The data that shows why run-and-gun Lions are now a different beast

In decades gone by, the stereotypical script for a British and Irish Lions tour of Australia would feature formidable forwards from the north coming down to meet attack-minded players from the south. A battle of styles ensued.

That same battle will still be a thing again over the next few weeks, but based on Andy Farrell’s selections and evidence from the Lions’ opening games, the roles may be flipped.

In Brisbane on Wednesday night, for starters, signs point to Queensland being the side who’ll turn to their pack and set-pieces, and the Lions, under the stewardship of Scottish whiz Finn Russell, being the team who’ll aim to run-and-gun.

“The game’s changing up there. If you look at the scorelines or the points that are being scored or conceded, particularly in the Premiership or the Top 14, the URC, the game is changing,” Queensland assistant coach Jon Fisher, an Englishman, said.

Finn Russell juggling three balls at training.Credit: Getty Images

“I think there’s a generation of players now and coaches that want to be very forward-thinking or progressive in the way they attack or the way they use the ball.”

Fisher was a former Premiership journeyman and England sevens player who came from London Irish in 2023 to be on Les Kiss’ coaching staff at the Reds. When Fisher was playing between 2007 and 2017, the Premiership largely still lived up to a dour old reputation.

But in recent seasons, the Premiership - and to a lesser extent the United Rugby Championship (where the Irish, Scots and Welsh play) have all but matched Super Rugby for its famed attacking output.

This year saw Super Rugby Pacific post a record 8.2 tries a game, but the Premiership was just behind with 7.9 tries a game, also a competition record.

It is almost double the per-game try average of the Premiership season 12 years ago, which ended just before the last Lions tour to Australia in 2013.

The number of tries scored in Super Rugby has also doubled since 2013, but a wide per-game try gap that opened up between the hemispheres pre-COVID has since been narrowed. Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said last month he’d been stunned to see the level of attacking skill in the Premiership while coaching Leicester.

“The days of kick it and chase it and hope for good outcomes at the set-piece, from a northern hemisphere perspective, are very much in the past,” Fisher said.

“If you look at the quality of the [Lions] players, particularly the halfbacks and the 9 and 10, the width, the speed of pass, the vision, the appreciation of space, it’s an exciting prospect for our [Queensland] boys.”

The Lions were expansive in their loss to Argentina in Dublin, but didn’t go away from it in Perth, as many thought they might. The Lions scored eight tries against the Force and did so mostly with superb transition attack, wide-running forwards and a whopping 23 offloads.

Again, counter to stereotypes, the most lethal of the Lions in Perth was Scottish No.10 Finn Russell, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous attacking players.

Russell has been paired with skilful Irish halfback Jamison Gibson-Park in the team to meet Queensland, and they’re likely to be the Test halves. The attacking-minded duo of Mack Hansen and James Lowe will operate out wide.

The Reds’ last clash with the Lions in 2013 is remembered for Luke Morahan’s incredible solo try but this tour the Queenslanders source of strength will be their forward pack, which contains a bevy of big men who have points to prove to Joe Schmidt, like Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Josh Canham, Seru Uru and Joe Brial, and Ryan Smith and Angus Blyth on the bench. With Matt Faessler, Aidan Ross and Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen also in the engine room, but some inexperienced halves, the Reds would much prefer close-quarter combat than touch footy.

That could see the Reds being the ones to take pace out of the game, use contestable kicks, and play to the set-piece, particularly given the Force also troubled them at scrum time in Perth. If they’re still in the game at the hour-mark, the pressure will then flip all onto the Lions.

“We are a team that showed over the course of the last 18 months in particular that our set-piece is strong, particularly with our scrum, our ball,” Fisher said.

All nine matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.

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