock: Rather unfortunate to visit the sin bin after a brilliant first-half performance. He combined marvellously with Josh van der Flier to assist Williams’ try. His chip, chase and regather was a real high of his game while he kept the Force defence honest with his running lines and aggressive carries. He was busy defensively too. The bolter has really laid down a marker for the Test squad in his first two games. An outrageous performance. 9

7 Josh van der Flier: An all-action performance from the Irishman whose excellent offload sent Pollock tearing through the defence and resulted in the team’s second try. He led the charge defensively topping the tackle count and pitch in with a try assist for Joe McCarthy after Pollock’s stunning kick. Simply outstanding. 8

6 Tadhg Beirne: Was on the wrong side of Ben O’Keeffe’s whistle twice but that comes with the territory of playing on the edge in the manner he does. Overall, his contributions were far more positive than negative as he twice set up McCarthy to claim a steal. After making a crucial error last week in the defeat to Argentina, Beirne hit back in style with a strong 49-minute performance. 7

5 Joe McCarthy: Picked for his physicality on both sides of the ball and he delivered. He wonderfully nicked the ball out of the Force’s maul early in the match and grabbed another turnover soon after. He was rewarded with a try in the second half and was really busy in all facets. Named as the official man of the match. 8

4 Scott Cummings: Conceded a penalty and didn’t enforce himself in the manner he would have liked. The Lions’ lineout continued to be a bit shaky. Still, it wasn’t a bad outing for the lock who was quickest to dive on the ball, leading to Williams’ second try and threw himself into 12 tackles. 6

3 Tadhg Furlong: Not nearly as dominant in the scrums as he was a week ago against Australia. Still, the veteran tighthead did manage to get through a decent amount of defence work during his shift and showed off his softer skills too in attack. 5

2 Dan Sheehan (c): The stand-in captain grabbed a try just 96 seconds into his British & Irish Lions debut and continued to threaten in the wider channels. He did improve the lineout somewhat compared to last week but there is still much to be desired in that facet of the game, as with the scrum. Muscled up defensively but not his most influential game. 6

1 Pierre Schoeman: A similar outing to that of Furlong as he too struggled in the scrums but was busy around the park. 5

Replacements: Some strong individual performances and standout moments but there were plenty of dropped balls. Farrell will want more from his bench on the whole despite nice sparks from the likes of Huw Jones, Smith and Ollie Chessum. While Ronan Kelleher made good ground in attack, his throws weren’t great again today. 6

According to the source: Planet Rugby.