Lions claim scrappy win over Waratahs to remain unbeaten Down Under

The British & Irish Lions continued their unbeaten run on Australian soil this summer as they saw off a spirited NSW Waratahs side despite an unconvincing performance in Sydney.

Andy Farrell’s men were not at their best in what was a scrappy encounter at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening, but ran in three tries to seal a 10-21 victory over the Super Rugby side. A Huw Jones brace put the Lions ahead in the first half, but the hosts hit back with tries from Darby Lancaster and Ethan Dobbins either side of the break.

Alex Mitchell then grabbed a third to restore some breathing room for his team, as the tourists saw out the win in what proved to be a scoreless final half an hour.

Farrell will be frustrated with what was a disjointed showing from his side, who failed to get a grip on their handling errors over the course of the 80 minutes and left more than a few tries out on the field.

However, there were still some big positives for the Lions boss to take, including his team’s defensive line speed and a powerful scrum that took the Waratahs pack to the cleaners on almost every occasion.

The victory follows impressive wins over Western Force and Queensland Reds, with the opening Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane now just two weeks away.

Waratahs: Creighton; Kellaway; Foketi, Walton; Lancaster; Bowen, Wilson; Lambert, Dobbins, Tupou; Lee-Warner, Amatosero; Leota, Gamble, Sinclair (c)

Replacements: Vailanu, Barrett, Botha, Philip, Adamson, Grant, Edmed, O'Donnell

British & Irish Lions: Keenan, Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Kinghorn, Smith, Mitchell; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Bealham, Beirne (c), Ryan, Pollock, Van der Flier, Earl

Replacements: Sheehan, Genge, Furlong, McCarthy, Cummings. Morgan, White, M Smith