Owen Farrell answered the misfiring British and Irish Lions’ distress call to sink the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians 13-7, as Johnny Sexton endured a wretched night in Whangarei.
Ireland fly-half Sexton trudged off after just 48 minutes of the Lions’ opening tour clash in New Zealand, removed in part due to a potential leg injury – but also after a miserable performance.
Self-employed maintenance engineer Sam Anderson-Heather’s try put the Barbarians 7-3 ahead at the break, with Farrell forced to rescue the tourists in a wholly-unconvincing victory.
PLAYER RATINGS
Joe Marler 6
Rory Best 5
Kyle Sinckler 7
Alun Wyn Jones 5
Iain Henderson 4
Ross Moriarty 5
Sam Warburton 5
Taulupe Faletau 8
Greig Laidlaw 5
Johnny Sexton 4
Tommy Seymour 5
Ben Te ‘o 6
Jonathan Joseph 5
Anthony Watson 7
Stuart Hogg 5
Replacements:
Jamie George (for Best, 49) 6
Mako Vunipola (for Marler, 49) 6
Tadhg Furlong (for Sinckler, 49) 6
George Kruis (for Henderson, 49) 6
Justin Tipuric (for Warburton, 66) 5
Rhys Webb (for Laidlaw, 57) 6
Owen Farrell (for Sexton, 48) 8