Young Lions go down in tour
opener

Queensland Secondary Schools' XIII 52 v 10 BARLA Great Britain Young Lions Aspley Leagues Club, Brisbane

BARLA kicked off and were immediately faced with a fast onslaught by the Queensland side. The Young Lions were pinned down in their own half, and despite desperately trying to hold on, their defence cracked after just 11 minutes with a try to big second rower Sione Piutau. Centre Scott Millar adding the extras.

The shell shocked tourists then kicked out on the full, heaping more pressure on themselves deep in their own half. It was no surprise when the hosts extended their advantage on 20 minutes, with stand off Todd Parnell breaking away to feed the supporting Millar, who again converted.

Three more tries from Simpson, Stitt and Coutts then followed in quick succession, with the accurate boot of Millar converting all of them, leaving the Young Lions 30-0 down at the break.

The second period saw an early recovery from BARLA and they went close when Scott Lofthouse was forced into touch just short of the line. However, moments later Richard Hulme crossed the line and with Scott Robinson adding the extras, the Young Lions were back in business.

Further pressure from BARLA saw Danny Kirmond go close, but minutes later normal order was resumed as Coutts went over again and he was quickly followed by Jacob Faud.

The hosts took full advantage of the sin-binning of Shaun Selby, to cross for a quick brace of tries to Parnell and Simpson and despite Scott Lofhouse crossing for the Young Lions, Queensland had the last laugh as a second try to Parnell sealed their comprehensive victory.

Young Lions Manager Joe Elliott was philosophical and said, "I didn't think the score line reflected the actual game. There was a lot of good individual performances and some positive signs."

He added, "I hope we will be able to build on this for the rest of the tour."

Teams:

Qld Secondary Schools' Invitational XIII 1. David Georgidu, 2. Ben Seaton, 3. Scott Millar, 4. Shannon Stitt, 5. Steve Tauevaue, 6. Todd Parnell, 7. Sam Maniet, 8. Darren Pettiford, 9. Karl Wilkinson, 10. James Pritchard, 11. Simona Vavega, 12. Kurt Sorensen, 13. Jamie Simpson SUBS: 14. Jacob Fauid, 15. Sione Piutau, 16. Nathan Beckett, 17. Jason Klimis, 18. Henry Coutts

BARLA GB Young Lions 1. Carl Redford (Leigh East), 2. Danny Kirmond(Stanley Rangers), 3. Adrian Mulchay (Eastmoor), 4. Scott Lofthouse (Kells), 5. Scott Robinson Wigan St Judes), 6. Gareth Whitehead (Stanley Rangers), 7. Craig Fawcett (Stanley Rangers), 8. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (London Broncos), 9. Paul Crook (Blackbrook), 10. Luke Brindley (East Hull), 11. Scott McAvoy (Hensingham), 12. Ian Madeley (East Hull), 13. Shaun Selby (Wigan St Patricks) SUBS: 14. Richard Cattley (Stanley Rangers), 15. Scott Farmer (Kells), 16. John Boland (Wigan St Judes), 17. Chris Tyrer(Blackbrook), 18. Richard Hulme (Milford)

MOMs

Qld Secondary Schools' Invitational XIII: Simona Vavega BARLA GB Young Lions: Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook

Tour Fixtures

Game 1 Monday 9th August BARLA 10 v 52 Qld Secondary Schools' Invitational XIII Aspley RLFC

Game 2 Saturday 14 August BARLA v Australian Schoolboys 7.00pm - Kick-off

Game 3 Wednesday 18 August BARLA v NSWCHS Kick Off 18:00hrs

Game 4 Saturday 21 August BARLA v NSW Combined Country Catholic Colleges Kick Off TBA

Game 5 Wednesday 25 August BARLA v Northern Territory Kick Off TBA

Game 6 Saturday 28 August BARLA v The Emerging States Kick Off TBA