'We knew what we had to get done' - Finn Russell hails clam Lions' reaction

Irish Examiner

17 hours ago

It was the last-minute Hugo Keenan try that will live long in British & Irish Lions lore but Finn Russell's huge touch-finding kick 30 minutes prior to that game-deciding play deserves its place in the telling of this epic second Test with Australia.
The sheer drama of that Keenan try naturally gripped the 90,307 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the Lions secured the series by going 2-0 over the Wallabies. After all, it completed a record-breaking comeback for the tourists in Test matches, Andy Farrell's men coming from 23-5 down to snatch it at the death and take the lead for the first time in an enthralling rollercoaster contest.
Yet the long-range penalty to touch from Russell that arguably turned the tide and sparked the Lions' rally. They had trailed by 18 points to a rampant Wallabies side, who scored two quick tries with Lions wing Tommy Freeman in the sin bin, and flanker Tom Curry had scored in the 34th to put a dent in the deficit. Russell's monster kick two minutes later after Wallabies captain Harry Wilson had been penalised for joining a ruck from the side was the moment the Lions genuinely seized momentum from their hosts.
His 50-22 to the left touchline put the tourists firmly on the front foot with a lineout six metres out from the Australian line, a perfect platform from which the forward pack could deliver, and deliver they did, pummeling the tryline before moving the ball beyond the posts from where centre Huw Jones produced a strong finish through a double tackle. Russell's conversion, having missed his first two kicks off the tee, was reassuringly close to the posts and with two minutes of the first half remaining, the Lions were just six points in arrears as 23-17 and the seeds of doubt had been sown in Wallaby minds.
'I think it was just kick the ball long and we'll go from there,' Russell said afterwards.
'I think that's what the message was. There was no stress, everyone was calm. We knew what we had to get done.
'Like I said, they scored two quick tries. They scored a try off the restart and scored again. We were a man down on the right wing. They opened us up there and got the try, which was a good play from them.
'But in terms of us as a group of players, we were never stressed. We knew we've got a lot of time to get back into this game. That was 30 minutes when they scored that try. There were still 50 minutes on the clock and we had a lot of time to get back into it.
'The way we came out in the second half was brilliant.'
The Wallabies would only add three more points, a Tom Lynagh penalty on 53 minutes, with Tadhg Beirne's try on the hour mark converted from wide out by Russell piling the pressure on Joe Schmidt's side, now clinging onto a six-point lead at 26-24.
The Lions dominated from there but were still trailing heading into the final minute and Russell insisted there was no panic in the ranks as they steadily built the match-winning attack.
'It was pretty chill, pretty calm. We had a lot of momentum, we were on top of them at the end of it. We had them on the ropes when Blair (Kinghorn) broke through and then we were playing on top of them.
'There was no stress, it was staying calm and making sure we got the job done at the end was the main thing. That's what we ended up doing.
'Hugo scored the try but I think the whole team was amazing. I think Jac Morgan's clean out, that obviously created the try. It was just sticking to what we're doing, just playing rugby, that was the main thing.' Being taken to the wire by a rejuvenated Australian side made the victory all the more satisfying, Russell agreed after had added a Lions series win to his Challenge Cup-English Premiership double earlier this season with Bath.
'The fact that it went down to the last play and we were pretty much behind the whole way, all the game until then, it makes it more satisfying and that's what these tours are about. Australia were brilliant tonight. They put us under a lot of pressure, especially when we got the yellow card. I think before half time we probably felt the tide turning a little bit.
'We got two quick drives there and that probably got us right back into the game, which was massive.' The celebrations Russell had been pulled away from to talk to the media were set to continue long into Saturday night in Melbourne but the fly-half insisted the pre-tour objective of a 3-0 clean sweep over Australia was still very much a priority when the Lions reached Sydney on Sunday evening ahead of next Saturday's final Test.
"I think everyone wants to play in that game. We're going back up to Sydney but it's not really on our minds just now. I think we need to enjoy this and celebrate tonight.
"When we come back Monday, we'll be ready to go again. I think if we can make it a 3-0 series, that's amazing. Everyone's going to be gunning for that. There might be changes next week to the team, I don't know what Faz is going to do. But I think it'll be brilliant next week. A brilliant occasion for everyone playing.
"I think everyone here has been gunning for it for their whole career. To get to the Lions is one thing, and then to get a series win is another. This is my third tour, not won one, so it's so special to get this, bringing four nations together to be a family for five, six weeks. To get the series win is amazing but the job's still not done yet.
We need to go and try and finish it off next week. Even though we've got the series, we need to go and finish it off and finish on a high."