Joe Schmidt delighted as Wallabies bounce back from ‘rocky old week’ to get the better of British & Irish Lions
Wallabies players celebrate a try against the British & Irish Lions and head coach Joe Schmidt (inset).
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt was full of praise for his players after they clinched a 22-12 triumph against the British and Irish Lions in Sydney on Saturday.
Australia were full value for their victory as they held the upper-hand for long periods and eventually outscored the famous touring side three tries to two with Max Jorgensen, Dylan Pietsch and Tate McDermott crossing the whitewash for the hosts.
Their other points came via a penalty from Tom Lynagh and two conversions from Ben Donaldson.
2-1 series result
The result means the Lions failed in their bid to clinch a 3-0 series whitewash after they won the first two Tests in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Saturday’s encounter in Sydney had plenty of drama and there was a 40-minute break shortly after the second half started due to turbulent weather and the threat of lightning.
Australia held an 8-0 lead at the time but continued to dominate when the match resumed and Schmidt couldn’t hide his delight at his players’ all-round performance after suffering a narrow defeat in the second Test last week.
“Just immensely proud, incredibly relieved,” he told Stan Sport after the match.
“It was a rocky old week to to be honest and to have the players come out in very difficult conditions – we led 8-0 when we came off for lightning – and just to stay calm and get the next score was really important.
“They are a very strong collective when they do get a bit of momentum and they really worked hard to get it tonight. Nothing was easy. They had to defend for periods.
“And I thought there was a couple of really important turnovers when they were in our D zone.”
Australia captain and number eight Harry Wilson echoed his coach’s sentiments and said they were determined to avoid a clean sweep of defeats against the famous touring team.
“So proud. Obviously it was a disappointing week after a tough loss so to bounce back the way we did with this 80 minute performance, I’m so proud,” he said.
“The crowd today was unbelievable with all Australians behind us, to get the win is so special.
“For us, we wanted this game so badly and everything we had to do, we were going to do.”
Wilson’s back-row partner Tom Hooper came to the fore with a barnstorming performance and couldn’t hide his delight after walking off with the official man-of-the match award.
Positive step
“I feel great, we been working very hard as a playing group, not just the guys you see here right now, everyone behind the scenes and the staff,” said the 24-year-old.
“To fill the stands all three weeks has been amazing. It’s really good to get the reward for all these fans here and it’s a baby step but a step in the right direction.
“We just wanted to get stuck into them on the night and that’s what we did.”
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