13 hours ago
4
History has shown us it has been incredibly difficult for the British & Irish Lions to win a Test series, so the first thing to do is to applaud this team’s achievement.
It was totally brilliant and a massive congratulations to Andy Farrell and the whole team.
We can discuss the strength of Australia and how they bounced back to the cows come home. But, ultimately, Farrell and his players have done the job asked of them.
It’s a big well done from me. And what a way it was for the Lions to win, edging a brilliant Test match right at the death. Australia were revived. And the Lions still won.
Their success is the first series win in 12 years, their last also coming in Australia back in 2013. Farrell and the squad deserve great credit for that.
Now, their challenge has to be to come home with a clean sweep. What a great week it should be for the Lions and players alike.
The Lions deserve huge credit for beating Australia and win their first series in over a decade
Australia were transformed from the side that looked toothless in last weekend's Test opener
Now the Lions need to push on and secure a clean sweep to earn their place in history
A 3-0 series victory would really seal the place of the 2025 Lions in the annals of time.
That is eminently achievable against a Wallabies team which was far inferior in the first Test but totally matched the Lions in what was a magnificent second match.
Hats off to Australia for a brilliant game. They will be absolutely gutted to have lost.
Whichever way you look at it, for the second straight week Australia were beaten. In Test one, the final scoreline flattered Joe Schmidt’s side. However, in Melbourne on Saturday, there was a real contest and the result went down to the last minute.
It has been pretty clear from the outset Australia don’t provide the same level of opposition to the Lions as South Africa and New Zealand do. But in this Test match they certainly did and well done for them for at least showing up for one match on this tour.
What we have seen shouldn’t really have been a surprise, especially to those who have watched international rugby in the last two years or more.
I do think Australia have serious questions to answer, however. Last autumn, they looked much more like their old selves. Their performance to beat England at Twickenham was excellent. But to me, they have looked badly underdone until yesterday’s game where they really gave us all a brilliant 80 minutes to watch.
The Lions comes around every 12 years and it’s so important Australia go out and try and create a performance in every game which they should be proud of. Australia only played one warm-up match, inching past Fiji. Why did they not play more as a team before the Lions Test series?
At a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground the hosts put up a fight worthy of the momentous occasion
However, Australia's defeat will come as no surprise to those who have followed international rugby in recent years
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt will be forced to ask some hard questions in coming times
A future Lions tour of France could be perfect given the country's love for the sport
Why weren’t more of their Test players released to their domestic employers for the provincial matches with the Lions?
These are questions only Schmidt, as Australia coach, and Rugby Australia bosses will have the answers too. To a certain extent, they are not the concern of the Lions.
But this will still be something that has to be fixed if Australia are to keep the honour of hosting the Lions. Not that this will bother Farrell and his team as they were all magnificent yesterday and for the whole tour. The fashion with which Hugo Keenan won the match was truly thrilling, especially given for long periods you thought the Lions would be beaten.
To their credit, they were ruthless in the scoring zone to cross for five tries. Any team that scores that many is always going to be in a game. I’m sure that when it comes to analysing this tour in the months to come, the men in suits at the Lions will discuss the fact Australia provided weak opposition across the board with the exception of Test No 2.
That is not good for the Wallabies at a time when there is much talk about the Lions broadening their horizons with potential tours of Argentina or France.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love to see the Lions face France. Given rugby’s appeal there, it would be a truly magnificent occasion. Whether it is possible or not I don’t know, but it’s something that would really add to the Lions brand.
Such discussions can wait for now.
I’m very, very pleased especially for Maro Itoje. He joins Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton as successful Lions Test captains in the professional era.
It was a brilliant sporting occasion at the MCG. To have a Lions Test played at such an iconic venue in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 shows that the appeal of the Lions – and rugby as a whole – continues to exist. The Lions had to deal with a strong Australian team. The power of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini made a big difference to the Wallabies.
But history will show another loss to them. The Lions deserved to win.
Now time for a few beers for Farrell and the players and to complete a clean sweep.
