Wallabies restore pride with third test win over Lions
Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen scored tries either side of a 40-minute delay for a lightning warning, and Tate McDermott added a third late on to ensure Australia would not be swept 3-0 by the Lions for the first time since 1904.
"So proud," said Wallabies captain Harry Wilson. "Such a tough loss last week and to bounce back with an 80 minute performance, I'm so proud of everyone. The crowd today was unbelievable and so proud to get the win.
"We just wanted this game so badly."
Jac Morgan and Will Stuart scored tries for the tourists, who had secured series honours for the first time since their last visit to Australia in 2013 by winning the first two tests in Brisbane and Melbourne.
"Our goal before the series was to try to win 3-0 and we gave it everything in harsh circumstances," said Dan Sheehan, who took over as Lions captain after Maro Itoje went off with concussion.
"But the Wallabies have been in every game we've played against them and I think they deserved the game tonight. It's just a bit disappointing on our end to finish on this disappointment."
Rain had been pouring down all day and the match started in front of a crowd of 80,213 in conditions more familiar to the nine Irishmen in the Lions team than the Wallabies.
It was the home side who struck first in the eighth minute, however, when winger Pietsch scored in the corner after the Lions had repelled the Australian forwards despite intense pressure under the posts.
The Lions got back down the other end after a raking kick to touch from Finn Russell in the 12th minute but elected to tap a penalty under the posts and the Wallabies snuffed out the danger.
Given the rain, territory was always going to be at a premium and kicking duels studded the next period of play until the Wallabies got some continuity off the pick-and-go to put more pressure on the Lions' try line.
A rolling maul from an attacking lineout was neutered and several other thrusts pushed back before the Wallabies elected to kick a penalty in the 34th minute, flyhalf Tom Lynagh converting in his last act before going off with concussion.
Lions lock James Ryan had to be carted off the field on a stretcher after taking a knee to the head in a tackle early in the second half, triggering another of a series of scuffles that had punctured the match.
The lengthy delay for Ryan's treatment was extended by a 40-minute suspension of play for a lightning warning, causing the players to head back to the dressing rooms and the evacuation of the lower tiers of the stands.
EMPTY THE TANK
Australia started well after the delay with prop Taniela Tupou charging towards the try line only to drop the ball and then compound his error by being penalised at the subsequent scrum.
Jorgensen made no mistake when he pounced on a loose ball in the 55th minute, though, the winger tip-toeing down the touchline to extend the lead to 15-0.
The Lions had trailed 23-5 after half an hour in Melbourne last week before coming back to win with a last-minute try, so the massed ranks of Lions fans were not giving up on their team just yet.
Wales captain Morgan got them on the scoreboard with a try from close range in the 62nd minute after the Lions had again turned down three points in front of the posts.
The Wallabies charged down the other end, though, and replacement scrumhalf McDermott forced his way over the line in the 71st minute to extend the lead to 22-7 soon after Lions hooker Ronan Kelleher had been sent to the sin bin.
