The agony, the ecstasy and the comeback that nearly was
But wait! Relief! In that last quarter, just when all seemed lost, the Wallabies steadied, came back and gave it a real go. First Carlo Tizzano went over and then with a minute to go, reserve half-back Tate McDermott went over to close the gap to a more than respectable scoreline. Hence ...
Pride. Go you good things! All up, how great were our blokes in the face of that Lions' onslaught? How wonderful that instead of shutting up shop and just trying to limit the damage, they continued to throw everything at them, backed themselves and never stopped emptying their tanks.
In the backline, Alex Jorgensen tested the defence with every touch, as did McDermott when he came on in the last quarter. The colossi in the middle of our forwards were our back-rowers, Fraser McReight who proved himself, once again, world class; Nick Champion de Crespigny who made a fabulous debut which included pulling off a team-high nineteen tackles; and skipper Harry Wilson. (Told yers.)
As the second half went on, the pride grew because our blokes started to believe in themselves more than ever.
They grew in confidence, even as the Lions started to doubt the result enough that when presented with a kickable penalty with ten minutes to go, they took it in an attempt to ensure the win. That was how far the Wallabies had come in the course of the match, from us fearing being on the wrong end of a 50–0 pizzling.
Frustration. Can we get the bloody line-outs to work, as in every time? Particularly in the first half, just when we had clawed back some momentum to threaten them, we threw the ball in . . . and they came away with it. One time, they scored because of our wayward throw.
And can we use Joseph Aukuso Suaalii more effectively? Against England at Twickenham last year, the Gifted One showed himself to be something new in the world of rugby – a back who could humiliate an entire forward pack again and again by soaring high above the lot of them at kick-offs and tapping the ball back to our own rampaging forwards.
Despite that, in this Test that was tried only once and it didn't work. And instead of kicking it short for him, or at least long to the corners, we kicked it to the No Man's Land of the Lions' 22 – beyond the reach of any of our blokes to put real pressure on, but perfectly suited for them to comfortably gather in and then roof it downfield. Why? Why? Do it short or do it long to the corner, but stop giving it to them in the very spot they most want it! I repeat: if you were the Lions captain, where would you want the ball to go? Short and be hammered, long and be cornered, or betwixt and between so you can belt it downfield and relieve all pressure. Well stop bloody kicking it there!
And the other part of the frustration was what-might-have-been. On three occasions the Wallabies went within a Lions' whisker of scoring tries when skipper Harry Wilson and Suaalii both went over and appeared to have scored only to be called back, and then winger Harry Potter was only denied a try because the ball rolled out at the last instant. If only those line-ball tries had gone our way, we really might have snatched it.
Hope. See all of the above. I won't say the Wallabies will win next week, but they really might win. They performed creditably well against the best team in the world right now, rose to the occasion and showed every sign of rising still further.
Bravo, the lot of them.

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ABC News
8 minutes ago
- ABC News
Five quick hits: Wallabies replacements step up, Curry saves a try and the Lions ride their luck at the MCG
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7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Wallabies denied victory by ‘terrible' call in heartbreaking loss to Lions
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Ex-Wallabies slam 'weak' refs over series-deciding call
Former Wallabies centre Morgan Turinui has blasted "weak" referees over the controversial decision that confirmed Australia's heart-breaking series defeat to the British and Irish Lions. Lions fullback Hugo Keenan scored the match-winning try in the final minute of the second Test at the MCG, after Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano appeared to have been illegally cleaned out in the build-up. Tizzano looked to have been hit high and recoiled holding his neck. TMO Eric Gauzins and referee Andrea Piardi reviewed Lions flanker Jac Morgan's clean-out but ruled there was no foul play, allowing the try to stand. Turinui, who played 20 Tests for the Wallabies, was adamant it should have been ruled out. "The end is a penalty to the Wallabies and the referees were too weak to give it," Turinui said on Nine. "The referees have got it wrong and it's cost the Wallabies survival in the series. "The British and Irish Lions lead this series 2-0. It was brave to come back from them, but it is a terrible decision that decides this match." Ex-England and Lions skipper Martin Johnson took a contrasting view, but former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper agreed with Turinui. "I can see what the referee's saying but there's a penalty there, whether it's on head, on neck or whether he's going straight off his feet to ground," Hooper said on Nine. "I would say if that was minute one it's a penalty and it was deserved to be awarded and the try overturned. "If you're refereeing or judging by the letter of the law, minute one to minute 79 it doesn't matter." Johnson disagreed. "I didn't think there was enough there for a penalty that would change the game," he said on Nine. "You have to be very, very sure to change the game on a ref's decision. "I thought it wasn't a penalty." Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was in no mood to discuss the incident when he was asked about it minutes after the match. "I'm probably not in the right emotional state to talk about that," Wilson said on Nine.