Andy Farrell: It might take one or two beers before Lions players understand their achievement
The Lions lost the third and final Test to a Wallabies side that led in four of the six halves of this three-game set, going down 22-12 in the midst of a deluge at Accor Stadium and a 37-minute delay for lightning on a stormy night in the Sydney suburbs.
Yet the tourists became only the third Lions side to win a series in the professional era, following successful victories over South Africa in 1997 and the 2013 Australians.
It had been a below-par performance from a side that had revelled in their dramatic second Test win seven days earlier at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as Joe Schmidt's home team salvaged some pride to make it 2-1 thanks to tries from Dylan Pietsch, Max Jorgensen and Tate McDermott.
Read More
Lions player ratings v Australia: Hugo Keenan and Tom Curry the best from a disappointing third Test
They had led throughout with the Lions responding at 15-0 down on 62 minutes through Jac Morgan and at the death when Will Stuart crashed over, their tries coming either side of a 10-minute sin-binning for replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher was yellow carded.
'There is going to frustration there,' Farrell said. 'We said all along we wanted to win every game but the best team won on the night today.
'I have just said to the lads on reflection it might take one, it might take two beers but they will be unbelievably proud of what they achieved throughout this tour.
"We all know how hard it is to be successful on a Lions tour against a good side like Australia, and they are a good side, they proved that over the series so on reflection, when we get a bit of time to ourselves, tonight and tomorrow we will be unbelievably proud of what we have achieved.'
Farrell added: 'The legacy for us is in that changing room, the togetherness, not just of the players but the whole group has been an absolute delight to work with.
"We have played some outstanding rugby over the last six to eight weeks and that has accumulated into a performance last week that was an unbelievably special moment for all of us and it will stay with us forever.'
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt, left, and British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell before the third test match between Australia and the British & Irish Lions at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
There was an individual honour for Munster and Ireland lock/flanker Tadhg Beirne, who finished the game as Lions captain and was named the player of the series. Yet he preferred to concentrate on the collective's success.
'On a personal level it is a massive honour but that aside it is more about the series win for me, the journey from day one linking up with these boys and getting to enjoy their company for eight weeks,' Beirne said.
'It is a bittersweet moment because it is a class moment we have won the series but we lost tonight which is a bit crap for us. But as Faz says, we will get over that because we have won the series.
'It is the last time we will be in that changing room as a group and that is a bitter part because we won't get that moment again. It has been such an incredible journey, we have loved every single moment of it.
'We have said we will be having a reunion here in 12 years time. We are going to start a kitty and make sure we are all back here in 12 years to celebrate this series win.'
Farrell, who was Lions defence coach under Warren Gatland for the 2013 series win and the drawn series against the All Blacks in 2017, has now emulated both his predecessor and 1997 head coach Ian McGeechan as a series-winning boss of the tourists.
Asked ahead of the third Test whether he would like to lead the Lions on their return to New Zealand in four years, he had said he more urgent business to think about but on Saturday gave a more considered answer to the same question, despite some interruptions from Beirne.
'Everyone knows what I think about this concept and…' Farrel began before Beirne chipped in with: 'I'll be there.' Farrell responded: 'You'll be there, will you? At 37? You're joking. I'm retiring you next year.
'I suppose that says it all. I love everything that the Lions is about and I've thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the last eight weeks.
'There's always ups and there's always downs but the inner circle is a special place to be,' adding: 'Read into that what you want but I suppose four years, there's a long time between drinks isn't there?'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
10 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
The 18 Irish Lions helped to deliver a Test series win – how do their contributions rate?