The Lions had promised to empty the tank in their final match and they were true to their collective word with replacement prop Stuart forcing his way over the line in the final seconds.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
13 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Leclerc ends Ferrari barren run with stunning pole ahead of McLaren
Charles Leclerc stunned himself and runaway leaders McLaren with an exceptional late lap to end Ferrari's barren qualifying run by claiming pole position for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. Excelling on a circuit that on Thursday he had described as his worst of the year, the 27-year-old Monegasque clocked a best lap of one minute and 15.372 seconds to beat the champion team which had dominated every previous practice session. 'Wow, wow!, Mama Mia!' exclaimed Leclerc after his beautifully-judged late lap on Saturday put him top in windy conditions at the Hungaroring and claim his first pole of the season for the Italian team. 'Today, I don't understand anything about F1! The whole of qualifying has been so extremely difficult - and when I say that I am not exaggerating. 'It was super difficult for us to get to Q2 and Q3, in Q3 the conditions changed a little bit and everything became a lot trickier and I knew I had to just do a clean lap to target third. 'But at the end of the day, it's pole position and I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I just don't have any words for this. It's one of my best poles and the most unexpected.' While series leader Oscar Piastri and the Australian's McLaren team-mate and title rival Lando Norris found themselves unable to cope with changing conditions in the final minutes, Leclerc improved his lap time to snatch his unexpected pole. Charles Leclerc reacts after he won the qualifying session at the Hungaroring circuit in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday. AFP It was his first at the Hungaroring, his first this year and first since last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku as well as the 27th of his career. It was Ferrari's first pole in Hungary since Sebastian Vettel in 2017. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fifth ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll, the pair enjoying their best qualifying of the season, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto seventh ahead of Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen and the two Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. While Leclerc celebrated his and Ferrari's success, team-mate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton struggled to swallow his disappointment after qualifying 12th and being knocked out in Q2. 'I'm useless,' said the 40-year-old Briton. 'Absolutely useless. The team has no problem. You've seen the car on pole so they probably need to change driver.' Hamilton's frustration as he fights to find form after moving to Ferrari this year was clear as he ducked into the team motor home without removing his helmet. But Leclerc had proved the potential of the Ferrari car with their recent upgrades package, even in what proved to be challenging changing conditions. 'I could feel it was changing a lot and I was on the lower side of the downforce so, when the rain started in Q2, I was hoping that it wouldn't stay for long,' said Leclerc. 'It didn't but the conditions changed which made everything very tricky and at the end we were on pole position!' Looking ahead to the race, Leclerc said: 'The start and Turn One will be key, but I have no idea how it will go. One thing for sure is that I will do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place! 'If we manage to do that then that should make our life easier for the rest of the race.' Piastri said he had been unable to improve due to a change of wind direction in Q3. Agencies
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Wallabies restore pride with consolation victory over Lions
The Wallabies restored some pride by finally producing an 80-minute performance to beat the British & Irish Lions 22-12 in a weather-disrupted third test on Saturday, handing the visitors their only loss of their nine-match tour of Australia. Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen scored tries either side of a 40-minute delay for a lightning warning, and Tate McDermott added a third late on to ensure Australia would not be swept 3-0 by the Lions for the first time since 1904. Australia coach Joe Schmidt said the victory was all the sweeter given how crushed his players had been after losing the second test, and the series, to a late try in Melbourne last week. 'I think they really earned what they got tonight,' he told reporters. 'That's the longest test match I've ever been involved in, with a big hiatus, but I couldn't be a lot prouder of the way the players rebounded after last week, after the feeling of disappointment that they had, it was deep.' The Lions, who had late tries from Jac Morgan and Will Stuart, had already secured series honours for the first time since their last visit to Australia in 2013 but were disappointed not to secure the sweep. 