Melbourne – It was an incredible Test match, ending with another dagger blow to the heart of Australian rugby by Irishman Hugo Keenan.
The British and Ireland Lions on Saturday night concluded their first series victory since 2013. This was the last visit to Australia, returning from a 23-5 first half deficit to sink Wallaby 29-26 in front of MCG’s 90,307 fans.
This is not the night for any supporter who quickly forgets. There will be at least another 12 years of pain for Australian rugby fans, but it was total ecstasy for the Reds as Keenan finished the final Lions surge.
However, the drama continued quickly as officials checked for illegal head contact with Carlo Tizzano, a replacement for the Wallabee. However, Italian umpire Andrea Piardi got nervous and came to decide with fellow officials that replacing Jack Morgan’s clean-out would be fine and no foul play was made.
29-26, over in the series.
For Australia, this was an even more heartbreaking finish than the infamous time-wasting Bladislow Cup call across the town of Marvel Stadium in 2022. On that occasion it was French referee Matthew Reynal who awarded the All Blacks a free kick after Bernard Foley failed to take a penalty kick for a touch within the Frenchman’s desired time frame.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was then gobsmacked at the decision that night, and it’s fair to say that Australia’s helm Joe Schmidt was also at the MCG on Saturday.
“You can’t hit someone beyond the shoulder level and you won’t be tied to your left arm. Your hands are on the ground, so that’s what we saw and we saw a lot of replays from different angles.” “And what it is, we just have to accept that.”
Despite the drama behind, this was the opportunity and crowd of crowds that filled the biggest arena in Australian sports, and certainly a test match worthy of the best match in the world.
Red and Gold supporters have strolled out of town throughout the evening, filling up Melbourne pubs and clubs for the past few days. And they were treated to an exhilarating contest, rivaling any of the myriad iconic sporting events that took place within ‘G.
There were few finishes that looked like Saturday nights. Eventually, it was a brutal pill that took Wallabies to swallow. Once Morgan’s anger at clean-out has subsided, Australian fans look back at the fact that the team worked on a winning position 23-5, but simply couldn’t finish the job.
Australia only added three more points after the 29th minute, with two missed conversions from Tomrina coming back to bite Wallaby.
In his second run-on test, Wallabies No. 10 endured another difficult night highlighted by his knock-on, who invited the Lions to the contest after 30 minutes. Up until that point, Australia enjoyed almost every first half play, playing the best rugby of the Schmidt era at full stop, except for another suspicious attempt from Lions hooker Danceyhan.
However, you could not condemn the Lions’ resolve and execution, especially in death, as the Wallabies played three attempts and saw a team that was more threatening in the offensive for the majority of the game in general.
Lions skipper Malo Itoge is a worthy person, defensively heroic, making 20 tackles and earning a serious second half injury penalty. He was once again well supported by Tadig Bailun and Jack Conan, but the front row of Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadge Furlong emptied the tank before replacing.
And the Lions got a big shift from the bench from the front row before the exchange. Visitors dominate the second half of the scrum contest. Andy Farrell’s side became more dominant as the match progressed, with the backline increasing regularity and opening up the Wallabies.
Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Tommy Freeman and Keenan all had moments of threatening, but Wallabies’ Joseph-Aukuso Suaali and the usually trusted Len Ikitau were exposed defensively.
James Lowe’s Ikitau mistake was able to put Baerne on the hour mark afterwards for the Lions’ fourth try-on-the-hour mark, but he said in particular. The Australian will not enjoy the sight of his missed tackle in Monday’s review.
Previously, a large crowd witnessed an exhilarating first half when it seemed like Australia might be kicked out into an unattackable lead. The Wallabies started out strong in their hard work, in contrast to last week, and Linag was able to push them out for a 6-0 advantage.
However, the Lions used their first field position to ping the corner and came back through the forward for the first attempt in the game. It took through slightly strange circumstances from Hooker Sheehan, the Irish squeezed up, and under the wallabies, and around James Slippers and Dave Polecki to get the easiest try from a quick tap.
However, it didn’t take long to reaffirm their early domination as the Wallabies rolled the internal stages of half the Lions. At the heart of their momentum were Rob Barrecini and Will Skeleton, who were so overlooked in Brisbane, but slippers and skipper Harry Wilson were also repeatedly ball carriers.
Ultimately, the pressure was applied when the slippers dotted down from close range. The Lions suffer double brows, paying for the repeated infringements of winger Tommy Freeman on his part. The attempt went to 23 minutes, but the Wallabies had two more times, with only an eight more minutes on the clock.
Then, from kickoff, the Wallabies reentered. Knowing the Lions are getting a lot more extended, Australia moves the ball right after the restart, and Suari is the biggest part of the series, but he skips inside Aki along the way, then watches a run with Tom Wright touching his shoulder.
At that point, the Wallabies fan in the MCG was EC. In fact, they might even think the game was over. However, it didn’t take long for Linag to change his mood as he spilled what was the regulation highball and the Lions went into attack.
It was Tom Curry who initially narrowed the margin down to 13 points. The backrower returned inside Gordon and won a strong carry on smart marshalling at Jamison Gibson Park. Russell’s conversion was wide, but the Lions rolled once more into Australia’s 22 three minutes later, then watched Hugh Jones slip between Tate McDermott and Jorgensen to fully regain momentum.
And then things didn’t really change. The Lions won Baerne twice and then attempted via Keenan’s match winner, but Australia was all Linag’s penalty.
So this series will move to Sydney. There’s nothing Australia can play except pride, so it’s a much worse and necessary momentum before the rugby championship. The Lions will definitely enjoy it over the next few days, but it will motivate them to complete the Australian tour sweep.
The Wallabies were crestfallen full time, reflecting the atmosphere of the golden everyone in the MCG. They were doing enough to win the game with a 3-tree, eight-minute first half blast while Freeman was in the bin. This should have been a lead they would never abandon, just like Brisbane’s 24-5 Lions last week.
But they fell into a huge hole after the opening half an hour and you always felt that the lion was going to swallow them. The fact that they did this late and dramatic way was a salt to the Wallabies’ wounds and long and suffering Australian rugby masses.
It doesn’t worry about one Iota of Lions fans. Many of those who traveled from the other side of the world have been hanging for a long time at halftime, paying tribute to the hero before wandering on Flinders Street, where the party will undoubtedly continue.
A party rolling to Sydney next week without emphasizing that the series is still holding onto it. Itoje, Farrell, and other Tour Lions Horde wrote themselves in rugby history.