Rugby news: Lions survive a scare against fearsome First Nations and Pasifika XV side.

After a full 80 minutes of hard-fought rugby, the British and Irish Lions were able to come away with a close win against a spirited First Nations and Pasifika XV side, 19-24.

The men in red were tested, and their unbeaten seven-game streak during this tour was close to being snapped; however, in the final seconds, their defence was able to get a stop, and the game was over.

There were plenty of moments from this game to talk about. Within the first five minutes of play, a fight broke out between the two teams due to a high tackle from First Nations winger Triston Reilly. Reilly would receive a yellow card for this and set the tone for this test match.

Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham scored one try each after this incident, giving the Lions a 14-point lead over the hosts.

This lead won’t last long, however, as Triston Reilly, immediately after coming back on from his yellow card, would intercept the ball and score the first try for the First Nations side. Three minutes later, blindside flanker Seru Uru would score a try of his own.

The score was 14-14 going into halftime; it was anyone’s game.

But once again, the new man, Jamie Osborne, would score another try in the opening minutes of the second half, and winger Duhan van der Merwe would score a try of his own.

However, with both conversions missed, it was only a ten-point lead for the Lions heading into the last quarter of the game.

With just nine minutes to go, front rower Rob Leota cut the lead down to five with the possible conversion to cut into the lead more, but captain Kurtley Beale couldn’t kick it through, and that was enough of a gap for the Lions’ defence to hold on for the win.

This was the first game in which the men in red were truly tested, showing that they could be beaten. It gives Wallabies fans some hope going into this weekend’s second test. 

  Lions Captain Owen Farrell post-match said, “They got off the line well, they caused some trouble. We started the game well, but didn’t manage to get a foothold throughout.” Thankfully, we got the job done in the end.”

The Lions staff hadn't done a proper scouting report clearly, and coach Andy Farrell will have to go back to the drawing board after this close shave.

On the other side of the field, it was a much happier after-match response.

"Proud of the boys. It's been a special week this week to get to connect and come out together and represent our families and our cultures," Pasikifa XV captain Kurtley Beale said.

“We came out, and I thought we did what we said we were going to do, and that was to take the pressure to the Lions."

After this effort, there is real discussion that this team could be playing not just once a year, but three or four times. Helping grow our game even more.

For now, it’s on to the next match for the men in red as they look to close out the test series against the Wallabies this Saturday night. After this match, who knows what could happen?