Some members of Andy Farrell’s squad shone Down Under while others underwhelmed
Morgan has earned solid reviews on his maiden Lions campaign(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)
The British & Irish Lions’ tour of Australia is done and dusted, with Andy Farrell’s side returning home with a series win despite missing out on a historic clean sweep against the Wallabies.
It has been another thrilling summer of rugby, which kicked off with defeat to Argentina in Dublin over six weeks ago and culminated in another loss in Sydney as Farrell’s men were denied a 3-0 series win. However, those two matches were the only times that the Lions tasted defeat as they recorded eight successive victories on Australian soil before Saturday’s eventful third Test.
As ever, some tourists shone during their time Down Under, with others failing to live up to expectations. In the wake of the tour ending, some of the country’s top rugby journalists and pundits have given their take on who impressed and who didn’t, handing out individual scores to those that took on the Wallabies.
While he may have been the lone Welshman in the squad for much of the tour following an early injury to Tomos Williams, flanker Jac Morgan did his country proud as he flew the flag for Wales with distinction. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
The Ospreys star may have missed out on selection for the first clash with Australia – in what was the first Lions Test to not feature a Welsh player since 1896 – but he played a crucial, if controversial role in winning the second Test while he also scored a try in the third having come off the bench.
Morgan, who proved to be a hugely popular tourist amongst his team-mates and supporters, has subsequently received a solid set of scores from some of the journalists that watched him in action across the series. The BBC and the Press Association have both awarded his efforts with a 7.5, while Sky Sports and The Telegraph have scored his performances across the Tests as a seven.
He has been hailed as “a force off the bench” by PA, with both Sky and the Telegraph noting the “huge… superb” impact he made as a replacement.
The BBC added that Morgan “was terrific against the Reds and First Nations and Pasifika, and totally deserved his two Test caps,” before describing him as “a serious player,” while the review from Sky said the 25-year-old “flew the Welsh flag on his own for the most part and rose to the challenge”.
Meanwhile, the highest praise was reserved for the official player of the tour, Tadhg Beirne, while captain Maro Itoje, forwards Dan Sheehan and Tom Curry and backs Hugo Keenan and Finn Russell were among the other highest scorers across the board.
Beirne was viewed by some as a contentious pick by Farrell when the squad was selected earlier this year, but the Ireland star more than justified his involvement with three huge performances across the Test series, getting on the scoresheet in the second clash in Melbourne.
He has now earned rave reviews, with the BBC rating his series performance as a 9.5 while Sky and PA went with a nine and the Telegraph awarded him an eight. Beirne is credited by the latter with “changing the momentum of the series” with his “sensational” displays, while the BBC described him as “an utter machine”, Sky as “electric” and PA as “a worthy player of the tour winner”.
Itoje, meanwhile also scored highly, with the BBC awarding him a nine for his efforts as captain across the series. The England lock “can be proud of his performances and the way he led the side,” according to Sky, while PA described him as a “bona fide Lions great”.
Ireland hooker Sheehan was hailed as “a player of the series contender who is redefining the role of hooker” by PA, while Tom Curry was labelled “sensational” and “demonic” by the BBC, with the Telegraph adding that the England star “completely vindicated Farrell’s faith in him.”
Keenan – whose last-gasp try won the second Test and, with it, the series in Melbourne – was hailed as “the hero” of that match by Sky, while PA said he “secured Lions immortality” in the process. Russell, meanwhile, “was in ‘player of the series’ territory” before a very difficult day at the office in Sydney, according to the BBC, with the Scotland fly-half described as “utterly brilliant at times” by Sky.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, some of Farrell’s men underwhelmed, with Ireland centre Bundee Aki getting the lowest individual score of the lot as The Telegraph rated his series performance as a three overall.
“Urgh,” the damning assessment began. “Farrell was vindicated in some of his controversial picks (Curry, Beirne) but his faith in 35-year-old Aki was utterly misplaced. Completely wretched in the third Test.”
Aki’s international team-mate James Lowe also scored poorly across the board, with Sky’s rating of a six the highest he received. The Telegraph, who gave him a four, wrote that the wing was “defensively all over the shop and [his] handling was not great either,” while the BBC said he had “a poor tour” and PA said he “performed below his usual standard”.
Another Irishman, hooker Ronan Kelleher, also received a score of four from The Telegraph, as the review claimed that “as soon as he came on in all three Tests, the line-out started wobbling like a jelly”.
You can find the scores for all 27 players that featured across the three Tests against Australia below.
2025 British & Irish Lions Test series ratings (BBC, Sky, Telegraph and PA)
Backs:
Hugo Keenan – BBC: 8, Sky: 8, Telegraph: 7.5, PA: 7.5Blair Kinghorn – BBC: 7, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 6, PA: 6Tommy Freeman: BBC: 6.5, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 6, PA: 6James Lowe: BBC: 5.5, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 4, PA: 5Huw Jones: BBC: 7.5, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 6.5, PA: 6.5Bundee Aki: BBC: 6, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 3, PA: 5Sione Tuipulotu: BBC: 7, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 7, PA: 7Owen Farrell: BBC: 6, Sky: 5, Telegraph: 6.5, PA: 6.5Marcus Smith: BBC: 6.5, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 6, PA: 6Finn Russell: BBC: 8.5, Sky: 9, Telegraph: 7.5, PA: 7.5Jamison Gibson-Park: BBC: 7.5, Sky: 8, Telegraph: 8, PA: 7.5Alex Mitchell: BBC: 6.5, Sky: 5, Telegraph: 6, PA: 6.5
Forwards:
Andrew Porter – BBC: 7, Sky: 6.5, Telegraph: 5, PA: 6Ellis Genge – BBC: 8, Sky: 8, Telegraph: 7.5, PA: 7.5Dan Sheehan – BBC: 8.5, Sky: 8, Telegraph: 8, PA: 8Ronan Kelleher – BBC: 6.5, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 4, PA: 5.5Tadhg Furlong – BBC: 8.5, Sky: 7.5, Telegraph: 7.5, PA: 7.5Will Stuart – BBC: 7, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 6, PA: 7Maro Itoje – BBC: 9, Sky: 8, Telegraph: 8, PA: 8.5Joe McCarthy – BBC: 7.5, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 7.5, PA: 8Ollie Chessum – BBC: 7, Sky: 6, Telegraph: N/A, PA: 6.5James Ryan – BBC: 7, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 6.5, PA: 7Tadhg Beirne – BBC: 9.5, Sky: 9, Telegraph: 8, PA: 9Tom Curry – BBC: 9, Sky: 9, Telegraph: 8.5, PA: 8.5Jack Conan – BBC: 7.5, Sky: 7.5, Telegraph: 7, PA: 7Jac Morgan – BBC: 7.5, Sky: 7, Telegraph: 7, PA: 7.5Ben Earl – BBC: 7.5, Sky: 6, Telegraph: 6.5, PA: 7