Former Wales and British & Irish Lions fly-half Dan Biggar has hailed the performances of Tom Curry for the famous touring team against the Wallabies and is backing him to be named Man of the Series.
Biggar admitted that England openside flanker Curry was not at his best during the early stages of the Lions’ Australian trip as he delivered some average performances during tour matches, but he has caught the eye with outstanding displays in the first two Tests in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Despite not being at his best in those earlier games, Lions boss Andy Farrell named Curry as his starting number seven for the opening Test at the Suncorp Stadium and repaid his coach’s faith in him with a superb all-round performance and was rewarded with a try for his efforts.
It was a similar story in the second Test at the world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as Curry crossed the whitewash again – at a crucial stage of the game with the Lions trailing 23-5 – while also shining on either side of the ball during an excellent 55-minute shift.
Key moment at the MCG
One of the key moments from the latter display was when Curry – just before he was replaced – made a try-saving tackle on Joseph Suaalii.
Australia were leading 26-17 at the time when Suaalii was in the clear deep inside Lions territory, but Curry’s tackle from behind resulted in a knock-on from the Wallabies’ centre, and the tourists breathed a huge sigh of relief as a try for the home side could’ve secured them a victory.
“That intervention on (Joseph) Suaalii at around the 55, 60-minute mark, was it? Where Australia, I think were nine points up. I think if he doesn’t intervene there and Australia score, the game’s dead and buried,” Biggar told The Rugby Pod.
“So, I mean, his score in the corner, great footwork to come back in, score, power, nuisance, jackaling. I think that’s the biggest thing.
“Let’s compare his tour matches, six, six and a half (out of 10). But when it really counted, when it really mattered, he’s up somewhere near a nine, isn’t he, for that? So, had a brilliant, brilliant tour.
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“Probably got a good chance of being up there for sort of Man of the Series as well, isn’t he?”
Biggar also praised Curry’s replacement Jac Morgan for his efforts after making a big impact off the bench and was relieved when referee Andrea Piardi did not penalise him for his much talked about clear-out on Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano at a ruck, in the build-up to Hugo Keenan’s match-winning try for the Lions, in the game’s dying moments.
“I thought the clean-out was excellent. The one thing you could almost argue is that he’s off his feet,” he said.
“If I were the Aussies, I’d probably be focusing a little bit more on that in terms of… you know sometimes when you see something on a TMO, you almost know in the first instance or the first replay whether it’s going to be a penalty, yellow card, red card or nothing, don’t you?
‘I don’t think it was foul play’
“First time I looked at it, I thought, he’s going to be really unlucky to be done for that. And I don’t think it was foul play.
“I suppose in the absolute laws of the book, it potentially could be sealing off, but you’d probably see that clean out or that situation 15 times a game, wouldn’t you?
“I have to say, I think it was the right call to look at it.
“100% is the right call to look at it. But I think the evidence was relatively clear and I’m just really pleased that, I mean, I was feeling for Jac Morgan at that point because I thought the big selection process was about, does he start? Does he get on the bench?
“Only Welshman on tour. I just thought, how cruel would that be if that was sort of a defining act for him? And I was just over the moon that it wasn’t.”