Wallabies avoid a Lions series whitewash with brilliant win in Sydney

Will Skelton was a colossus, and in his final Test before retirement, halfback Nic White also turned in one of his best performances in the wet and slippery conditions. Superb performances were found all across the team, however, with Tom Hooper awarded man of the match and Nick Frost also strong.

The win was all the more impressive given the Wallabies lost five-eighth Tom Lynagh after 33 minutes to an elbow to the head by Dan Sheehan at a ruck, which red card worthy but was missed by the TMO Marius Jonker.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt lauded his side’s character in dealing with a difficult week and a difficult game, and coming out on top.

“It is certainly one of the more bizarre games,” Schmidt said. “That’s the longest test match I’ve ever been involved in with a big hiatus in the 43rd minute. But again, I couldn’t be (any) prouder of the way that the players rebounded after last week, after the feeling of disappointment that they had and it was deep. You almost had to let that run its course and then springboard back.”

The lightning break lasted 38 minutes but the Wallabies and the Lions’ actions during the stand-down, and during the warm-up before a restart, were a clear sign into the differing hunger levels. The Wallabies stayed warm on bikes, passed balls and had unit coaching and then did a 10-minute warm-up.

Before former Wallaby-turned-Lions manager David Nucifora covered the dressing camera with a towel, Lions players were seen on their phones and lying down, before only doing a five-minute warm-up.

“We had been warned that there might be lightning so we had a little bit of a plan and with that plan we wanted to make sure that players kept moving so we had different guys rotating onto the bikes,” Schmidt said.

“We had a couple of bikes so they were doing that.We had four balls in the changing room that we’d just thrown around just so they could stay connected and the rest of the time it was really just trying to get us organised for the restart of the game.”

Lions coach Andy Farrell joked: “Rigor mortis was setting in at one stage there for the lads. That’s what you come to expect with a schedule like the Lions schedule. We have seen it all now.

“What came off the back of that is Australia came out running and deserved their victory.

“I suppose there is frustration there, we have said all along we want to win every game.

“The best team won on the night.On reflection, it might take or two beers, but they will be unbelievably proud of what they’ve achieved They are a good side, Australia. They’ve proved that through the series.”

The Wallabies led 8-0 at half-time after a strong opening 40 minutes that saw them dominate territory and possession. And given the atrocious conditions, both were invaluable.

Things started wobbly for the hosts when they lost their first lineout, in the Lions’ half, and it would remain a hit-and-miss set piece for the half.

The Wallabies kept up the attack however, and after a series of pick-and-go charges near the line, they won an advantage and tried their hand to the left edge.

Nice hands found Dylan Pietsch with a short run to the line and the big winger dived over for an opening try.

The Wallabies’ defence was equally good early, and they repelled the Lions from their own line soon after the try.

The rest of the half then turned into an arm wrestle, with lots of tactical kicking and one-out runs to build pressure. The gigantic presence of Will Skelton, and the boot of halfback Nic White, came to the fore – particularly with Skelton providing an aggressive attitude when skirmishes broke out.

There was no backward steps taken and the soaked crowd loved it.

The Wallabies turned down an easy three in the 26th minute in search of a try, but after some failed attempts, Lynagh eventually banged over a three-pointer in the 33rd minute.

Lynagh was taken off for an HIA – which he failed – and the foul play that created it was completely missed by the referees.

Lions hooker Sheehan charged into Lynagh at a ruck with his arm tucked and hit him in the head.

The Wallabies defended their line again superbly before the break, with Hooper making a vital turnover, denying the Lions a late comeback before the break.

Play resumed for eight minutes and the Lions lost their second starting lock to concussion, with James Ryan stretchered off.

In bizarre scenes, the players then left the field for 30 minutes due to a lightning strike in the area, and after 10 more minutes of warm-up, the game finally resumed.

The break worked in Australia’s favour, with Skelton given a rest and the Wallabies kept up the pressure upon resumption.’

Using a blitz defence for the first time, the Wallabies harassed the Lions repeatedly into mistakes and one provided a second try in the 55th minute.

A dropped pass under pressure from Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii saw Bundee Aki spill the ball, and Max Jorgensen scoop it up near the halfway line and sprint down the sideline to score. The score was 15-0 and the championship minutes were ahead.

Ill-discipline saw the Wallabies come under pressure, however, and the Lions made them pay, with a burrowing try to Jac Morgan in the 62nd minute bringing the score back to 15-7.