Wallabies avoid whitewash in dramatic Sydney showdown
MATCH REPORT: Australia avoided an infamous series whitewash when they produced a 22-12 win over the British and Irish Lions in a dramatic third Test in Sydney.
The B&I Lions, having wrapped up the series win with victories in the first and second internationals, were undone in the final encounter by a more determined Wallaby team.
The match, which started in torrential rain that worsened, had some additional drama when the teams were forced from the field two minutes into the second half because of a lightning warning in the area, with play suspended for 35 minutes.
The storm could not stop the Wallabies from recording a crucial win ahead of the Rugby Champions that gets underway in a fortnight.
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In the bouts of torrential rain at Sydney’s Stadium, the hosts went to the break with an 8-0 lead after an eighth-minute try before showing steely nerve to finish the job.
Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen both dotted down to put them 15-0 clear.
The Wallabies had thrown away an 18-point advantage to lose the second Test in heartbreaking fashion last week, but learned their lesson.
They largely controlled the contest in front of 80,312 fans, swift at the breakdown and with plenty of attacking flair despite atrocious conditions.
There was a lot of collateral damage, with Lions skipper Maro Itoje and Australia’s Tom Lynagh both failing concussion tests and Lions lock James Ryan stretchered off after being knocked out making a tackle.
Victory ensured the Lions’ six-week visit ended in disappointment after winning all eight previous tour games.
It included a comfortable 27-19 first Test triumph in Brisbane before clinching a controversial 29-26 series-winning victory last week in Melbourne in the last minute.
That loss was gut-wrenching for Australia, but they rallied despite a slew of injuries to bank the biggest win of Schmidt’s tenure.
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Lightning break
In doing so, they denied the Lions a first unbeaten series since 1974 and gave themselves a huge lift heading into the Rugby Championship this month.
In a statement of intent, Lions coach Andy Farrell resisted resting any of his big guns despite the Test being a dead rubber.
In contrast, Australia were forced into five changes, four of them injury-related with forwards Rob Valetini, Allan Alaalatoa, David Porecki and wing Harry Potter all unavailable.
With the series already lost, Australia was playing for pride and as the rain belted down they were full of intent, crossing for an early try.
Following a period of pressure on the Lions line, they went wide on a penalty advantage with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii flicking a pass to wing Pietsch who dived over in the corner.
Lynagh failed to add the extras, but it was a psychological boost for Australia.
With the packs slipping and sliding in the grim conditions, the Lions were frustrated, unable to launch any sustained attacks with Australia winning a host of turnovers to keep the pressure on.
Scrumhalf Nic White, in his final Test before retiring, was everywhere, leading the line as Australia pressed for another try.
After failing to breach the Lions defence, they finally opted for three points with Lynagh nailing a simple penalty kick.
Australia picked up where they left off after the lightning break, with Jorgensen gathering and streaking clear when Bundee Aki fumbled the ball on 54 minutes.
Ben Donaldson converted to stretch their lead to 15-0, but the Lions woke up and Welshman Jac Morgan crashed over for a converted try to pile the pressure back on.
A yellow card to Ronan Kelleher with 12 minutes deflated the Lions and the Wallabies pounced again with Tate McDermott crossing to seal the win.
Man of the match: For the British and Irish Lions, Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park were vital with their game management, while Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne were the most productive on defence. Jac Morgan also made a massive impact as a second-half replacement. Dylan Pietsch, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper and replacements Jeremy Williams and Tate McDermott all deserved a mention as the best of the Australians. Our award goes to Wallaby centre Len Ikitau, who made one massive hits on defence that assisted in getting some crucial turnovers. Then there was some impressive in which he mixed it up with the forwards in the close exchanges.
Moment of the match: Amidst all the drama, it was the players being taken off after a lightning strike in the 43rd minute, just as James Ryan was carted of after being knocked out by getting his head on the wrong side of a tackle.
Villain: There was a lot of feeling and some of it spilt over, with British and Irish Lions players Tom Curry and Andrew Porter at the heart of all the flare-ups, with Porter not just being penalised at scrum time, but also for starting one of the scraps in the second half.
The scorers
For Australia
Tries: Pietsch, Jorgensen, McDermott
Cons: Donaldson 2
Pen: Lynagh
For the British and Irish Lions
Tries: Morgan, Stuart
Con: Russell
Yellow card: Ronan Kelleher (British and Irish Lions, 69 – repeated infringements in red zone, offside)
Teams:
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Andrew Kellaway.
British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Owen Farrell.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
