For a moment, Reds fans dared to dream. After 25 minutes Queensland led the British and Irish by two tries to one and a lively Suncorp Stadium was up and about.
But then reality bit. And bit hard.
Fast-forward to the 80th minute and the Lions had scored the next 45 points, finishing up as 52-12 winners in an ominous performance for the Wallabies squad watching on in Newcastle.
Just how many of the same Lions team will be back on deck in Brisbane on July 19 for the first Test remains to be seen, but the quality of display from almost every Lion who has played so far on tour suggests the potency is squad-wide.
Jamison Gibson-Park of the British & Irish Lions looks to pass the ball Credit: AP
Captain Maro Itoje was particularly immense, however, and he led from the front in a physically dominant Lions pack. The visitors were left with some injury concern, however, with fullback Elliot Daly leaving the field with a potential broken arm, suffered while tackling Jock Campbell.
Lions coach Andy Farrell said Daly was taken to hospital for an x-ray but his third Lions tour appears now in grave jeopardy.
Queensland mounted a spirited display in the opening half-hour, and troubled the Lions with a mix of hard, straight running and deceptive second-wave shapes creating space in the wider channels.
And two tries to Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen and Josh Flook gave hope to the home fans that a memorable night was brewing.
But a gap in class soon emerged, and it was team wearing red - not bearing the name- that really flexed their muscles.
Andrew Porter of the British & Irish Lions makes a run at the Reds’ defence Credit: AP
The Reds struggled to get out of their half, and via a bevy of unforced errors, skill lapses and silly decisions, allowed the Lions to build up pressure and, inevitably, points.
With Finn Russell calling the shots nicely, and spreading the balls to both wings, the Lions scored twice before half-time to lead 21-12 at the break, and then they kept their foot on the pedal after oranges.
The Lions scored another five tries in the second half, and the Reds were simply outgunned. As they chased the game, mountains of errors compounded the problems and allowed the Lions to cruise home.
“We put on the table that what we wanted too early, When we got that traction and a bit of momentum and we stretched them and bent them around the edges a few times,” Reds coach Les Kiss said.
“We just couldn’t keep it going and a couple of momentum swings, a couple of easy exits or easy access to our half. And once they’re in your on your line and then they’re a difficult team to hold out.”
Huw Jones of the British & Irish Lions makes a break in BrisbaneCredit: Getty Images
Ruthlessly, with nothing really to be gained but more injuries, the Lions even kicked to the corner after the final siren sounded to try rack up a second consecutive half-century of points. And four minutes later they got it.
Post-game, Itoje denied it was a psychological ploy, saying it was more the chance to keep playing build combinations, given their schedule doesn’t allow for much training.
The silver lining for Australian rugby is no Wallabies players were injured, with Matt Faessler and Hunter Paisami both coming through unscathed. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham had some strong moments but didn’t knock the door down in the Dylan Pietsch mould, and Seru Uru had a forgettable game.
The Lions led 21-12 at halftime after an opening half where the Reds came out firing.
The initially muted crowd came alive when the Reds settled quicker than the Lions, and scored in the eighth minute after some powerful ball carrying.
Hunter Paisami breached the line first, and then a big Joe Brial carry ploughed through defenders and saw the Reds on the Lions’ line. Prop Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen charged over from in-close.
The Lions were sloppy early, with unforced handling errors, but they still managed to keep the Reds pinned in their own half for the next ten minutes. Referee James Doleman was no friend either in the Reds’ attempt to exit, with a typically baffling approach to what consistutes legal play at the breakdown.
The Lions found an extra man on the right edge in the 19th minute, and Tommy Freeman scored untouched.
But the Reds didn’t go away, and when they got an opportunity to spend time in the Lions’ quarter, they took it. Kalani Thomas grubbered a ball in behind and Josh Flook charged onto it like a train to score and re-take the lead.
But it was all Lions for the rest of the half. With poor exits still a problem, the Reds came under pressure in their own red zone again soon after the re-start, and Irish prop Andrew Porter crashed over in the 28th minute.
With Russell pulling the strings at no.10, the Lions kept testing the Reds’ wide defences.
They conceded a try when Uru used his hands in the scrum - on their feed - and gave up a penalty. High-pace phase play then saw Duhan van de Merwe get free on the left wing, and score in the quarter.
The second half saw the Lions ramp up their defence, and the Reds simply couldn’t make any headway. For the second match on tour, the Lions didn’t concede a point after halftime. But they had no trouble rattling up their side of the scoreboard.
“I actually thought the Reds came out of the box very well, but I thought once we settled in after that, once we got a bit of continuity at times I thought we played some excellent rugby,” Farrell said.
“But if we were more clinical then obviously it would have been better for us going in at half time, certainly as far as the score line is concerned.
“I thought the Reds were pretty good, I thought they were aggressive, direct, challenging, all of that, it’s not just down to us, it’s down to them as well, but that’s one of the learnings obviously that we need to be aware of.”
Asked what tips he could give the Wallabies coaching staff, Kiss said he felt the Reds had had some success with short kicks in behind the Lions’ line, to counter their strong defence.
But the importance of field position and exiting your half is crucial, he added, with the power of the Lions inevitably going to take a toll when defending your own line.
“You’ve got to have the discipline not to let them get easily into your half, because once they get in your half, they’re a difficult team to manage, Kiss said.
“They have some good strike players, they use their speed and size well of those starters, but just managing that field positions.”
