Everyone’s Saying the Same Thing About Maro Itoje After Gritty Lions Win

The tourists bagged five tries to the Brumbies’ four in Canberra, sealing another tense win. At times brilliant, at times head-scratching, this was a classic slow-start Lions performance. They were caught napping early as Tuaina Taii Tualima powered over, but once they found their rhythm, the Lions found scores through Ollie Chessum, James Lowe, and Marcus Smith — who stepped in after Blair Kinghorn limped off with a knee injury.

RUCK’s Lions content is powered by ISUZU.

Corey Toole hit back to keep the Brumbies in touch, but the Lions led 19-10 at the break. Second-half scores from Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier should’ve shut it down. Instead, it became a dogfight.

Hudson Creighton and Liam Bowron brought the Brumbies within touching distance, setting up a nervy final quarter. The Lions clung on.

But through it all — the good, the chaotic, the creaking breakdown — one constant remained: Maro Itoje.

The big man delivered again, this time with the armband on. Lineout general. Defensive engine. Captain in all but name and now officially.

As 

Planet Rugby put it: "While Itoje, as captain, was always likely to start, his displays have been among the Lions' best and he was once again superb."

The fans? Unanimous.

No debate. Itoje’s cooking.

Here are the players that Ruck and other media outlets believe failed to impress against the Brumbies:

Despite scoring a try, Lowe had a disappointing performance marred by uncharacteristic errors. He botched an early try-scoring opportunity, threw loose passes, overhit kicks, and lacked confidence throughout. Though he made over 50 metres with ball in hand, his overall impact was minimal before being subbed off in the 63rd minute.

RUCK 5/10: "A game to forget for Lowe. Yes, he got a try but he was off the pace all match, before he got replaced by Hansen in the 63rd minute. His kicking game is an asset to the Lions but Lowe seemed to lack a lot of confidence, best shown by a botched try as he tried to step back instead of diving for the tryline. Hopefully, he can come back stronger."

Rugby Pass 5/10: "It was all going horribly wrong for the winger until he strolled home just before the half-hour mark after a sweet handling move. Before that, he’d blown a relatively easy try-scoring opportunity when he failed to ground the ball, and been guilty of a litany of errors, including throwing wild passes, being tackled into touch and over-hitting kicks."

Planet Rugby 5/10: "Did fantastically well to blunder a try in the first half, which was frankly embarrassing for a player of his quality. Did get over the line when there was no one in front of him soon after to make amends. He got his hands on the ball plenty and gained over 50 metres, but it was far from a compelling shift, which included two turnovers conceded."

Scored a try and assisted another but looked hesitant in the Lions jersey. Given a golden opportunity to push for the Test full-back spot after replacing Kinghorn early, Smith showed flashes of brilliance but failed to make a compelling case.

Rugby Pass 5.5/10: "Hopefully, the Quins man will take confidence from scoring a try and coming up with an assist, but looks strangely hesitant in a Lions’ jersey. Had a great opportunity to press for the Test No.15 jersey after getting just under an hour as a replacement for Kinghorn, but didn’t really do enough to silence the doubters."

FLORUGBY 6/10: "Defensively, Smith remains a mile off the mark at fullback, but you can see what the coaches like with his attacking game as a second distributor. The question will be, can the Lions work a way to negate his frailties in the backfield? Unfortunately, his lack of game time at ten feels set to be a deciding factor that could drop him out of contention."

A mixed performance from Curry, combining high work-rate and a key assist with costly errors. While he defended well with eight tackles, his game was marred by turnovers, penalties, and a poor second-half spell. Removed after 50 minutes, he didn't strengthen his Test selection claims.

FLORUGBY 5/10: "Reverting back to his favoured position of openside, the England backrow was industrious but lacked the clinical edge that he is renowned for. Clearly acknowledging that he is playing catch-up on Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan for a starting role, Curry forced his hand a few times, notably in the 41st minute, which killed a Lions attack and sent the Brumbies on their way for a long-range attack. Replaced in the 50th minute, having made 10 tackles (2 missed) and 4 carries, and 1 carry was not the momentum-shifting performance he would’ve hoped for."

Telegraph 6/10: "A mixed bag. Curry was busy and bustling and set up Marcus Smith’s score. However, he also coughed up possession twice and shipped a needless penalty."

BALLS 6/10: "His work-rate was crucial in creating some overloads in attack. One knock-on, over on the right wing. Good offload for Smith's try. Threw an intercept, then scrambled over and conceded a penalty for playing the 9 (Lonergan) at the breakdown. Stuck eight tackles but missed two, and made little ground on his carries."

Planet Rugby 4/10: "Compounded a loose pass in the second half by conceding a penalty when the Brumbies broke away on the counter for a massive territorial deficit. He conceded another turnover in what was an underwhelming shift that included two missed tackles, too. In a congested loose trio, he did his chances of a Test start no favours in arguably his best position and was removed after 50 minutes."

An unfortunate outing for Kinghorn, who suffered a leg injury just minutes into the match and was forced off after 25 minutes. Dropped an early high ball and made some basic errors before exiting, missing his chance to stake a claim for the full-back role.

Planet Rugby 5/10: " A gutting setback. Today was his game to nail down the starting Lions full-back role and was forced off after just 25 minutes. He entered the line nicely to combine with Russell, but didn’t really get a chance to impress. A crushing blow if that’s the end of his tour. It did not look good."

Express 5/10: "Down with knee injury after nine minutes and off after 25 and didn’t look good"

Rugby Pass 4/10: "A disappointing outing for the Scot, who picked up a knock to his leg eight minutes in. Struggled on manfully before being replaced by Marcus Smith at the start of the second quarter. Dropped an early high ball before the injury in what was a night to forget."

BALLS 4/10: "Spilled an early high ball then went offside as the Lions were under early pressure. Was down for treatment before the 10-minute mark. Could have held his pass to Lowe (for the non-try) a beat longer. Lasted 25 minutes before hobbling off. "

Join RUCK’s Instagram broadcast channel and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.

Let’s see if you can nail this quiz and prove you’re a true rugby expert. Ready? Let’s go!