Preview: Lions stand on the verge of famous Wallabies whitewash

RTÉ News​

5 days ago

All week the Lions have insisted that their celebrations are behind them, having secured the Test series with a game to spare last week, and it's easy to believe them.
Just 80 minutes separate them from being, statistically, one of the greatest sides in the 137-year history of the tour.
It's not to say they are officially the greatest.
The 1971 tourists stand alone as the only Lions group to ever win a series down in New Zealand, while the 1974 'Invincibles' will be forever remembered after their destruction of South Africa, going unbeaten across a 22-game tour, drawing their final Test against the Springboks in controversial circumstances.
The numbers that this Lions group are chasing against Australia on Saturday are hard to ignore.
To start with, they're only the third Lions group to win a series in the professional era and the first in 28 years to do so with a game to spare.
It's just short of 100 years since they have won every Test match on tour, that coming on their 1927 tour of Argentina.
You have to go all the way back to 1904 for the last time they whitewashed the Wallabies in a three-Test series.
Saturday's game may be a dead-rubber in terms of the winning and losing of the series, but the manner of the Lions' win last week, and the fallout from Hugo Keenan's controversial try has ensured that interest in the series hasn't waned.
If anything, the Australian public have got more behind their team in recent days.
On Thursday, Rugby Australia confirmed that the 82,000 Accor Stadium was officially sold out.
While it's only been idle talk, Australia's position among the Lions touring rotation had come under scrutiny this year, with the Wallabies holding a far weaker record against the Lions than the All Blacks and Springboks.
But last week's second Test was a reminder if it was needed that Australia remains one of the world's great sporting nations.
"Every single team, country, province, has their ups and downs but Australia – the sporting nation that they are – are always going to come back," Lions head coach Andy Farrell (below) said this week.
"That on the weekend is no surprise to us, and why we expect them to be better.
"Have a look at the year they've got coming up. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100%, with all their experiences, come the World Cup in 2027.
"It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast. To me it's insulting to talk about it in that kind of way."
Any lingering fears that the Lions would take their foot off the pedal this week were fully wiped away when Farrell named his matchday squad on Thursday.
While the head coach has made two changes, he's resisted the temptation to hand out sentimental Test caps, making minor tweaks to a winning side, as Blair Kinghorn replaces James Lowe on the left wing and James Ryan comes into the starting team after an impressive showing off the bench a week ago in Melbourne.
For Ryan, it caps off a Lions tour where he's found his best form down the stretch, having come into the summer carrying a minor injury.
From being left out of the 23 for the first Test, he's worked his way up to the bench and then the starting side for this final game.
His inclusion hints that Farrell wasn't pleased with how his side came out second best to the Wallabies physically in the first half last week, and while we shouldn't expect to see Ryan carrying much ball, he'll be given a bucket and shovel and sent to work clearing out rucks.
"He's seen his niche in his game, and not trying to be somebody else," Farrell said of Ryan.
"He does all the unseen work, all the graft stuff and has done it with a bit of venom in his game.
"He's not tried to be a ball-playing forward like some of the second rows have been, but he hits hard defensively, and hits rucks really well, so we all need a bit of that."
The physical toll of Saturday's game at the MCG is evident in Joe Schmidt's selection.
One of his most trusted forwards, Allan Ala'alatoa, misses out with a shoulder injury, while Rob Valetini is also unavailable again.
The back row missed the first Test with a calf injury, and although he was immense in the opening half last week on his return, his half-time substitution and absence this week hints that he was never truly fully fit for this series.
Will Skelton does stay in the pack, and if he can repeat his performance from last week's first half it will again cause damage to the Lions, who have gone with a 6:2 split on their bench in a bid to deal with that physicality.
The issue for the Wallabies last week, and again this week, will be their depth.
While Langi Gleeson came on for Valetini and impressed, Jeremy Williams was no replacement for Skelton, and you could see the power balance shift as the second half wore on last week, to the point that they were hanging on by their fingernails before Hugo Keenan's try.
Gleeson remains on the bench with Tom Hooper jettisoned into the starting blindside flanker spot, and Taniela Tupou comes in for the injured Ala'alatoa.
A far more destructive presence than Ala'alatoa, the worry around Tupou is how many minutes he has in his legs.
At hooker, they have been further depleted. David Porecki had been due to start but an injury to both he and Matt Faessler in training sees Billy Pollard start, and Brandon Paenga-Amosa step up onto the bench, having only joined up with the squad on Thursday.
At out-half Tom Lynagh looked a far better player in the first half last week than he had been in the first Test, but once they lost their gainline threat, the 22-year-old's game management became an issue.
🦁 @jonnyholland10 is not surprised to see James Ryan rewarded for his cameo last weekend for the Lions as he prepares to start in the final test
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Lynagh starts again, and Schmidt has made a surprising call at scrum-half where he has included Nic White, with the 35-year-old set to make his final appearance for Australia.
It's a sentimental call from Schmidt, particularly at the expense of Jake Gordon who was exceptional a week ago.
In total, Schmidt has made four changes to his side, with Dylan Pietsch of the Western Force coming in to replace the injured Harry Potter on the left wing.
The fear is that as closely fought as last week's second Test was, it's taken far more out of Australia than it has from the tourists, who now seem buoyed by the prospect of chasing a first unbeaten Test series unbeaten since 1974.
Verdict: Lions
Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch; Tom Lynagh, Nic White; James Slipper, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt).
Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Blair Kinghorn; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.