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
14 minutes ago
- ABC News
Why Wallabies could have the 'blueprint' to defeating British and Irish Lions in second Test
When the Wallabies watched back their defeat to the British and Irish Lions in the first Test, they could have hit the pause button after just 10 seconds to identify a key area of the match in which they were soundly beaten. Making a hit-up on the second phase following the kick-off in Brisbane last Saturday night, Wallabies loose-head prop James Slipper was abruptly halted by a stinging two-man tackle executed by Lions hooker Dan Sheehan and back-rower Tom Curry. The moment set the tone for the match, as the Lions had immediately signalled they were intent on dominating the physical contest, a key battleground in any Test. After Sheehan and Curry stopped Slipper in his tracks, the Lions imposed themselves again by winning a defensive breakdown penalty in the next phase, from which they established a 3-0 advantage on the scoreboard in the second minute of play. The Lions enjoyed a 24-5 lead soon after half-time, and despite a spirited Wallabies' fightback, the tourists completed a comfortable 27-19 victory, with the final scoreline not reflecting how dominant they were in the series opener. Lions coach Andy Farrell admitted his team had room for improvement, an ominous warning ahead of Saturday night's second Test at the MCG. Having been out-muscled on both sides of the ball by the Lions, "physicality" virtually become a buzzword for the Wallabies after arriving in Melbourne. Reacting to the Wallabies' loss, coach Joe Schmidt added some world-class firepower to his forward pack in the form of back-rower Rob Valetini and lock Will Skelton. Both players were sorely missed in the first Test, having been sidelined due to calf injuries. Valetini and Skelton have the potential to provide much-needed aggression to the Wallabies' attack and defence, and have shown they can win the collisions at the Test level. "When you get two people with their presence and experience coming into your side, it always does give you confidence," Wallabies captain Harry Wilson told reporters on Friday. "They're two real leaders in the group and to have them back in such a big match is really exciting for us." There are question marks over Valetini and Skelton's match fitness, however, given they were also unavailable for the Test against Fiji in Newcastle earlier this month. It's one of the reasons Schmidt opted to select six forwards — including damaging ball-runner Langi Gleeson — on his eight-player reserves bench, wanting to maintain an aggressive template he hopes Valetini and Skelton can create for the Wallabies before they are replaced. "We want to impose ourselves physically," Wilson said. "We want to back our skills and go out there and start fast … and throw your body around, knowing there's some quality bench players to come and finish." Personnel changes can go a long way to teams upping the ante when it comes to physicality, but an attitudinal adjustment can be just as effective. The Wallabies would be wise to take a leaf out of the First Nations and Pasifika XV's playbook in the wake of their performance against the Lions in Melbourne last Tuesday night. It wasn't a mistake-free display from the First Nations and Pasifika XV, who trailed 14-0 early, conceded 12 line breaks and gave away 13 penalties to the Lions' eight during the 80 minutes. But they stuck to their pre-match plan of being aggressive in attack and defence to rattle the Lions, who were forced to cling on during the final 10 minutes before prevailing 24-19 at the Docklands stadium. Such was the physical presence of the First Nations and Pasifika XV, their captain Kurtley Beale believed they showed the Lions can be vulnerable. "You need to take it (physicality) to them," said Beale, who has appeared in 95 Tests for the Wallabies. "There were patches there where we had the momentum and the Lions were kind of taking a backfoot step, and I think that created opportunities for us. "These boys (First Nations and Pasifika XV), they love the physicality. You need the physicality to lay the platform for your backs to play off." The First Nations and Pasifika XV's effort didn't go unnoticed by the Wallabies. "Just seeing the way they went after them (Lions) with the line speed, the big hits in defence," Wilson said. "It was a great blueprint there about how really to try to physically dominate them." Defence is said to be built on attitude and mindset, so the Wallabies have had plenty to think about in the past week. They also don't need a reminder about what's at stake when both teams run out on the MCG in front of a crowd that may exceed 90,000 spectators. "There is no denying — we've got to go out here, we have to win," Wilson said. "We've got to win the next two (Tests) to win the series."

Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Moorabbin to the MCG: The magical journey of Wallaby Harry Potter
On Saturday, English-born Harry Potter will step out onto the MCG to represent Australia's Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions in front of a predicted 90,000-strong crowd. But a few months ago, Potter secretly attended another Melbourne rugby ground, albeit a much smaller one with equally enthusiastic fans. In April, the 27-year-old made a surprise visit to Moorabbin Rugby Club – where he played as a junior after moving to Australia from England when he was 10. Club president Ian Nathan said Potter dropped by one night to help three of Moorabbin's junior teams with their training. 'It's amazing to have guys of that calibre come down,' Nathan said. 'It gives the kids a chance to see that even though Melbourne is supposedly not a rugby place, we've got guys playing for Scotland, Samoa, Japan and Australia, representing all parts of the world.' Nathan said Potter spent time with the juniors and offered them advice, saying, 'if you work hard, you can make it anywhere'. 'I think that's great for the kids to hear,' Nathan said. 'You don't have to grow up to be six foot four to be able to play ... that's one of the wonderful things about rugby, because it does cater for all shapes and sizes.' Nathan remembered Potter showing 'signs of being a really good player' in his early days at Moorabbin. The inevitable wizard puns and magic jokes ramped up once he moved back home. (The first J. K. Rowling book was published in 1997, the year the future Wallaby was born, before burgeoning into a literary juggernaut and movie franchise.)

The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Moorabbin to the MCG: The magical journey of Wallaby Harry Potter
On Saturday, English-born Harry Potter will step out onto the MCG to represent Australia's Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions in front of a predicted 90,000-strong crowd. But a few months ago, Potter secretly attended another Melbourne rugby ground, albeit a much smaller one with equally enthusiastic fans. In April, the 27-year-old made a surprise visit to Moorabbin Rugby Club – where he played as a junior after moving to Australia from England when he was 10. Club president Ian Nathan said Potter dropped by one night to help three of Moorabbin's junior teams with their training. 'It's amazing to have guys of that calibre come down,' Nathan said. 'It gives the kids a chance to see that even though Melbourne is supposedly not a rugby place, we've got guys playing for Scotland, Samoa, Japan and Australia, representing all parts of the world.' Nathan said Potter spent time with the juniors and offered them advice, saying, 'if you work hard, you can make it anywhere'. 'I think that's great for the kids to hear,' Nathan said. 'You don't have to grow up to be six foot four to be able to play ... that's one of the wonderful things about rugby, because it does cater for all shapes and sizes.' Nathan remembered Potter showing 'signs of being a really good player' in his early days at Moorabbin. The inevitable wizard puns and magic jokes ramped up once he moved back home. (The first J. K. Rowling book was published in 1997, the year the future Wallaby was born, before burgeoning into a literary juggernaut and movie franchise.)