British and Irish Lions storm back to win series with dramatic victory over wonderful Wallabies

The British and Irish Lions came from 18 points behind to claim a series victory following a 29-26 triumph over the Wallabies in a stunning second Test. 

Both Australia and the Lions expected to see a response from the hosts and that was certainly the case as a storming opening 30 minutes put them in control.

Joe Schmidt’s men were absolutely magnificent and touched down three times in a stunning blitz as James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright crossed the whitewash.

At 23-5 behind – Dan Sheehan scoring the Lions’ early try – the tourists were under serious pressure, but they hit back through Tom Curry and Huw Jones to give them hope.

A third Tom Lynagh three-pointer extended Australia’s buffer in the second period, but tries from Tadhg Beirne and Hugo Keenan snatched a remarkable match.

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Many thought the Wallabies would show an improvement but the first half-an-hour exceeded the expectations of even the most optimistic fans.

The opening 10 minutes set the tone with the returning duo Will Skelton and Rob Valetini thundering into contact and sending the Lions into reverse.

It was a complete contrast to the opening Test which saw the tourists absolutely dominate the collisions but, under pressure in Melbourne, they were ill-disciplined.

Lynagh kicked two penalties off the tee before the Lions fired their first shot and touched down from close range through Sheehan.

That was their last opportunity for the next 20 minutes, however, as Australia ripped the visitors to shreds with some outstanding attacking play.

More Lions penalties enabled Schmidt’s men to gain the territory they needed, but the home side took advantage as Slipper crossed the whitewash.

Matters got worse for Andy Farrell’s team when Tommy Freeman was sin-binned for an infringement in the build-up to that score and it would cost them 12 more points with two tries being scored.

The first was finished by Gordon, who slipped between a couple of visiting defenders to go over, before they manufactured a stunning effort from the restart.

Max Jorgensen made the initial ground down the right, allowing the Wallabies to shift the ball left. Joseph Suaalii collected possession in the midfield and burst through the defence before giving Wright a run to the line.

Wallabies v British & Irish Lions, HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions were in danger of imploding but somehow they managed to alter the momentum in the final few minutes of the first half.

They finally garnered some possession inside the opposition 22 and quick-fire tries via Curry and Jones reduced the arrears to six points at the interval.

Although the tourists had the momentum going into the second period and saw both Skelton and Valetini depart, it was the Wallabies who controlled the start of the half.

Gordon, who had been heavily criticised last week, was excellent in the second Test, and his kicking game was causing all sorts of problems.

It led to yet another Lions infringement and Lynagh was on target from in front of the posts to make it a nine-point buffer.

The Wallabies had managed the match well up to that point, but the visitors had been clinical in the 22 and, when James Lowe fed Beirne, it set up a thrilling finale.

Australia were holding on in the final 10 minutes but it appeared as though they would take it to a decider. However, Farrell’s men mounted one last attack and Keenan touched down to win the series.

There was anger from the Australians, who felt there should have been a penalty in the build-up for Jac Morgan’s cleanout on Carlo Tizzano, but the officials concluded that no offence had taken place.

The teams

Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Carlo Tizzano, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Ben Donaldson

British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Blair Kinghorn

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

READ MORE: Ronan O’Gara: ‘The best thing I ever did was sign Will Skelton’