British and Irish Lions player ratings: Ireland star has ‘veritable shocker’ to conclude poor series while pack ‘beaten up’ by the Wallabies

Following a disappointing 22-12 defeat to the Wallabies in the series finale in Sydney on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the British and Irish Lions.

15 Hugo Keenan: The best of the Lions back three as he mopped up well under pressure in tough conditions, but little chance to stretch his legs in attack. 6

14 Tommy Freeman: Had one bad defensive read and one good carry before going off after reportedly failing his HIA. He was clutching his nose, however, so hopefully it is not broken. 5

13 Huw Jones: Played both centre and wing but failed to really impact both as the Lions struggled to get on the front foot. 4

Poor series

12 Bundee Aki: Let’s be honest, the Lions have very much missed Sione Tuipulotu. After a poor display last week, Aki had a veritable shocker in Sydney. A difficult game for the outside backs but so many mistakes from the Ireland star, including the one for Max Jorgensen’s try. 2

11 Blair Kinghorn: Failed to win the aerial battle as the Lions tended to be camped inside their own half for most of the contest. Not really a game for the wings and it showed, despite Kinghorn doing his job well enough. 5

10 Finn Russell: Behind a beaten pack, he wasn’t terrible, but the ‘up and unders’ were not accurate enough and he could not get them firing. There were some decent touches, though, as he tried to ignite the tourists. 5

9 Jamison Gibson-Park: His worst performance in quite some time. Kicking was not accurate enough and there were several errors at the base as he failed to control the match. 4

8 Jack Conan: Quiet. Worked hard at close quarters but the visitors were constantly shunted backwards both with and without the ball. 5

7 Tom Curry: One of the few Lions starters you felt gave their absolute all and played at the requisite intensity, even if he was behind a front five that was beaten up. Should have been player of the series. 7

6 Tadhg Beirne: Like Curry, the effort was there and he put himself about throughout the 80 minutes without getting too much change out of the brilliant Aussies. 6

Lineout and HIA woes

5 James Ryan: Did some good work in the lineout and put himself about defensively but was overpowered by the Will Skelton-inspired Aussies. Became victim of the lock’s rather large knee and was worryingly stretchered off, but he was thankfully seen on the sidelines at the end of the game. 5

4 Maro Itoje (c): Like his lock partner, the captain sustained a head injury and did not return following his HIA. It was a blow for the Lions, although he struggled to make an impression in the early exchanges. 5

3 Tadhg Furlong: The scrum was not an issue on his side but still could not impose himself on the game in either the loose or the tight. 5

2 Dan Sheehan: The lineout was not all his fault as they lost two key jumpers in Itoje and Ryan, but Sheehan still has to take his share of the blame. Aussies were also not happy about his clearout on Tom Lynagh and you can understand why. 3

1 Andrew Porter: Was dominated by Taniela Tupou but was lucky not to be penalised more with the Ireland loosehead never driving straight. 3

Replacements: Once again Ellis Genge was excellent off the bench while Jac Morgan also made another good impact. Ben Earl made a couple of nice breaks and Alex Mitchell added some tempo despite only being given nine minutes, but the bench had far too much work to do this week and couldn’t quite pull it off. 7

READ MORE: Wallabies v British and Irish Lions, AS IT HAPPENED: How Australia bounced back in Sydney