Preview: Lions won't be bowled over by history at the MCG
The British and Irish Lions didn't even exist when the Carlton football club hosted Waratah from New South Wales in June 1878 for that first game of rugby at the MCG.
They played two games that weekend, one as a game of rugby, and the other under Victorian rules – the game we now know to be Australian Rules Football.
An estimated 6,000 people were in attendance for that game, the result of which was disputed by both teams.
The MCG will look a lot different this week, as the Wallabies and British and Irish Lions look to threaten the biggest ever crowd for a rugby game at Australia's most famous sporting venue, that being the 90,119 that watched Australia host New Zealand in 1997.
The Lions have been here twice before, defeating Victoria on their 1899 and in 1930 tours, but they've never played a Test at 'The G'.
In fact, this will be just the fifth international Test ever to be played at the ground, all four being Bledisloe Cup games between the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
Rugby union is practically a minority sport in Melbourne, with pretty much everything playing far behind Aussie Rules during the winter in this town.
However, it hasn't been an easy place for the Lions to visit.
In 2001 and 2013 they brought a 1-0 lead to Docklands Stadium (now Marvel Stadium), where the Wallabies tied up the series, but it would take something special for Joe Schmidt's side to set up a deciding Test in Sydney next week.
It was jarring to see how easily the Lions bullied the Wallabies a week ago in that first half as they cruised towards a 17-5 half-time lead, before extending it minutes after the break to effectively kill off the game.
'We were probably all a danger to ourselves, this wouldn't have happened.' #RTERugby podcast pundits @jonnyholland10 and @MurphyJohne hail Garry Ringrose for self-reporting a head injury after being included in the Lions starting XV for second Test https://t.co/p0WyhotB51 pic.twitter.com/CFHg0DbpDL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2025
They played in a way we simply don't associate with a Joe Schmidt side, with Tom Lynagh floundering behind a pack that was going backwards phase on phase, and their attacking shape appearing disorganised and improvised – not in a good way.
There was plenty of heart on display, but heart can only get you so far in a game of collisions, and their late rally to score two tries and put some respectability on the scoreboard was as much down to the tourists taking their foot off the gas rather than the Wallabies finding an extra gear.
Farrell was clearly frustrated last Saturday evening at how his side took their foot off the throat in the final half an hour at Suncorp Stadium, and when he referred back to it on Thursday after naming his side for this week's second Test, he described it as a "dip in focus" from his players.
"We thoroughly believe that we're way better than what we showed, and we've got another chance to prove that," he said, after naming his side for the second Test yesterday.
Joe McCarthy (above) misses out due to the plantar fasciitis which forced him off early in the second half last week, and Farrell has resisted the temptation to move Tadhg Beirne into his usual position at lock, slotting Ollie Chessum in alongside captain Maro Itoje and retaining last week's exceptional back row trio of Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan.
Andrew Porter also starts, perhaps to create a change in the picture they present at the scrum after some decisions went the Wallabies way last week, but equally to unleash Ellis Genge's explosive qualities on a tiring Australian pack in the second half.
In the centre, Bundee Aki (below) comes in for Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, where Farrell had plans to pair him with his Ireland team-mate Garry Ringrose, but after the Leinster centre had to drop out due to concussion, Huw Jones came back into this week's line-up.
Despite having played his Irish and Scottish centres together for the majority of this tour, Farrell is backing the Aki-Jones combination to gel.
"At this stage of the tour, and well before this stage of the tour, actually, the combinations have been absolutely fine together. So Bundee and Huw will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership.
"These things happen in the warm-up of any game, the pressure is off and people tend to play freely because of that type of situation. Huw won't miss a beat in that regard," Farrell added.
Given the head coach's frustrations at how little impact he got from his bench last week, his decision to shuffle the replacements is worth noting.
Genge is arguably a victim of his own high-octane style of play, held back to keep the energy levels him when he comes on in the second half.
With Chessum starting, James Ryan got the nod to step up to the bench, and while it's been suggested that Scot Cummings is the more in-form of the two, Ryan's abrasiveness at the breakdown is something Farrell has always valued.
