British & Irish Lions seal 'fairy-tale' victory to beat Australia and clinch series

The National

7 days ago

A last-gasp try from Hugo Keenan earned the British & Irish Lions a thrilling comeback victory over Australia that sealed the three-Test series with a match still to play.
It was a very different Australia from the first Test when they had gone down 27-19 in Brisbane after finding themselves 17-5 at the break.
This time, it was the home side who dominated from the start in front of 90,307 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against a sloppy Lions, with the Wallabies establishing a 23-5 lead thanks to tries from James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright.
But Andy Farrell's side produced the response needed with Tom Curry and Huw Jones going over before the break, reducing the deficit to six points.
A Tadhg Beirne try in the second half left the Lions just two points behind before Keenan's big moment in the 80th minute when he rode a tackle to claim the decisive try.
The finish was unbearably tense as match officials checked the score to see if there had been a dangerous clearout by Jac Morgan earlier in the move before clearing the Wales captain of any wrong doing.
The Irish full-back was injured at the start of the tour and then missed out on his Lions debut after taking ill.
'I was screaming pass it, pass it,' said coach Farrell on match-winner Keenan. 'After what he has been through, it was all worth it. To score at the death of a Lions Test.
'These players have dreamt of playing for the Lions. It was a fairy tale. We want to win every game but we will take a breath after that one.'
They remain unbeaten after eight tour games in Australia with only the final dead rubber Test in Sydney next weekend standing between them and a whitewash.
Lions captain Maro Itoje – a colossus for the tourists – added: Big Faz [Andy] was telling us to play big and be bigger all the time and believe in ourselves. I give credit to the bench they came on and made the difference.
'It's amazing as I always say it's not about me, it's about all those on the pitch and those Lions fans in the stands.'
After a shaky start that saw Australia take a 6-0 advantage – courtesy of two fine penalties taken in style by Tom Lynagh – Lions hit back in the simplest of fashions in the 17th minute when Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan tapped and powered over the line.
But that joy was short-lived as a spell of home pressure ended with veteran prop James Slipper squeezing his way over restoring their six-point lead, with Tommy Freeman being sent to the sin-bin because of poor Lions discipline.
And it was to prove costly as things quickly went from bad to worse for the tourists as Australia took complete control of the Test courtesy of quick-fire tries from scrum-half Gordon – scything through the Lions defence – and full-back Wright to establish a 23-5 lead just past the half-hour mark.
The latter try saw Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii power through before feeding Wright who raced clear to touch down, celebrating with his arms outstretched in front of ecstatic MCG home fans.
But the game seemingly hurtling away from them, the Lions responded with two tries of their own in the space of four minutes. First, Jamison Gibson-Park combined with Jack Conan, to set up Curry for a one-on-one which he finished confidently in the corner.
Then Scottish centre Jones powered over before international teammate Russell added the extras as a breathless first half ended with Australia holding a 23-17 lead.
The points may have dried up after the break but the tension remained consistently high. After Lynagh took the lead back up to nine with a penalty, Curry then produced a try-saving tackle to deny Suaalii who would have put Australia into another commanding position.
And Curry's efforts were swiftly rewarded when Ireland's Beirne surged through three Wallabie tackles to score, following fine work by James Lowe, with Finn Russell converting from out wide, bringing the Lions to within two points.
Then, with seconds left on the clock, Keenan would go over to break Australian hearts and earn the Lions a series victory with the final Test in Sydney still to play.
It is the first time since 1997 that the Lions have wrapped up a Test series with a game to spare, and not since 1966 have they managed the feat against Australia.
'I suppose you don't think about scoring the winner, especially with my try-scoring record,' said Keenan. 'It was of the back of countless phases, it will be one I saviour forever.'