British and Irish Lions surge in second half to beat Queensland Reds 52-12

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The British and Irish Lions already had the win secured deep in stoppage time when Maro Itoje had the choice of either finishing off on a cool, windy Wednesday night or pushing for one more try and a 50-plus tally against the Queensland Reds.

“Why would we not?” Lions skipper Itoje said. “We were leading, we had the opportunity to score. So we just wanted to play, wanted to attack. We’re not getting much training, so we need to max out matches.

Seconds later, Garry Ringrose scored in the corner to complete a 52-12 win for the Lions, who had conceded two early tries to the Reds and trailed 12-7 in the first half.

The Lions are now two from two in five days in Australia after a 54-7 tour-opening win over Western Force in Perth. The back-to-back wins followed a 28-24 loss to Argentina in a warmup in Dublin before the Lions traveled to Australia for a nine-game tour, which includes three tests against the Wallabies on July 19, 26 and Aug. 2.

Next up: The New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday night in Sydney, where a big crowd is expected. The combined attendance for the two games in Australia is 93,000.

“We have five (tour) games in two weeks. We don’t have loads of time on the training field but what we do have is loads of games,” Itoje said. “You improve and you learn probably more so in games than you do in training, so it’s a blessing in disguise.”

The Lions have scored five unanswered tries in both of their games in Australia.

Skipper Itoje, who was rested for the first game, ran powerfully onto an inside pass from scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park five minutes into the second half Wednesday to crack the game open.

The Lions were determined to play with pace and high-tempo, spreading the ball to the edges regularly and maintaining a positive attacking shape to generate space and scoring opportunities.

Winger Tommy Freeman was a beneficiary, scoring two tries. Flyhalf Finn Russell again orchestrated the Lions attack before he was rested after 55 minutes, while Bundy Ake created opportunities in midfield.

Openside flanker Jac Morgan put in a player-of-the-match performance in a dominant forward pack, including scoring a try.

Huw Jones plucked an attempted chip kick out of the air and sprinted 60 meters to make it 47-12 near the end and Ringrose capped it off with a try five minutes into stoppage time.

“We just wanted to be better today, take a step forward. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction,” Itoje said. "We were a little bit more clinical, sharper, a little bit more accurate on the ball.

“We still made quite a few errors ball in hand, but I thought it was better in that regard.”

Elliot Daly hurt his left forearm in a tackle late in the second half and had to be taken for medical scans. He was supposed to have the night off and he'd completed a gym session before getting a call from head coach Andy Farrell to let him know he'd be rushed into the starting XV because Irish fullback Hugo Keenan had a stomach bug.

“We've got our fingers crossed for him,” Farrell said.

The injury comes days after Welsh scrumhalf Tomos Williams was forced out of the tour with a hamstring injury sustained while scoring a long-range try against the Force.

The Reds stunned the Lions when prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen powered through the defense and reached over to score the opener in the ninth minute.

The Lions missed two clear opportunies when Ake was held up over the line and Daly's pass went astray with the tryline open before Freeman equalized with a try in the 20th minute.

The Reds, playing in maroon and navy colors, were missing a host of starting players on duty for Australia's test against Fiji on Sunday, but still threatened regularly.

Center Josh Flook swooped onto Kalani Thomas's short grubber kick to give the Reds a 12-7 lead after 25 minutes but it was all Lions after that, with the visitors scoring the next seven tries.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Tommy Freeman, centre, of the British & Irish Lions is congratulated by teammates' Duhan van der Merwe and Elliot Daly, right, after scoring his team's first try during their game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Queensland Reds' Seru Uru is tackled by Tom Curry of the British & Irish Lions during their game in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Tommy Freeman, left, of the British & Irish Lions scores his team's first try as teammate Duhan van der Merwe reacts during their game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Jac Morgan of the British & Irish Lions runs at the defence during their game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Maro Itoje of the British & Irish Lions is tackled by a defender during their game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)