Darcy Graham scored a try but his injury curse struck again and his debut for the British and Irish Lions lasted only 16 minutes in Melbourne. The Scotland winger was unlucky not to be part of Andy Farrell’s original tour squad but was called up last Monday and made his Lions debut in the scrappy win over the First Nations and Pasifika XV. The sight of Graham hobbling off so early was gut-wrenching, particularly given how lively he had looked, scoring the tourists’ second try in the 24-19 victory at Marvel Stadium. “It’s so upsetting because he was so upset,” said head coach Andy Farrell. “It shows how much it means to him. He hobbled off, but he’s got a Lions cap, he played for the British and Irish Lions, he’s scored a try and he’ll remember that forever.” Graham looked devastated as he came off and his damaged left ankle was in a protective boot by the end of the match. It’s the latest setback for the Edinburgh winger who missed the Six Nations in 2023 and 2024 through injury. At least he has his try to look back on. The tourists were already 7-0 up through Jamie Osborne’s converted score when Fin Smith found Graham in acres of space on the right wing and the Hawick man was never going to waste such an opportunity. He had already been involved in one of the game’s more contentious moments, being on the receiving end of a high tackle from Triston Reilly which earned the Aussie sevens international a deserved yellow card. But it was a tackle in the 13th minute which did for Graham as he found himself trapped under a ruck of bodies. The injury was taped up and he tried to continue but eventually bowed to the inevitable and was replaced by Garry Ringrose. Graham was one of six Scots in the Lions starting side in Melbourne, with another three on the bench for a game against an invitational side representing indigenous First Nations peoples and Samoan, Fijian, Tongan, Maori and Cook Island cultures. The Lions looked like they were going to blow the opposition away in the early stages, racing into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes, but the departure of Graham seemed to signal a change in momentum and the hosts fought back to go in level at the turn thanks to tries from Reilly and Seru Uru. Two more Lions tries in the second half through Osborne - his second - and Duhan van der Merwe made it 24-14 but the First Nations and Pasifika XV finished the stronger side. Rob Leota’s try brought them to within a score but the Lions hung on for victory. The 100 per cent win rate in Australia has been maintained but this was their poorest performance of the tour and few players put their hands up for selection for Saturday’s second Test against the Wallabies. “We lost the run of ourselves after going 14-0 up, playing some fancy rugby that was never on,” lamented Andy Farrell. Blair Kinghorn is one who will give the head coach pause for thought. Returning to the team after suffering a knee strain against the ACT Brumbies, the full-back was one of the Lions’ liveliest attackers, linking up well with his Scotland team-mates Graham and van der Merwe in the early stages. Kinghorn was finding pockets of space, particularly on the right, and using his long, galloping stride to pin back the hosts. He was good under the high ball, too, most notably in the second half when the First Nations and Pasifika XV were putting the Lions under pressure. It wasn’t perfect from Kinghorn. He had one brain fart moment which gifted the hosts their first try, as his looped pass intended for Owen Farrell was intercepted by Reilly. There was another interception just half-time but van der Merwe got him out of jail on that occasion. The good outweighed the bad, though, and he pushed his case to be part of the Test 23 at the MCG this weekend. Whether he can dislodge Hugo Keenan from the No 15 jersey remains to be seen but Kinghorn certainly offers more in attack than the Irishman. Ben White was another who shone on a night when few in red did. Unfortunately for the Scotland nine, the scrum-half roles looked to be locked in, with Jamison Gibson-Park certain to start on Saturday and Alex Mitchell likely to be on the bench. Van der Merwe started all three Tests in South Africa in 2021 but finds himself on the periphery this time, even though he is the Lions top try-scorer of the tour. He took his tally to five with a neat finish in the second half after good work by Fin Smith and Owen Farrell. His great friend and Scotland team-mate Pierre Schoeman had a quiet game but his own standards, with few of his trademarks surges. The Lions scrum also struggled at times, with penalties conceded amid the flurry of errors in the first half in particular. Scott Cummings had a more satisfactory evening in the second row, stealing one First Nations lineout, claiming kick-offs with authority and proving himself a menace as he charged down opposition kicks. With a question mark around Joe McCarthy’s fitness Cummings has an outside chance of making the bench on Saturday. There were Lions debuts for Gregor Brown and Ewan Ashman, who both came on in the second half along with Rory Sutherland who was a Test player in 2021. All three linked up with the squad this week after being part of the Scotland party in New Zealand. It is likely to be their only tour action in red but a proud moment nonetheless. Scorers: First Nations & Pasifika XV: Tries: Reilly, Uru, Leota. Cons: Beale 2. Lions: Tries: Osborne 2, Graham, van der Merwe. Cons: F Smith 2. Yellow cards: T Reilly, (First Nations, 4min), J Ryan (Lions, 22min) First Nations & Pasifika XV: A Muirhead; F Daugunu, L Foketi, D Feliuai, T Reilly; K Beale, K Thomas; L Ieli, B Paenga-Amosa, T Tupou, D Swain, L Salakaia-Loto, S Uru, C Gamble, TT Tualima. Replacements: R Asiata, M Pearce, M Doge, M Vocevoce, R Leota, H Goddard, J Debreczeni, J McLeod. Lions: B Kinghorn; D Graham (G Ringrose 16), J Osborne, O Farrell (capt), D van der Merwe; F Smith (M Smith 66-72), B White; P Schoeman (R Sutherland 74), J George (E Ashman 74), F Bealham (T Clarkson 54), J Ryan (G Brown 54), S Cummings, J Morgan (B Earl 50), J van der Flier, H Pollock. Replacement: A Mitchell. Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU).