"Big dip in form" - Five Winners and Losers From Lions' Win vs Waratahs

A brace from Huw Jones and one from scrum-half Alex Mitchell helped the Lions to a difficult win over the 'Tahs, hampered by handling errors and poor rucking. With numerous squandered chances and a lack of flow, Andy Farrell still has a lot of issues to address heading into the first Test in two weeks.

Here are our five winners and losers from the British & Irish Lions' 21-10 victory over the NSW Waratahs.

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Jones became the leading try scorer on tour so far with a double against the Waratahs and was excellent throughout, linking up with compatriot Sione Tuipulotu. Off the back of a free-scoring Six Nations, the Glasgow centre has been a standout player for Andy Farrell's side in Australia. Coming into this match, RUCK predicted Jones would don the 13 jersey for the first Test against the Wallabies on July 19th, and it looks like the 31-year-old will beat out fierce competition for the starting job in Brisbane.

Another impressive performer from the Glasgow Warriors, Cummings was drafted in as a late starter following an injury to England starlet Henry Pollock. The 28-year-old lock was noted on commentary for his play-calling at the lineout, taking charge of the set piece and out-performing fellow second rower James Ryan. While Cummings doesn't look set for a starring role come the first Test, he could be in contention for the bench if this level is maintained.

Surprise call-up Cowan-Dickie has been in fine fettle when given his chance, statistically outperforming preferred Irish options Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher when it comes to lineout accuracy. The Sale hooker was seen as a clear third choice for Andy Farrell coming into the Waratahs match, but his efficiency at set pieces could see Kelleher dethroned as Sheehan's deputy come July 19th.

Leinster flanker van der Flier has just enjoyed a great individual season with club and country and came into this tour as a certainty in the back row. The 32-year-old has backed up those predictions with some excellent showings early in this series, locking down the openside flanker job amid competition from England's Tom Curry and Ben Earl. Barring an injury, he'll start for Farrell's side at Suncorp Stadium.

Northampton architect Mitchell took the number nine jersey against the 'Tahs, bossing proceedings and bringing his usual quick tempo at the breakdown to catch the NSW defence out on multiple occasions. He's extremely unlikely to dethrone Jamison Gibson-Park as the starting scrum-half for the Lions, but his shift in Sydney will have put debutant Ben White's challenge for second choice to bed.

Beirne had dropped out of RUCK's predicted starting fifteen coming into this game, falling to the bench behind compatriot Joe McCarthy and Wales' Jac Morgan. His repeated handling errors and poor rucking against the Waratahs have done nothing to convince us that he should oust either of his competitors and take a bigger role.

The big man on the wing was a late call-up to the squad to cover Henry Pollock's absence, and it showed. Van der Merwe looked off the pace on the left wing as a replacement for Hugo Keenan (another player who nearly made this list). The Edinburgh man has been under much press scrutiny as a 'southern hemisphere Lion', but has usually backed up his inclusion with free-scoring quality. On this occasion, however, Duhan wasn't at his best.

On the opposite wing, Hansen was hugely disappointing in several areas of the game. Poor offloads, handling errors and getting bossed in the tackle, the Connacht man has done nothing to suggest he should be in the conversation for the starting job. An Australian native, it hasn't been a good summer for Hansen down under, with Tommy Freeman and James Lowe firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.

Earl, usually an openside flanker but stepping in at number eight, let a real opportunity slip today. The back of the scrum is still a wide-open battle, and Earl wasn't spectacular enough to show he can outshine Pollock or Jack Conan for that job. The Saracens back row can't head to bed in Sydney tonight thinking he's done enough to wrestle his way into Andy Farrell's selection come the first Test in Brisbane.

Ryan has always been a midweek player on this tour, with just one spot in the second row available alongside captain Maro Itoje. Given his performance tonight - slow, cumbersome and outdone by partner Cummings - we'd put the Leinster man firmly at the bottom of the lock depth chart. With Cummings, Leicester's Ollie Chessum and Ryan's Leinster teammate Joe McCarthy impressive so far in Australia, he'll be holding tackle bags for the rest of this trip.

From thrilling tries to hard-fought battles against the All Blacks, this squad etched their names in rugby history by securing a memorable drawn series.

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