Two minutes into the second half at Sydney’s Accor stadium, containing 84,000 rugby fans, with the hosts 8-0 ahead, an electrical storm forced a 40-minute delay and, bizarrely, gave the players a chance to catch up on their text messages mid-game from the comfort of the changing room.
This extraordinary weather outage did nothing to galvanise the British & Irish Lions, who were out-skilled, out-gassed and out-muscled by the Aussies from one to 15.
Any thoughts of a three-nil whitewash for the Lions were blasted away by a brilliant Wallabies outfit, who showed that, despite recent below-par seasons, they are still world-class.
Unforced errors characterised the Lions’ performance, not helped by horrendous weather conditions. Rain? This was rain on steroids. The hunger of the hosts, coupled with the visitors knowing they already had the series win, led to largely one-way traffic save for two short-quarters drive-over tries late on by replacement flanker Jac Morgan of Wales and replacement prop Will Stuart of England.
Tries from wingers Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen, and replacement scum-half Tate McDermott, added to the Aussies’ total. Their triumph was never in doubt as the final whistle ended the match 22-12.
Will Skelton, the 150kg lock forward, was a menace. His monstrous carries and relish of physicality, inside the laws of the game and outside of them, deserve a mention. Sadly for James Ryan, the Irish lock, he misjudged a tackle on Skelton, getting his head the wrong side of the 6ft 8in giant’s knee, knocking him out cold. Rugby is a hard game.
Maro Itoje, the Lions’ magnificent skipper, and winger Tommy Freeman, both of England, were also forced out of the game after failing head injury assessments.
The Lions man of the series? No surprise, the magical outside half Finn Russell of Scotland. Best in the business, and a lovely, laidback family man, too.
A tough night for the Lions. A stunning performance by the Aussies. Redemption. A sour note to end the Lions’ tour. No fairytale ending in Sydney. But nonetheless a 2-1 series win. Lions series wins are always tough to achieve. The Lions rugby brand is alive and kicking. And, much to the relief of Lions fans as much as Aussie fans, so is Wallabies rugby – ahead of a Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.
