Optimistic Schmidt 'desperate to keep the series alive'

The British and Irish Lions may have looked a level above Australia in Saturday's first Test in Brisbane, but Joe Schmidt cut an optimistic figure at Suncorp Stadium.

The Wallabies had been outclassed by the Lions who raced into a 24-5 lead after just over 40 minutes in Brisbane, and while the Wallabies put some respect on the scoreboard with second half tries from Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott, it was never enough to set up a dramatic finale.

Twelve years ago the Wallabies were in similar place when they lost the opening Test – albeit in more dramatic circumstances – before responding in Melbourne to set up a series decider in Melbourne.

It’s 28-years since the Lions last went into a final Test with the series secure in their favour, and the Australia head coach says he saw enough from his side in that final quarter to suggest they can still make this series the "celebration of rugby" it deserves to be.

The Lions dominated Australia up front

"I honestly thought the players' efforts tonight showed a desperation," Schmidt said after his side’s 27-19 defeat.

"A desperation that they are so committed to playing for their country, that they are desperate to compete at all the contest areas in the game.

"We've got to keep learning fast and hit the ground running next week. Otherwise, it becomes a dead-rubber in Sydney.

"I felt we're desperate today, but inevitably you're desperate to keep the series alive. I know that the Lions will want to close that out in Melbourne. I think Melbourne is going to be massive for both teams."

Ahead of Saturday’s first Test, the former Ireland and Leinster coach referenced the Wallabies fight for attention in the vast Australian sporting landscape, admitting that in the past his side probably haven’t done enough to earn the support of their fans.

And with plenty of tickets yet to be shifted for Saturday’s second Test at the iconic, 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground, Schmidt (below) believes his players are starting to win people over again.

"One thing I do feel that we earned today is we probably earned some support and we got some fantastic support. I think people who came along to support the Wallabies today, they could go away feeling that they may not quite have been good enough, but they didn't lack for effort and they showed real character to climb their way back into the game.

"I know it's a cliche, but you can't coach character. You live and die by the effort you make to contribute to the team. I just felt guys kept getting up and contributing.

"It's tough against the quality they've got and some of the momentum they've built. I thought we stayed in the fight."

The New Zealander admitted his side were physically dominated by the Lions pack in the opening half, but declared influential pair Will Skelton (below) and Rob Valetini fit for the MCG next week.

The Lions, meanwhile, will be sweating on the fitness of second row Joe McCarthy, who departed early in the second half with a flare-up of plantar fasciitis.

And Schmidt believes his side can close the gap in physicality within a week.

"Rob's fit, Will Skelton's fit. They both trained really well this morning

"We didn't know if that was going to be close enough to game time or not and so we worked on the premise that we're excited about Nick Champion de Crespigny stepping in.

"I think Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams, they served us really well last year and they're both, in terms of lock stocks, they're both young men, you know, mid-20s. They've got their best locking days ahead of them and so every time they get an opportunity in a Test arena like this, where the pressure is what it is, that's a growth opportunity for them.

"We'll definitely take our learnings from that first half. I think they were definitely winning that physical battle early around the breakdown and we'll have to take some lessons from there.

"We'll definitely take some confidence from that second half and look to what we did there and how we can do that next game. It definitely was a game of two halves there, we take a lot of confidence from that second half."

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