The 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand was memorable for many reasons – thumping hits, epic Test matches… and a couple of eyebrow-raising ‘arrests’ off the field.
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Sean O’Brien (2017, New Zealand) – Superman’s night off
The Tullow Tank delivered more than just big carries on tour — he brought the banter too.
During a now-iconic skit, Sean O’Brien teamed up with best mate James Haskell to film one of the funniest moments of the tour. Shirtless, donning a flowing red cape, O’Brien channels his inner Superman and pretends to fly alongside Haskell’s car — mid-drive.
He cheekily knocks on the window, announces he's “off for a pint,” then soars off like a caped Irish hero. But the real punchline? Kiwi police show up and hilariously ‘arrest’ him as he hangs out of the car.
Cue mock panic, as O’Brien is bundled into the back of a patrol vehicle — only to escape moments later and sprint back to the lads in full-on Hollywood fashion. Pure rugby tour gold.
Kyle Sinckler (2017, New Zealand) – A real run-in with the law
While O’Brien’s ‘arrest’ was all in good fun, Kyle Sinckler’s brush with the New Zealand police was very much the real deal.
Fresh off the back of a gritty drawn series against the All Blacks, Sinckler was out celebrating with teammates in Central Auckland when he got caught up in a “minor incident” on the town.
Police stepped in, Sinckler was briefly arrested, but things were quickly resolved. There were no charges, and he was quietly escorted back to the team hotel.
The prop later held his hands up, apologising for the incident. A reminder that even the toughest Lions can get a bit too rowdy on tour.
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#1. JAMES LOWE
Despite a classy offload for Beirne's try and some composed moments, Lowe was error-prone under the high ball and defensively vulnerable once again. A mixed bag leaning heavily toward underperformance.
BALLS 5/10: "One good flicked offload to Gibson-Park. Spilled a high ball, early in the second half. Composed take and footwork, on 57 minutes. Great step and offload for Beirne's try. His best, and last, contribution of the game."
Planet Rugby 4/10: "His try assist was the highlight of an otherwise poor performance from the winger who missed three of his seven tackle attempts, conceded a penalty and struggled in the air. He is a big moments player and produced that with a brutal fend and offload, but far from a complete performance."
Telegraph 3/10: "Lovely offload to put Beirne over but was another disappointing display. A liability once again in defence and several handling errors."
RUCK 4/10: "Lowe has looked off the tempo in both tests and today was another story of that. He never got going and was exposed hugely in defence. In attack he was nothing to fear for the Wallabies apart from his assist for Beirne."
Replacement: Duhan van der Merwe
#2. BUNDEE AKI
Grew into the game and made a crucial carry in the lead-up to Beirne’s try, but defensive lapses and an avoidable penalty undermined his overall contribution.
Express 5/10: "Not the huge carrier he is with Ireland, ineffective apart from one second half charge"
Telegraph 5/10: "Grew into the game and his carry set the platform for Beirne’s try. Suaalii slipped past him for Wright’s try and gave up a really dumb penalty."
Planet Rugby 3/10: " Caught out defensively by both Jake Gordon and Joseph Suaalii and conceded a penalty that Lynagh duly slotted. He made an incredible break which led to Tadhg Beirne’s try, but it was rather mystifying that he went the full 80 minutes today as he was a long way off his best."
Replacement: Sione Tuipulotu
#3. OLLIE CHESSUM
Busy but largely ineffective, Chessum struggled with the physicality of Australia’s second row and couldn’t spark the partnership with Itoje. Lions missed McCarthy’s bite.
Planet Rugby 5/10: "Quietly went about his performance but was accurate and efficient in doing so. He stayed on the right side of the referee’s whistle but was guilty of four missed tackles and conceded a turnover. Replaced on 55 minutes."
RUCK 5/10: "Chessum was mainly a passenger and struggled heavily against Skelton and Frost in both physicality and tempo of the game. The Itoje and Chessum partnership just didn’t seem to click the way the Lions would’ve hoped."
BALLS 5/10: "Was kept busy, mainly in defence, in the first half. Solid lineout option. Made 13 tackles but missed four."
Telegraph 5/10: "Was busy without being particularly eye-catching. Felt that the Lions missed McCarthy’s physical strength in the exchanges with Skelton."
Replacement: Joe McCarthy (If fit)
#4. ANDREW PORTER
Anchored a dominant scrum and worked hard in defence, but key missed tackles leading to tries exposed costly defensive frailties.
RUCK 5/10: "The Lion’s scrum was mighty, and more often than not, Porter was the first to show that to referee Andrea Piardi, he looked okay in attack but looked better defensively, but was caught short for Gordon’s darting try."
Telegraph 5/10: "Targeted by Australia in defence with both Gordon and Suaalii slipping through his grasp for tries. Still made 16 tackles, but misses were big black marks."
Planet Rugby 4/10: "Beaten for two of the Wallabies’ tries in the first half as he watched Gordon sprint past him before missing a tap tackle on Suaalii in the build-up to Tom Wright’s try. Conceded a penalty, and while his work-rate was top tier, his mistakes were costly. He was fortunate not to be penalised at scrum time too."
Replacement: Ellis Genge