British commentators have questioned the number of Irish players in the squad, but you could equally ask how this Lions team would have fared had Ireland not reached the heights of the last four seasons. This has been the most Irish Lions tour in history, with 11 Irish players playing in the Test Series; a figure that might have reached 13 had injury not struck down Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen – while Caelan Doris would likely have been the captain had he not suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Lightning doesn't strike thrice for the Lions as Australia lay down a marker
AUSTRALIA 22 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS 12 With a delay for lightning, an all-day deluge and an off-key performance from the British & Irish Lions, the third and final Test of the 2025 series with Australia felt ill-fitting as the conclusion of a winning tour Down Under. Even more incongruous for the victorious Wallabies after producing their best performance of this three-game set was having to stand out on the Accor Stadium pitch at full-time as the Lions celebrated their 2-1 series win. Yet perhaps that was the ideal scenario for a tour which began with predictions of a Lions whitewash of their sub-standard opponents and suggestions that Australia was no longer a viable destination for the tourists to visit every 12 years. A competitive Test series won by the Lions, but only just, was the perfect riposte as Joe Schmidt's young Wallabies rebounded from what was for them a heartbreaking second-Test last-minute loss in Melbourne and laid down a marker as 2027 World Cup hosts to become a force to be reckoned with. Lions head coach Andy Farrell has no doubt this Australian side, which will be under the guidance of incoming head coach Les Kiss by the time the World Cup comes here in a little over two years, has good times in its future. While his own side looked a shadow of itself from seven days previously at the MCG and failed to deal with the appalling weather conditions, a string of head knocks and the 37-minute delay as lightning struck twice within 10 kilometres of Sydney's Olympic Park, Farrell saw the Wallabies rise to the occasion having gone 2-0 down and outsmart the visiting tourists in all facets on Saturday. 'Obviously I went on record last week during the week of saying that I thought it was insulting that people were asking the question about the Wallabies and the Lions touring here,' Farrell said. 'Everyone has their ups and downs. Have a look at the progress over the last 18 months, it's been through the roof. You look at the side that's been out there over the last three weeks and they are a hell of a team. I said to Joe before the game out on the pitch that I think special things are going to happen for this team over the next 18 months. 'By the time the World Cup comes around, they'll be a force to be reckoned with. They've got some special athletes and some special players and that is no surprise to us how they've performed over the last couple of weeks.' There was plenty for the Wallabies to regret from those opening two defeats, 27-19 in Brisbane and then 29-26 in Melbourne. They had been steamrollered in the opening 42 minutes of the first Test as the Lions built an unassailable 24-5 lead with some irresistible power rugby. And they had blown a 23-5 advantage constructed in an impressive first 30 minutes of the second Test as their game management frailties were exposed by a more battle-hardened and astute opposition. Yet Australia never trailed in Sydney as the Lions set-piece creaked, they lost Maro Itoje and Tommy Freeman to failed Head Injury Assessments, saw James Ryan leave the field on a stretcher following a nasty head injury after contact with Will Skelton's knee, and those two days of celebrations that followed their series-clinching MCG win appeared to come back to bite them. Tadhg Beirne of British & Irish Lions is tackled by Tom Wright, left, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of Australia. Pic: Steve Christo/Sportsfile A Dylan Pietsch try on seven minutes and Tom Lynagh penalty six minutes before the break for an 8-0 half-time lead does not read as a daunting challenge for Farrell's men but in the conditions it represented a mountain to climb and they only just about reached base camp. When the Lions were guilty of overplaying on the halfway line and 20-year-old wing Max Jorgensen snaffled the loose ball, the conversion of his try made it 15-0 and there was no way back. A Jac Morgan try on 62 minutes represented the Lions' first points of the evening and Finn Russell's conversion gave hope to sizeable contingent in the 80,312 crowd but a yellow card for repeated team offences to Ronan Kelleher killed any possibility of a fightback and the Wallabies killed it off in the hooker's absence courtesy of Tate McDermott try. A late try from fellow replacement front rower Will Stuart was mere consolation. The win was thoroughly deserved and Wallabies pride has been restored, the perceived lack of respect shown to them re-earned and an Australian sporting nation in danger of losing interest re-energised two years out from a home World Cup, at least as far as Schmidt was concerned. 'Yeah, the crowds have been absolutely awesome. Suncorp was full, tonight was full, 90-plus thousand in the MCG. That's the nature of the Lions, that wasn't all us, that's the sea of red and the nature of Lions tours. Read More Ireland to compete in inaugural Rugby Nations Championship in Australia in 2026 'So we knew that wasn't all for us but we just started to see more and more yellow as the tour went on and even this morning a lot of the players, because you're not playing until eight o'clock at night, it's actually quite a long day, a lot of the players were meeting up with friends and family and you just saw a lot of gold, a lot of gold scarves, gold jerseys and people who were supporting us. 