'There's going to be frustration because we didn't do what we wanted to do in the end, but the best team won today,' said Lions coach Andy Farrell. Rain had been pouring down all day and the match started in front of a crowd of 80,213 in conditions more familiar to the nine Irishmen in the Lions team than the Wallabies. It was the home side who struck first in the eighth minute, however, when winger Pietsch scored in the corner after the Lions had repelled the Australian forwards under the posts. The Lions got back down the other end after a raking kick to touch from Finn Russell in the 12th minute but chose to tap a penalty under the posts and the Wallabies snuffed out the danger. Given the rain, territory was always going to be at a premium and kicking duels studded the next period of play until the Wallabies got some continuity off the pick-and-go to put more pressure on the Lions' try line. A rolling maul from an attacking lineout was neutered and several other thrusts pushed back before the Wallabies elected to kick a penalty in the 34th minute, flyhalf Tom Lynagh converting in his last act before going off with concussion. Lions lock James Ryan had to be carted off the field on a stretcher early in the second half and the lengthy delay for that was extended by a longer suspension of play for lightning, causing the players to head back to the dressing rooms and the evacuation of the lower tiers of the stands. Australia were better after the delay with prop Taniela Tupou charging towards the try line only to drop the ball and then compound his error by being penalised at the subsequent scrum. He and lock Will Skelton brought huge physicality to the Wallabies pack, however, which was maintained this week by the replacements after they went off. Winger Jorgensen has been outstanding throughout the series and he extended the lead to 15-0 when he pounced on a loose ball in the 55th minute and tip-toed down the touchline to score. The Lions had trailed 23-5 after half an hour in Melbourne before coming back to win with a last-minute try, so the massed ranks of Lions fans were not giving up on their team just yet. Wales captain Morgan got them on the scoreboard with a try from close range in the 62nd minute after the Lions had again turned down three points in front of the posts. The Wallabies charged down the other end, though, and scrumhalf McDermott forced his way over the line in the 71st minute to take the lead out to 22-7 soon after Lions hooker Ronan Kelleher had been sent to the sin bin. The Lions had promised to empty the tank in their final match and they had the final word in the series with replacement prop Stuart forcing his way over the line in the final seconds. Agencies
Dubai Eye
a day ago
- Dubai Eye
Wallabies restore pride with third test win over Lions
The Wallabies restored some pride by finally producing an 80 minute performance to beat the British & Irish Lions 22-12 in a weather-disrupted third test on Saturday, handing the visitors their only loss of their nine-match tour of Australia. Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen scored tries either side of a 40-minute delay for a lightning warning, and Tate McDermott added a third late on to ensure Australia would not be swept 3-0 by the Lions for the first time since 1904. "So proud," said Wallabies captain Harry Wilson. "Such a tough loss last week and to bounce back with an 80 minute performance, I'm so proud of everyone. The crowd today was unbelievable and so proud to get the win. "We just wanted this game so badly." Jac Morgan and Will Stuart scored tries for the tourists, who had secured series honours for the first time since their last visit to Australia in 2013 by winning the first two tests in Brisbane and Melbourne. "Our goal before the series was to try to win 3-0 and we gave it everything in harsh circumstances," said Dan Sheehan, who took over as Lions captain after Maro Itoje went off with concussion. "But the Wallabies have been in every game we've played against them and I think they deserved the game tonight. It's just a bit disappointing on our end to finish on this disappointment." Rain had been pouring down all day and the match started in front of a crowd of 80,213 in conditions more familiar to the nine Irishmen in the Lions team than the Wallabies. It was the home side who struck first in the eighth minute, however, when winger Pietsch scored in the corner after the Lions had repelled the Australian forwards despite intense pressure under the posts. The Lions got back down the other end after a raking kick to touch from Finn Russell in the 12th minute but elected to tap a penalty under the posts and the Wallabies snuffed out the danger. Given the rain, territory was always going to be at a premium and kicking duels studded the next period of play until the Wallabies got some continuity off the pick-and-go to put more pressure on the Lions' try line. A rolling maul from an attacking lineout was neutered and several other thrusts pushed back before the Wallabies elected to kick a penalty in the 34th minute, flyhalf Tom Lynagh converting in his last act before going off with concussion. Lions lock James Ryan had to be carted off the field on a stretcher after taking a knee to the head in a tackle early in the second half, triggering another of a series of scuffles that had punctured the match. The lengthy delay for Ryan's treatment was extended by a 40-minute suspension of play for a lightning warning, causing the players to head back to the dressing rooms and the evacuation of the lower tiers of the stands. EMPTY THE TANK Australia started well after the delay with prop Taniela Tupou charging towards the try line only to drop the ball and then compound his error by being penalised at the subsequent scrum. Jorgensen made no mistake when he pounced on a loose ball in the 55th minute, though, the winger tip-toeing down the touchline to extend the lead to 15-0. The Lions had trailed 23-5 after half an hour in Melbourne last week before coming back to win with a last-minute try, so the massed ranks of Lions fans were not giving up on their team just yet. Wales captain Morgan got them on the scoreboard with a try from close range in the 62nd minute after the Lions had again turned down three points in front of the posts. The Wallabies charged down the other end, though, and replacement scrumhalf McDermott forced his way over the line in the 71st minute to extend the lead to 22-7 soon after Lions hooker Ronan Kelleher had been sent to the sin bin. The Lions had promised to empty the tank in their final match and they were true to their collective word with replacement prop Stuart forcing his way over the line in the final seconds.
