Melbourne – The Australian tour of the UK and Ireland lions has required moments of danger so far in 2025 to be involved in a unique and special sporting event that lacks that little edge.
The fact that on Tuesday night, it was great that the teams had gathered within a week and half came to Marvel Stadium.
And then, led by Wallabies veteran Cartley Beal and coached by the winner of the All-Time Great and Lions Series at Two-Ty Kef, First Nations Pacifica XV delivered a shot of energy the tour desperately needed, sprinting through the message of the Wallabies team trying to square the Test series 1-1 on Saturday night.
It wasn’t that the FNP team deployed against the Lions were riskless. 14-0 in 15th, Kef’s team looked like the latest Australian outfit being attacked by the Lions.
However, Winger Triliston Riley’s interception completely changed momentum and 22 minutes later the team was locked at halftime with 14 all. With a little more late ball and calming down at the dying stage, the FNP team may have achieved something really worth noting. Instead, they were able to hold their heads high at 24-19.
“A lot of us were there and we were seeing big hits in how Pacifica chased them, line speed, defence. It was a great blueprint for how to actually try them out and physically dominate them,” Wallaby’s Harry Wilson Skipper said of FNP’s performance on Friday.
“They connected, went out there and performed that they should be very proud of.”
In particular, Lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto’s performance caught his eye, but Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt also praised Darcy Swain, a player he left the Test team to accommodate Josh Canham.
But Schmidt was also armed at Thursday’s press conference with statistics that were probably washed away by the public. At least he thought it softened the way the FNP team rattle the Lions in the second quarter.
“I thought the First Nations Pacifica team did an amazing job, but 31 minutes later they confirmed 13 line breaks,” Schmidt said Thursday. “If we do that in a Test match, the FNP team could be far behind than they were on Tuesday evening.
“So we need to make sure we get the balance right. Some of the aggressive line speeds they bring must bring that, but when you can leak and play behind you like that, it’s very difficult to go back to front of them, so you need to make sure it’s connected.
“So, after 30 minutes, we can’t afford to get 13 line breaks twice and get that stat.”
It is true that the FNP team was exposed early in several clever lion attacks. But that wasn’t surprising either. In the end, they had three training sessions to put it all together. And this wasn’t a second-rate opponent either. Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Jack Morgan and Josh van der Freier are longtime test performers.
Schmidt’s Wallabies team is working hard at the best of the month. There is no excuse when it comes to defensive connectivity. Line speed, guaranteed alignment and fault pressure cannot be ignored for MCG’s Wallabies on Saturday night.
But, as Wilson said, the FNP Blueprint gave Australia the cause of their beliefs, and was helped by the two return of John Ires medalist Rob Barrecini and captain Will Skeleton of the 2023 World Cup. As with Brisbane, there is no way it can be held in the first half of the 79 runmeter.
Soon the Wallabies are a larger, more combative team on either side of the ball. Accepting the pinnacle and intensity of FNP, but smart about it in the process, holds the key to Australia on Saturday night.
Combining the two will allow us to head to Sydney’s decision maker next week.