'I believe it does give the players a little bit of a lift and it makes them a little bit accountable as well, they feel like we're getting the support, we've got to make sure we keep earning it. 'I don't know what the stats are or the TV numbers are or anything else but what I do know is how hard these players work and if people want to come and support a team that are prepared to work hard then this is a good team, particularly as a national team, globally it's a big tournament coming up in two years' time and the more support we can earn, the better we can grow and progress as a team over the next year and beyond, I just think the more support we can probably attract to the game.' Schmidt will hand over the Wallabies' reins to Queensland boss and his former Ireland assistant Les Kiss before the World Cup in order to devote time to family back in New Zealand and his son Luke's ongoing battle with severe epilepsy. Yet asked if he believed his other former Ireland defence coach Farrell's assertion of the potential for his side's development, Schmidt replied: 'I believe everything Faz tells me. Faz and I would be good friends, go back a long way, have worked together a lot and would also be quite like-minded around probably studying other teams and I'd like to think that he's right.' Farrell, meanwhile, will ponder his side's final Test no-show in Sydney on the long journey home to Dublin, where a night out at Croke Park watching Oasis is eagerly anticipated. If he is to coach the tourists again on the 2029 tour to New Zealand he will welcome solving the conundrum he failed to crack here in Australia, how to repeat what no Lions side has managed since 1927 and win a series 3-0. For so long out in the open as the Lions' stated objective, the tourists desire for a clean sweep eluded them at Accor Stadium and prompted a pertinent question that the head coach struggled to answer on Saturday night, whether it was psychologically impossible for his players not to rest on their laurels having taken the series at 2-0 and give it one last push for greatness. 'I hope not. I hope not. Otherwise we are not being true to ourselves in everything we talked about this week. I certainly hope not,' Farrell said, before adding: 'Subconsciously I guess I will never know the answer to that question.'
The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Lions star Bundee Aki reveals he missed arrival of his daughter during Australia tour after wife gave birth in a CAR
Aki admitted he played poorly in the defeat to Australia YOU'RE KIDDING Lions star Bundee Aki reveals he missed arrival of his daughter during Australia tour after wife gave birth in a CAR BUNDEE AKI has revealed he became a dad again during the Lions' series win in Australia — with his wife giving birth in a car. The Irish centre held his hands up on his shocker in Sydney on Saturday in a 22-12 defeat, which saw the tourists miss the chance of a Wallaby whitewash. 3 Bundee Aki's wife has given birth to a daughter Credit: Instagram 3 Aki now has five children Credit: Instagram After the Lions failed to clinch a series clean sweep, Aki then announced he had become a father for the fifth time two weeks ago. The 35-year-old has yet to meet new daughter Aine, who was born in the build-up to the opening Test win in Brisbane. Wife Kayla was in New Zealand with family when she got in touch to say she was ready to give birth before he helped the Lions to a 27-19 triumph. Aki recalled: 'Credit to my wife. She's a powerful woman. I was in the hotel in Brisbane and I knew we were overdue. READ MORE IN SPORT 'BEAUTIFUL' Lando Norris' girlfriend Margarida Corceiro shows off sideboob in risque outfit 'The missus calls me and she's like, 'My waters haven't broken but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions'. 'Five minutes later, her waters broke. I was like, 'Are you almost there?' This is like 40 minutes away from the hospital, so I said, 'You'll be all right, Mum is there'. 'Ten minutes later, she video calls me and I was like, 'S**t, what's going on?' I saw a baby on the video call, so she had it in the car. 'They're both healthy. I knew it was good juju and we were going to have a good day.' BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK All of Aki's kids have first names starting with the letter A — Armani-Jane, Adrianna, Andronicus, Ailbhe and now, Aine. But their old man admitted he put in nothing close to an A-star performance in Sydney as the Lions were mauled in a monsoon. The game was suspended after half-time for 38 minutes due to lightning, with the Aussies 8-0 up through Dylan Pietsch's try and a penalty. Finn Russell was spotted in the dressing room flicking through his phone and Aki had his feet up on a bean bag before play resumed. But the Wallabies struck twice after the delay to get the victory. Aki had his worst game in an international shirt but fronted up. He said: 'I wasn't great. It was a poor game but you have those days and you have to live with it. 'We won the series and that's all we came for. 'Now, I want to enjoy my break. I haven't seen my family for eight weeks. I have a newborn child I haven't met yet.' Australia got it over the line thanks to a turbo-charged display from lock Will Skelton, who was on the wind-up all match, and second-half tries from Max Jorgensen and Tate McDermott. Jac Morgan and Will Stuart crossed to give the Lions some consolation — but Skelton had shown the Aussies the way. Wallabies scrum-half Nic White said: 'For once, someone stood up to them.'
