Captain Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out of the tour to South Africa with a dislocated shoulder and Justin Tipuric limped off as the British and Irish Lions’ 28-10 victory over Japan at Murrayfield came at a terrible cost.
The Wales forwards departed inside the opening 21 minutes but it was the serious injury suffered by tour captain Jones that caused the greatest alarm as he was escorted from the pitch.
It was a ruck clear-out that caused the damage and Lions boss Warren Gatland later confirmed their second-row talisman, who was set to take part in his fourth tour but first as skipper, could not take his seat on board Sunday’s flight to South Africa.
Tipuric’s afternoon ended following a tackle shortly after, his disconsolate look as he exited down the players’ tunnel suggesting his suspected shoulder issue was also significant.
Injuries aside, it was a rousing start to the tour by the Lions who amassed a 21-0 lead by half-time through tries by Josh Adams, Duhan van der Merwe and Robbie Henshaw and three Dan Biggar conversions.
Tadhg Beirne touched down early in the second half as the onslaught continued, the tries making up for a business-like performance that launched the tour with an impressive win.
A crowd of 16,500 ― rugby’s biggest since the pandemic began ― witnessed a rout brimming with positives, although fans loudly booed the unexpected announcement that all bars would be closed at half-time.
Attack coach Gregor Townsend billed Japan as the most dangerous opening opponents in Lions history, but they were a pale shadow of the side that electrified the 2019 World Cup.
This was their first outing since staging that tournament so rustiness was inevitable, but the high-energy swashbuckling style that eventually met its match in the quarter-finals against South Africa was seen only briefly.
The Lions’ medics and Japan’s defence experienced equally frantic openings as Jones’ afternoon was declared over in only the eighth minute.
Courtney Lawes came on as his replacement and once they had overcome the shock of losing their skipper, the Lions engineered their first meaningful attack that finished in a try for Adams.
Bundee Aki used his strength to pierce through Japan’s defence and when the ball was recycled Adams’ footwork and an outstretched arm got the scoreboard moving.
The Lions’ second try was all too easy as the Brave Blossoms failed to patrol the blindside as they were sent scrambling backwards and Van der Merwe picked up and strolled over.
Another hammer blow landed when Tipuric followed Jones off the pitch in the 22nd minute but for all the departures, the Lions were amassing points at a ferocious rate as Henshaw powered over the whitewash.
Japan were losing the collisions and slipping off tackles, inviting pressure onto themselves as the strength of Van der Merwe continued to make indentations and it looked bleak when half-time arrived.
Although not pretty, it was hugely effective as the rampaging Lions continued to outmuscle their opponents and Lawes had a try disallowed for failing to ground the ball properly.
There was no doubt about Beirne’s touchdown, however, as the Irish lock ran a smart line off Biggar’s pass and showed real pace as Japan fell further behind.
Replacement back-row Kazuki Himeno burrowed over from a line-out move as the Brave Blossoms finally made an impact on the scoreboard but their late flourish was too little, too late.
France needed to score four tries and beat Scotland by 21 points to deny Wales the title but the visitors stunned their hosts with a superb victory.
Les Bleus had lock Paul Willemse sent off 11 minutes from time for making contact with the eye area of Wales prop Wyn Jones, while the visitors played the last eight minutes with 13 men following yellow cards for Taulupe Faletau and Liam Williams, and ultimately could not hold out.
The highlight of Ireland’s most impressive outing since Andy Farrell took charge after the 2019 World Cup was Jack Conan’s try that concluded 23 phases of highly polished play.
Skipper Stuart Hogg admitted ahead of the game he was feeling nervous about standing-in for the injured Finn Russell at fly-half.
The Dark Blues needed to turn around a woeful run that had included just one win in 10 against the Irish if they were to cling on to hopes of catching frontrunners Wales.
Les Blues led 20-16 until the 76th minute when Maro Itoje bulldozed over the whitewash from short range and with Owen Farrell rifling over the conversion, they had edged the tournament favourites.
The unbeaten tournament leaders reeled off a third successive bonus-point victory to increase pressure on their rivals for silverware.
While Wales wrapped up the first major silverware of head coach Wayne Pivac’s reign in bonus-point fashion, his opposite number Eddie Jones saw England’s title hopes reduced to ruins.
Scores from Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan, CJ Stander and Keith Earls, plus a brace for Will Connors, helped the Irish bounce back from defeats to Wales and France in emphatic fashion.
The Irish suffered successive losses at the start of a Six Nations campaign for the first time following scores from Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud, plus five points from the boot of Matthieu Jalibert.
Gregor Townsend’s team were looking to build on last week’s historic Twickenham victory over England and got off to the perfect start with tries from Darcy Graham and Stuart Hogg.
Willis’ left knee was damaged when he was cleared out at a ruck, just moments after the replacement flanker had scored the fifth of England’s six tries.
The 20-year-old Gloucester wing pounced midway through the second half, destroying Irish hopes of a famous triumph over adversity after flanker Peter O’Mahony’s 14th-minute red card.
The 38-year wait for success at the home of the reigning Six Nations champions finally came to an end as Finn Russell inspired the underdogs to a magnificent win.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair with Les Bleus holding the upper hand for long periods and they eventually outscored their hosts by seven tries to none with Teddy Thomas (2), Dylan Cretin, Gael Fickou, Arthur Vincent, Brice Dulin, Antoine Dupont crossing the whitewash, while Matthieu Jalibert finished with a 15-point haul after slotting six conversions and a penalty.
Faletau and back-row colleague Justin Tipuric were excellent, but there was still little evidence to suggest that Wales will be a Six Nations force later this season.
A pair of tries from Keith Earls, plus one from Cian Healy, helped Andy Farrell’s hosts overcome a slow start and end an inconsistent year in positive fashion.
The Pacific Islanders’ three previous games in the tournament were cancelled after they reported 29 coronavirus cases in their squad and they were highly motivated to deliver a good performance.