If head coach Andy Farrell was looking for men to put their hands up for Saturday’s second Test he will have been disappointed by what he witnessed.
The outstanding player, by a country mile, was Pasifika openside Charlie Gamble.
This was a repeat performance from the flanker, who had been equally brilliant when playing for the Waratahs against the Lions earlier in the tour.
It had been a promising start from the Lions, who galloped into a commanding lead and looked as if they were going to steamroll their opponents.
The Lions’ early momentum was helped by Reilly being sin-binned for a high shot on the unfortunate Graham.
Then, a dink over the top from Farrell – who had a solid game – was seized on by Osborne, who got a kindly bounce and scored. Fin Smith landed the conversion.
Three minutes later, Smith flung a long pass out to Graham, who continued his remarkable try-scoring record for every team he plays for.
The sadness for him is that he did not get to play for the Lions for much longer, succumbing to injury before the first quarter was done.
The wing left the field in an emotional state, his dreams realised then shattered. Then things got difficult for the Lions, as Pasifika got up a head of steam and began to clatter into collisions.
When Blair Kinghorn, playing for a Test spot on Saturday but playing inconsistently, got loose with a pass, Reilly intercepted it and bolted away to score, with Kurtley Beale converting.
Physically, Pasifika were a sight to behold, huge men fighting for every inch for the Pacific Islands heritage. Some of the tackles they put in were monstrous and they unsettled the Lions.
They also had the outstanding Gamble in full flow against the Lions for a second time, the openside causing havoc for the tourists with his work on the floor and his aggression in contact.
More muscle, via the gargantuan Taniela Tupou in the main, took them back into the Lions 22 and another colossal unit, Uru, blasted over. The totemic Beale converted and from 0-14 it was now 14-14.
To make matters worse for the Lions, James Ryan was shown a yellow card for an illegal attempt to slow ball down as Pasifika hammered away at the line in the lead up to Uru’s score.
And it could have been worse again before the break as Kinghorn was intercepted for a second time. Jack Debreczeni was the man who jumped on his pass but he did not have the pace to go all the way.
It petered out when Van der Merwe scrambled back to mop up.
