Lions tour second Test: Australia 26 Lions 29
Soon after the full-time whistle, You Shook Me All Night Long blared around Melbourne Cricket Ground and it was entirely apt. The game at this iconic oval-shaped stadium lived up to the occasion, and how.
In front of an enthralled 90,307 crowd, the biggest for a Lions Test ever and seemingly evenly split, the rejuvenated Wallabies and the Lions served up one of the greatest clashes.
Demonstrating that a week can indeed be a long time in rugby, Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies were brilliantly revived and brave, deservedly roaring into a 23-5 lead only for Hugo Keenan to complete the greatest comeback in Lions’ Test history with a superbly taken try in the 79th minute.
Melbourne is crawling with former Lions’ greatest and as much as any of them, Keenan can dine out on that one forever more.
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Rob Valetini and Will Skelton transformed the Wallabies, putting them on the front foot until having to give way at half-time and early in the second period, while Joseph Suaalii also came to the party.
Yet although it was a cruel finish for the home side, in the cold light of day it has to be said that the Lions kept their nerve, kept digging deeper and ultimately had the bigger ballast off the bench – notably in the human wrecking ball that Ellis Genge was, as well as James Ryan and Blair Kinghorn.
The Lions had a crucial edge in the set-piece, where they earned three scrum penalties, while Tom Curry, Tadhg Beirne and Maro Itoje all came into the game more as more as the night wore one. They are proper Test match animals, as is Dan Sheehan, while Jamison Gibson-Park was again the heartbeat, Finn Russell kept his cool with some lovely kicking and passing, and Bundee Aki had a mighty match.
It felt like a completely different game compared to last week virtually from the kick-off, David Porecki working a simple blindside move with Skelton at the front of the lineout. Soon Skelton and Valetini were rumbling forward, winning collisions with the ball and putting the Wallabies on the front foot.
Tom Lynagh had a couple of settling early penalties, the second after a well-timed out-in line from Suaalii on to Len Ikitau’s short pass before the Lions bared their teeth with a huge scrum.
Although Jack Conan was denied a try after a strong launch play from Bundee Aki off a penalty to the corner, soon Dan Sheehan was tapping a five-metre penalty and diving over the tackles of Porecki and James Slipper. Surprisingly, Finn Russell hit the upright with a very kickable conversion.
Schmidt’s gamble on a 6-2 bench looked to have backfired after winger Harry Potter pulled his hamstring, meaning backup scrumhalf Tate McDermott had to play an hour on the wing.
Even so, Skelton and Valetini were soon ploughing through Maro Itoje and Andrew Porter and after the Wallabies turned down another three-pointer in going to the corner, their sustained bombardment of the Lions line culminated in Slipper burrowing through Conan and Russell by the corner flag.
What’s more Tommy Freeman was rightly binned for offside when denying Jake Gordon a try and how the Wallabies exploited the absence of the Lions rightwinger in the ensuing 10 minutes.
First, McDermott escaped from being cornered by bouncing off Conan’s tackle before Tom Wright executed a brilliant 50-22. Valetini was launched to good effect again off the well-executed lineout and the heavy artillery pounded the Lions line again before Gordon sniped between Porter and Tadhg Furlong to score.
From the kick-off Max Jorgensen showed some lovely footwork and when the ball was recycled and moved into midfield, Suaalii brilliantly stepped Aki and eluded Porter’s covering tackle to cross halfway and then draw Keenan to out Wright over for a brilliant try. Suddenly it was 23-5.
But with Freeman back and making inroads up the right after Lynagh failed to deal with a Gibson-Park box kick, two phases later Gibson-Park exploited the blindside with razor sharpness off a ruck and Conan cleverly linked with Curry for the flanker to step Gordon and finish in the right corner.
The Lions struck again before the break after a huge penalty to the corner by Russell. Sheehan hit Beirne and steamed around the corner before Jones crashed through Jorgensen and McDermott for a good finish. Russell’s conversion made it 23-17 at the break, which was a good outcome given the Wallabies had made five line breaks to one and the Lions had missed 17 tackles to six.
