If last week’s second Test at the MCG was an epic occasion of grand proportions, this was a rugby experience quite unlike just about anything that had gone before in a very different way. It was tough to make sense of all that unfolded over 80 minutes – and more – of chaos and carnage: a series of worrying head injuries, brawls breaking out all over the place and a 40-minute delay as lightning brought a halt to messy proceedings early in the second half.
And, at the end of it all, Australia emerged from a night of incident and accident having avoided the ignominy of a 3-0 whitewash. There was to be no glorious farewell for a British & Irish Lions side that had thought of themselves as history-makers; it was the Wallabies with a golden goodbye. The tourists had spoken of finishing the job properly, gathering together for one last push to go where no Lions team had since 1927 – but a combination of misfortune and mishaps left a dispirited group to celebrate a series victory on the back of a damp squib of a defeat.
Even a meticulous planner like Andy Farrell would surely not have a scenario planned for all that unfolded in Sydney. The Lions lost their captain, Maro Itoje, to injury half an hour in and 12 minutes later, his second-row partner, James Ryan, in a sickening clash of knee on head. The withdrawal of Tommy Freeman meant a forward-heavy bench split backfired, while the long weather delay seemed to aid Australia, who re-emerged with greater purpose.
But the Lions had been short of their best before all of that, and the hosts were more than worthy winners. Had Farrell’s squad finally felt the exertions of a long season and tour? Or did they take their eye off the ball ever so slightly with the series secure? Both would be plausible but hugely frustrate Farrell and his squad, given a clean sweep had been so squarely their aim. The Wallabies may rue their first-half no-show in the first Test, and that Will Skelton was not able to feature in Brisbane. When the mighty lock has been on the field, they have had the superiority in this series.
It had been wet all week in Sydney, but this was a night to leave Noah fretting about the readiness of his ark. Down the rain tumbled in alternating bands of heavy and torrential, soaking most of those gathered. Just as a week ago, there was plenty of needle and niggle with the Wallabies amongst things early, Skelton once again making his sizeable presence known with brusque re-introductions to familiar foes. Nic White was unsurprisingly in the thick of things, too, the scrum half playing for the final time in Wallabies colours after a career in which he had established himself as a moustachioed menace to rugby society.
He has been a fine controlling nine for nights like these, too, and Australia got to grips with the challenging conditions rather better. The Lions’ ambition and intricacy in phase play has been a theme of their trip, but this was not a night for overly extravagant touches, and it took time for them to adjust. Even Finn Russell, who had played this tour with the easy air of a man with a pipe and smoking jacket, was struggling, shelling a simple pass and then finding his lower vertebrae rearranged by a Skelton thump.
The one real moment of first-half quality came from the men in gold. A canny kick had pinned the Lions in with Hugo Keenan forced back over his line and the pressure built from there. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s presence and poise forced Freeman to bite in; Dylan Pietsch, excellent on the left wing throughout, sprawled into the space left vacant to score.
Otherwise, it was total carnage, slipping bodies strewn hither and thither amongst the dropped balls and ruck refuse. Skelton and a returning Taniela Tupou – whose absence from the opening two games was proven peculiar – did plenty of damage for Australia both in the loose with surprisingly nimble hands and feet, and at scrum time, where their combined mass sent Andrew Porter skidding back over a slippery surface.
It was curious, in a game in which points were at a premium, that Australia turned down one shot at goal to go to the corner unsuccessfully; they soon corrected their error after a Lions ruck infringement to extend their lead. But close combat was taking a toll on all involved. Itoje trudged to the touchline with blood in his mouth and did not return after failing a head injury assessment, while the same disappointing fate befell Tom Lynagh moments after kicking that penalty – with a clearout from Dan Sheehan on the young playmaker perhaps one for the citing commissioner.
Freeman’s bad back had healed sufficiently for him to feature, but he also did not last the half, nose broken, HIA failed, and the Lions depleted again. It got worse: Ryan took Skelton’s knee to the temple and hit the deck. He would not move again until being hoisted on a stretcher. Thankfully, he was back up and about come full-time.
Then, almost mercifully, came the lightning with 43 minutes played. Off went the players still standing, returning only after a mandatory half an hour following the strikes and resuming after a 10-minute warm-up. But any thought that the break would focus the Lions’ minds was quickly allayed. Freeman’s injury had meant Huw Jones had moved to the wing with Owen Farrell brought on in midfield, and the Englishman got himself in a muddle with three men outside him after promising possession. After picking the pocket of the troubled tourists, Max Jorgensen made off with the stolen goods.
Australia had let an 18-point advantage slip in Melbourne, but 15 here felt mightier given the conditions and circumstances in which it had been built. Jac Morgan ploughed in to get the Lions going, avoiding a first nilling since 1983, but they were soon backed against the wall once more. Replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher was shown yellow; a broken Tom Curry, who had given everything across the series, was helped off to enable Sheehan to return and provide appropriate front row cover.
Tate McDermott soon found a way through the Lions’ 14 men and although a consolation came through Will Stuart, hopes of a Lions clean sweep had long since been washed away.
