Lions start with promise but intensity drops off

In 2013, the final moments of the British and Irish Lions' first Test win against Australia had the entire Suncorp Stadium gripped.

Replacement Kurtley Beale slipped, when attempting to convert a match-winning penalty, and the Lions escaped to lead the series 1-0.

Drama. Excitement. Edge-of-your-seat stuff. It is what makes the Lions so special.

Fast forward 12 years and Andy Farrell's side also delivered at Suncorp Stadium with a 27-19 victory - the Lions' ninth straight win in Brisbane.

The result was the same but the feeling was different.

The Lions were so dominant in the first 50 minutes that the outcome was never in doubt.

Farrell's side raced out of the blocks to lead 17-5 at half-time after tries by Sione Tuipulotu and Tom Curry. A 12-point lead did not do justice to their performance.

Finn Russell at his mercurial best was dominating his head to head with rookie Australia fly-half Tom Lynagh and, in partnership with scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, was running the show.

Flankers Tom Curry and Tadgh Beirne, both of whom responded to questions over whether their form warranted a starting spot, were bossing the physical battle.

Prop Ellis Genge and hooker Dan Sheehan were battering Australia's defensive line.

"The Lions looked battle-hardened, ready and a lot of the clunky stuff in the warm-ups had gone," former Lion Tom Shanklin told the BBC. "They looked sharp in attack, they knew what they were doing and Australia ran out of options.

"Finn Russell and Gibson-Park were quality. The way they pull the strings, the time they have on the ball, their decision-making makes everyone's jobs so much easier."

Andy Nicol, a Lions tourist in Australia in 2001, heaped praise on Curry and Beirne.

"Tom Curry was off the scale," he told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly. "He smashed players in contact and his metres after contact was amazing as well.

"Beirne was man of the match and played the full game, Curry played 57 minutes and I would happily have given it to him. He was outstanding, so was Maro Itoje."

When Dan Sheehan added a third try early in the second half, the possibility of the Lions surpassing their record score against Australia (31-0 in 1966) looked on the cards. This much-anticipated series opener was almost too one-sided.

"As a former Lion, I wanted the Lions to win but I want the series to be competitive," said Nicol. "At that point [24-5 up] there was a chance that it wasn't going to be."

But as the Lions brought on their replacements, their performance dropped. They lost momentum and cohesion, giving Australia the chance to play themselves into some form.

Wallaby replacements Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott crossed for late tries to nearly bring the hosts back within touching distance.

Despite Joe Schmidt's side showing heart to come back into the game, it was too late to ignite the crowd in Brisbane. The Lions' lead was never seriously threatened.

Nicol noticed some Australian fans not watching the game as their attention wandered with the Lions seemingly cruising to victory.

"Ten to 15 minutes into the second half, a lot of the corporate boxes were full of Aussie fans standing talking to each other and not watching the game," he told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"They had switched off and almost chucked the game, thinking it wasn't going to happen. That would not have been good for the series.

"The atmosphere was great in the first half.

"But the second half had nothing and there was no atmosphere in the stadium at all, even the Wallabies try... they weren't really celebrating. It was relief around me."

Watch Ashton & Shanklin analysis on iPlayer

Former Ireland head coach Schmidt has come up with numerous masterplans over the years to defeat the world's best. However, his side failed to properly assert themselves until the final quarter against the Lions.

Former England wing Chris Ashton said Schmidt had made a mistake in not releasing his players to face the Lions in their warm-up games.

"If you have not faced them, even for 10, 15 minutes, how are you meant to expect the level or have some understanding what a Lions Test is about in the first 20 minutes?" he told BBC Sport.

"You're not. And after 20 minutes, the game was almost over."

Former Scotland captain John Barclay even found himself hoping Australia would score before half-time.

"I felt that if Australia had got close, the Lions would have gone up a gear," he told Rugby Union Weekly. "Australia did well off the bench but the Lions had so much in the tank.

"I expected a lot more from Australia. Joe Schmidt always brings a lot of detail to how his players can play the game but it looked like all the detail was missing.

"I think they will be much better next week, they have to be, but the Lions have so many more levels they can go up.

"The difference in class between the nines and 10s is night and day."

His fellow Scot Nicol also feels the Lions can take their game to another level.

"If the Lions play for a full 80 minutes next week, I think there is a 20-to-30 point gap between these two sides," he added.

Time will tell if these two dance partners are suited to produce a Lions series for the ages.

Melbourne Cricket Ground is expected to have more than 90,000 people in attendance for the second Test next Saturday.

It is a venue worthy of an epic.