If you didn’t understand why Andy Farrell sent son Owen an SOS, then maybe you do now.

We’ve got used to the British & Irish Lions making slow starts in the games in Australia before belatedly blasting past weak opposition but against the Waratahs they never really got going.

Read more: Why is Henry Pollock not playing for the Lions?

Waratahs flanker Charlie Gamble had a try chalked off but was a constant thorn in the Lions’ side and it was only two tries for Huw Jones – one of the few players to emerge with credit in the bank – which gave the touring side a marginal 14-5 lead at the break.

Hugo Keenan looked rusty on his return from injury and illness at full-back, coughing up ball and failing to stop Darby Lancaster from scoring as the last line of defence.

Most infuriatingly for coach Farrell not only did another kick-off receipt go awry – since Nic White’s pinpoint short restarts for the Western Force they have been a glaring issue – but the Lions made five unforced handling errors in the first 40. A simply unacceptable statistic for a side that by its very nature talks about being the best of the best.

Related: Why has Owen Farrell been called up to the British & Irish Lions?

Farrell the player was shown on the big screen just seven minutes into the contest and received a mixed reception – hilariously Will Stuart, another Lion not involved in the matchday 23, started mock booing him from behind.

While Owen mustered a smile for the camera, the relentless competitor inside him will have been fuming at a display that really left a lot to be desired.

Things went from bad to worse when Waratahs’ hooker Ethan Dobbins bundled over from a maul immediately after the break, narrowing the gap to just four points.

To put things in context, the Waratahs have had a sloppy Super Rugby Pacific season finishing eighth on the ladder and were without two of their top stars in backs Joseph Suaalii and Max Jorgensen, who are in the Wallabies XV to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday. Scrum-half Jake Gordon – who some have tipped to captain Australia in the Test series – was also with the national side but has picked up a hamstring injury.

If it wasn’t for Alex Mitchell really motoring through the gears and turning things on, then the Lions would have been danger in succumbing to one of the biggest upsets in tour history. Local journalists and fans told us before the game they would be happy if the Tahs kept the tourists under 50 points…

Mitchell’s speed of service, dummies and jinking runs got the Lions attack going. First he nearly created a superb try only for Josh van der Flier to knock the ball in the act of the scoring. The Northampton Saints man did it all himself from the base of a maul five metres out, dummying twice before stepping off his left foot to score a cracker.

He added a 50:22 for good measure and was awarded the Man of the Match award which perhaps ought to have gone to Gamble for his relentless breakdown despite finishing on the losing side.

While Ellis Genge also knocked on over the line and the Lions had another try chalked off for obstruction at the maul, the Waratahs were good value for the margin of defeat given how bravely they defended for 80 minutes.

The Lions looked rudderless without the likes of Maro Itoje and with Owen Farrell coming into the environment, you can expect the former England captain to raise the intensity and demand more out of his colleagues.

While it’s right to question the decision to replace Elliot Daly with Farrell given he’s played no Test rugby since the 2023 World Cup and has struggled with form and fitness at Racing 92, you can see why dad Andy would want someone who has been there and done it in a Lions series in Australia.

Farrell junior is now one of five men to have been on four tours or more and will be expected to bring every ounce of that experience to the group ahead of the first Test in two weeks. The Lions simply must improve and they have the perfect man to help drive an increase in standards to achieve that.

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