
Lions coach Farrell wary of 'wounded animal' Australia
Andy Farrell saw plenty of scope for improvement after the British and Irish Lions beat Australia, and is wary of a "wounded animal" in the second Test.
The Lions claimed a 27-19 victory in the opening Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Tom Curry justified his selection with an outstanding display, scoring one of the Lions' three tries, with Sione Tuipulotu and Dan Sheehan also going over for the tourists.
Farrell, though, stressed there were elements his team need to work on as they prepare for a second match in which Australia will be determined to hit back next week.
"Obviously we are delighted to get the result, to get the first under the belt," Farrell told Sky Sports.
"I thought we did the shirt proud, how we attacked the game, especially in the first half, was very pleasing.
"I thought we started very well, our game control was excellent throughout and the back row were immense throughout.
"We stood up, our physicality was spot in the first half, but in the second we were a bit loose. Plenty to work on for game two.
"We will be dealing with a wounded animal second up, MCG sold out, it doesn't get any better and we expect ourselves to be better again."
Maro Itoje captained the Lions to victory on what was his 100th Test appearance.
"It was a tough old game, no game of rugby is perfect, and that definitely wasn't perfect from us," he told Sky Sports.
"So it puts us in a good position because we can have some honest conversations off the back of that game, it's something for us to build on we're definitely not complacent or comfortable.
"I think we put pressure on ourselves, particularly exiting our half, some of our decision making. But again, rugby's not perfect, we'll build, we'll get better and move on."
The Lions have now won 18 of their 24 Tests against Australia, with their 75 per cent win rate against the Wallabies comfortably their highest against any of the three nations they traditionally tour (New Zealand – 17 per cent, South Africa – 37 per cent).
"We expect a different [Australia] team next week, Joe Schmidt is a great coach so it will be different," said Finn Russell. "We need to get better at individual errors and discipline.
"We’ve had the taste against the Wallabies and we'll be more prepared as to what to expect."