Freeman and Mitchell help Lions claim win against Australia in first Test

Freeman played the full 80 minutes on the wing, while scrum-half Mitchell came off the bench inside the final 10 minutes.

The Lions cruised into a big lead, only for the Wallabies to battle back during the second half.

However, the victory was rarely in any doubt for Andy Farrell's side as they went 1-0 up in the three-match Test series.

Lions skipper Maro Itoje said: “It was a tough old game.

“No game of rugby is perfect, and that definitely wasn’t perfect from us.

"It probably puts us in a good position because we can have some honest conversations off the back of that game and there’s lots for us to build on.

"We're definitely not complacent or comfortable.

“We put pressure on ourselves, particularly exiting our half with some of our decision making.

"But rugby’s not perfect and we’ll get better and move on.”

Back row forward Tadhg Beirne was named man of the match.

And Beirne said: “It was a proper Test match.

"It was a real battle and Australia will probably take a bit of confidence in how they finished the game.

“It’s something we’re going to have to look at in terms of leaking penalties.

"But we stepped up today, put in a performance and got the job done.

"Roll on next week.”

The two teams square up again in Melbourne next Saturday.