Lions match with Australia suddenly halted moments after horror injury
Ryan took a knee to his head as he tackled Australia's Will Skelton and lay motionless on the floor as medics rushed to his aid. He was eventually taken away on the stretcher car. To the relief of everyone in the Sydney stadium, he gave a thumbs-up to suggest the injury may not be as serious as initially feared.
With the Wallabies 8-0 up, there was then more drama as the game was halted by a weather warning due to lightning in the area. The players were taken off the field while fans in the first few rows were ordered to take cover.
A message on the big screen stated: "Bad weather is approaching patrons sat in rows 1-19 of the lower seating bowl. head to the concourse where it is undercover. Follow instructions of stadium staff. All other patrons please remain seated."
Matchday manager Mark Philip told Sky Sports: "We had lightning strikes within 10km so we're now just watching the weather and we're playing it by ear. Fans in Sydney were told to take cover (Image: David Rogers, Getty Images)
"First strike, we have to wait 30 minutes. If there's no strikes in that period we can get the players back on. If we get close to that 55-60-minute mark, the decision will go much higher up, and it may be a match abandonment.
"If that's the case then we look at the game and because it's the second half of the game the score will stand." The tackle that led to Ryan's injury (Image: Darrian Traynor, Getty Images)
Meanwhile, addressing the incident that forced Ryan off, ex-Wales No.10 and Sky Sports pundit Dan Biggar said: "Ryan just got his head completely the wrong side there and if you're going to get your head the wrong side of anybody, you don't want it to be Will Skelton."
The match finally resumed after a 40-minute delay. The Lions were chasing a clean sweep after their victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.
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