Rugby: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt slams late call in loss to Lions
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Australia coach Joe Schmidt says match officials have failed to uphold player safety and hit out at a late clear-out decision that ensured the
British & Irish Lions clinched a series-sealing victory
.
Fullback Hugo Keenan's last-minute try put the Lions 29-26 up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but the Wallabies players cried foul after Jac Morgan cleared out Carlo Tizzano in the buildup.
After a lengthy pause as the TV match official assessed multiple angles of the incident, the try was allowed to stand, giving the Lions victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Citing rugby's Law 9.20, which says head contact and clear-outs around the neck should be penalised, an incensed Schmidt said the officials had got the decision wrong.
Joe Schmidt
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"Because they're human, match officials make errors," he said at the post-match press conference.
"We felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they're (World Rugby) talking about.
"You cannot hit someone above... the shoulders.
"But that's what we've seen and we've watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is and we just have to accept it."
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was also convinced his team were hard done by.
"Obviously I saw shoulder to the neck. Carlo was pretty sore about it," he said.
Lions coach Andy Farrell had a different view.
"I thought it was a brilliant clear-out," he said. "Honestly, it depends which side of the fence you come from, I would have thought. I can understand people's opinions, but I thought Jac was brilliant when he came on - and so were the rest of the bench."
Schmidt said he was proud of his players but gutted by the final result after the Wallabies had taken a 23-5 lead near the half-hour mark.
Jake Gordon of Australia dives to score a try during the second test against the British and Irish Lions.
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While the Wallabies were bitterly disappointed that the clear-out decision had gone against them, they did not need to use it as motivation for the dead rubber in Sydney next Saturday.
"You can't get more motivated than what the players showed tonight," he added. "You've got to keep resolve and keep going forward. We're not going to wallow in self-pity."
Farrell said his players had fulfilled the ultimate dream by pulling off a brilliant comeback win from 18 points down.
James Lowe celebrates Tadhg Beirne's try for the British and Irish Lions.
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By storming back from 23-5 down late in the first half, the Lions delivered the biggest comeback in their test history and gave the tourists a first series win since beating Robbie Deans's Australia in 2013.
"When you see what it means to everyone in there, you can hear them, these lads have dreamed of being a British & Irish Lion all their lives," Farrell told reporters.
"And to get to the point where we come to the MCG, 90,000 people, with a dramatic finish like that to win the series is what dreams are made of.
"The drama and how it unfolded, that's what makes it special.
"I suppose you wouldn't have backed us at 23-5 but to find a way it adds to the story, doesn't it? It adds to the fairytale.
"To be part of that is an honour."
While the Wallabies were incensed that a clean-out by Jac Morgan in the build up to Hugo Keenan's last-minute try was not penalised, Farrell said the Lions were deserving winners for hanging on in the match.
Bundee Aki (L) and Owen Farrell celebrate the Lions' win over Australia in the second test in Melbourne.
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He did have some words of sympathy Joe Schmidt's team, though, praising them for their fight in a classic test that came a week after the hosts lost the Brisbane opener 27-19.
"It's cruel in so many ways for Australia, but we stayed in the fight and got what we deserved," Farrell said.
"Fair play to them. They turned up and they were going to turn up physically. But it wasn't just that.
"They played a great brand of rugby."
Farrell was defence coach when Warren Gatland's Lions won the 2013 series 2-1 by hammering the Wallabies 41-16 in the Sydney decider.
He will now look to guide the Lions to an unprecedented 3-0 sweep of the Wallabies in Sydney in a week's time.
"He wants us to win everything," captain Maro Itoje said, who was named man of the match in Melbourne.
"Don't get me wrong, absolutely delighted with the result tonight, but we want to go again next week."
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