Wallabies show fight in 29-26 loss to British and Irish Lions in second Test

Australia Broadcast Center

26-07-2025

For players, coaches and supporters, honourable defeats are hard to take.
In a three-Test series — such as the one being played out between the Wallabies, and the British and Irish Lions — only wins, draws and losses are recorded.
Knowing the Wallabies came close in their 29-26 loss to the Lions in the second Test at the MCG, having led until the final minute, coach Joe Schmidt won't be satisfied with the result.
He will certainly have difficulty in processing how his troops coughed up an 18-point lead late in the first half.
But Schmidt can't fault the effort of the Wallabies, who showed they had learned from the mistakes they made in the 27-19 loss to the Lions in the first Test in Brisbane.
All week, they were being told they needed more physicality and aggression on both sides of the ball to match the Lions, and the renewed intent from the Wallabies was clear to see early.
Will Skelton and Rob Valetini — both absent from the first Test because of calf injuries — were busy with ball-carries in attack, a key reason Schmidt was desperate to see them return.
And Tom Lynagh nailed his brief from the kicking tee, capitalising on the Lions' ill-discipline with two penalty goals to establish a 6-0 lead after 11 minutes of play.
But any momentum the Wallabies gained from their positive start was soon halted.
After a Jack Conan try was disallowed due to a loose carry, the Lions crossed the stripe in the 15th minute when Dan Sheehan took a tap from a close-range penalty and bullied his way over the goal line.
It was the sort of try parents would see every weekend, when watching their children play in the underage groups, and a telling reminder of how powerful the Lions forwards are with their hit-ups.
The Wallabies' resolve was challenged at this moment and their supporters sitting in the stands — amid the 'Sea of Red' — could have been forgiven if they thought the Lions were about to take a stranglehold on the proceedings.
The home side's predicament wasn't helped either when winger Harry Potter was forced from the field due to injury.
Schmidt's decision to select a 6-2 (six forwards, two backs) bench was now under the spotlight, as he had only picked a scrum-half (Tate McDermott) and utility playmaker (Ben Donaldson) on his back reserves.
Bizarrely at the time, he opted to play McDermott on the wing, instead of sending Donaldson into the fray and reshuffling his backline.
Pundits had no time to debate the merits of Schmidt's decision, as the Wallabies switched gears and scored three unanswered tries in the space of eight minutes.
Loose-head James Slipper was the first to score, with the Wallabies employing the 'pick and go' tactic that served them well when they launched their second-half fightback in Brisbane.
The Lions' cause took another blow immediately after Slipper dotted down in the left corner, with winger Tommy Freeman shown a yellow card for cynical play in defence.
Fourteen players on 15 for 10 minutes is a scenario every team wants to avoid, and the Wallabies made the Lions pay.
Scrum-half Jake Gordon took advantage of the Lions' lazy ruck defence to dart over for a try, before a brilliant attacking set-play saw fullback Tom Wright touch down.
After 30 minutes, the scoreboard read 23-5 in the Wallabies' favour … where was this ruthlessness a week ago?
And did the Lions have any tricks up their sleeve to work their way back into the contest?
Fortunately for the Lions and their hordes of supporters, all they needed was possession.
They showed how dangerous they are with ball in hand to score back-to-back tries through Tom Curry and Huw Jones to cut the Wallabies' lead to 23-17 by half-time.
It wasn't Schmidt showing a lack of appreciation for the Wallabies' first-half display when he made three changes to his forward pack at the break.
Off went Valetini, Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa, and on came Langi Gleeson, Tom Robertson and Angus Bell.
Injecting three reserves was the luxury Schmidt enjoyed by naming a forward-heavy bench and by the 49th minute Skelton was given an early mark.
Interestingly, Lions coach Andy Farrell was keeping his powder dry, having decided to hold off sending reinforcements onto the field.
Had Schmidt gone to his bench too soon?
For the moment, it seemed inspired as the Wallabies began dominating territory as they had midway through the first half.
An attacking raid had the Lions defence on the back foot, before the tourists gave away a penalty to allow Lynagh to stretch the Wallabies' lead to 26-17.
By the 55th minute, Farrell had begun to make changes to his on-field XV and the fresh legs had the desired effect.
Following a Bundee Aki midfield break, the Lions marched their way deep inside the Wallabies' 22 and barged over for a try on the left flank, scored by Tadhg Beirne.
Finn Russell slotted the extras from just inside the touchline, reducing the Wallabies' lead to two points with 20 minutes on the clock.
Stoically, the Wallabies maintained their narrow scoreboard advantage until the 80th minute of the match.
With the Lions on the attack inside opposition 22, the Wallabies defence grimly held on until the dam wall busted in the form of Hugo Keenan scoring on the left flank.
A layer of tension was subsequently added when the match officials and TMO wanted to review the lead-up play to Keenan's try.
But the try stood and courtesy of the late score, the Lions had clinched an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Honourable defeats should hurt, but the Wallabies can't be accused of not trying.