After scoring three tries apiece in that breathless first half, the second period could hardly match that, although if anything it was even more absorbing.
Keenan adroitly prevented the Lions conceding a 50-22 from a long Lynagh punt before Russell kicked out on the full and Lynagh gave the Wallabies a two-score lead with a 54th minute penalty after Aki was pinged for hands in a ruck.
But that would be their last score of the match as the Lions increasingly turned up the heat, as they had done toward the end of the first half in both Tests.
Cometh the hour, there was an inevitability about their next try after Aki brilliantly beat Langi Gleeson with his innate combination of footwork and strength. The Lions went carrying and recycling, Ellis Genge and James Ryan giving real oomph off the bench, before James Lowe beat one tackle and offloaded out of another for Beirne to plough through the tackles of Wright and McReight, Russell adding the touchline conversion.
The Lions cranked it up again after a big bust by Blair Kinghorn, newly introduced along with Owen Farrell in place of Lowe and Jones, and Aki also powered forward. But just when it looked as if they were on the verge of scoring again, Will Stuart was pinged for rolling with the ball on the ground after the tackle.
Soon though, Itoje was coming up with another big play with a choke tackle to earn a scrum 35 metres out. Kinghorn and Aki were constant sources of go-forward. Still, time ticked on, and Gleeson won what seemed a key penalty close to his own line before Genge – now taking the game by the scruff of the neck – made another enormous bust.
Kinghorn carried hard again, so too Ryan in putting the Lions on the front foot after Russell had been caught in traffic, before Keenan brilliantly pinned his ears back with a classic outside step to break the tackle of Len Ikitau to score.
There had been a huge Welsh roar for the introduction of Jac Morgan but there was a nervy check for his clearout on Tizzano, who threw himself back, and the officials saw no foul play, so the score stood. Cue the night’s biggest roar and chants of “Li-ons”.
Russell ran down the clock with the conversion. Rarely has a missed conversion induced so much celebration. Aki and Gibson-Park jumping on their outhalf as the Lions’ squad began to hug and embrace each other.
An epic finish to an epic Test.
Scoring sequence: 5 mins Lynagh pen 3-0; 11 mins Lynagh pen 6-0; 16 mins Sheehan try 6-5; 23 mins Slipper try 11-5; 2 mins Gordon try, Lynagh con 18-5; 30 mins Wright try 23-5; 35 mins Curry try 23-17; 38 mins Jones try, Russell con 23-17; (half-time 23-17); 54 mins Lynagh pen 26-17; 60 mins Beirne try, Russell con 26-24; 80 mins Keenan try 26-29.
Australia: Tom Wright (Brumbies); Max Jorgensen (Force), Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Waratahs) Len Ikitau (Brumbies); Harry Potter (Waratahs); Tom Lynagh (Red), Jake Gordon (Waratahs); James Slipper (Brumbies), David Porecki (Waratahs), Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies), Nick Frost (Brumbies), Will Skelton (La Rochelle), Rob Valetini (Brumbies), Fraser McReight (Reds), Harry Wilson (Reds, capt).
Replacements: Tate McDermott (Reds) for Potter (20 mins), Angus Bell (Waratahs) for Slipper, Tom Robertson (Force) for Alaalatoa, Langi Gleeson (Waratahs) for Valetini (all half-time), Jeremy Williams (Force) for Skelton (48 mins), Billy Pollard (Brumbies) for Porecki (57 mins), Carlo Tizzano (Force) for (McReight 61 mins),
Not used: Ben Donaldson (Force).
British & Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Maro Itoje (Saracens/England, capt), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland).
Replacements: Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England) for Porter, James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Chessum, Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales) for Curry (all 55 mins), Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) for Aki, Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland) for Keenan (both 61 mins), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) Sheehan, Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England) for Furlong (both 65 mins),
Not used: Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England).
Sinbinned: Freeman (23 mins)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