Farrell did go for the form option of Jac Morgan as his back row replacement ahead of Ben Earl's versatility, while the decision to play Owen Farrell over Marcus Smith as the replacement out-half shows the stock Andy is putting in leadership.
For their worth, Australia have clearly addressed the power imbalance of last week in their selection.
Leinster-nemesis Will Skelton - all 6ft 8in and 135kg of him – comes in at second row, while reigning Australian player of the year Rob Valetini has also recovered from injury to start.
Flanker Langi Gleeson has also been declared fit, and is named on the bench, with Andrew Kellaway dropping out to allow for the 6:2 split, something the haven't done since a World Cup warm-up against France in 2023.
While Skelton has been a consistent thorn in the side of the many Leinster players in this group, Valetini's return is more important for the Wallabies for his ball-carrying ability.
'A member of the Concrete XV', as described by the Sydney Morning Herald's Iain Payten (above) on this week's RTÉ Rugby Podcast, the Wallabies tried to share the burden of his ball-carrying in Brisbane last week, Nick Frost and Fraser McReight their two leading carriers in the pack with just 42 metres made from a combined 26 carries.
If Valetini can get on the ball and make the Lions defence go backwards, the field could open up, with more time in the hands of Lynagh and more space in midfield for their wildcard, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
It should be a better Wallabies team than we saw in Brisbane, but the feeling is that it's still not good enough, and the performances of Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakai-Loto and Darcy Swain for the First Nations and Pasifika XV last week suggest that while there is top level talent in Australia at the moment, it's not all being picked by the Wallabies.
Verdict: Lions
Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson.
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson.
British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
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The 42
4 hours ago
- The 42
Dan Sheehan's very clever and somewhat confusing try
WE'VE GOT LOTS of different examples of Dan Sheehan finishing tries in recent months but he surprised all of us, including the Wallabies, with his latest big play. Most teams task their hookers with being the person to tap five-metre penalties. Sheehan is good in this role. He has the size, acceleration, and bravery to thrust himself at the tryline, generally making a few metres for Leinster, Ireland or the Lions before the other forwards take over. Sometimes Sheehan is involved in trick plays where he needs to dummy a carry but instead pass, or leave the ball for someone else to tap. All in all, Sheehan brings a nice variety in this area of the game. When most players tap and carry, they do their best to stay low to the ground, attempting to drive in under the defenders as they race up off the tryline. Getting caught upright is a recipe for disaster into what are usually double or triple tackles. We get an example of that low-carrying approach from Sheehan in last weekend's first Test win over the Wallabies just before Tom Curry's try. Sheehan places his left foot ahead of the ball, bringing himself closer to the tryline, then uses his right foot to tap it. He scoops the ball up as he accelerates off his planted left foot. Sheehan's acceleration takes him over the first couple of metres and then he starts to dive down towards the ground before tacklers James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, and Harry Wilson can make heay contact with him. The idea of dropping in low is that Sheehan can burrow under the tacklers, rather than getting rocked back by them. Essentially, his decision to drive low in the carry means he can bank those first three metres he has made off the tap. Curry scores a crucial try for the Lions two phases later. Fast forward to the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday and Sheehan uses the same approach on the first occasion the Lions decide to go for a five-metre tap penalty. Sheehan taps with his right leg, races over the first few metres and dives down into the tackle from Slipper and Wallabies hooker Dave Porecki. The Lions then try a 'Leicester' play – something Ireland and Leinster also use, inspired originally by the Tigers – by switching into the shortside with Andrew Porter, only for the Wallabies to read it well and stop him. A few phases later, the Wallabies are caught offside and the Lions decide to go for another five-metre tap. As Sheehan stands over the ball, we know what the Wallabies are expecting. But he pulls out a new move that catches the Australians off guard. Sheehan again taps and accelerates but this time, he doesn't dive in low to get under the tacklers. Instead, he dives straight over the top of them for the tryline. It's clearly something the Lions had discussed and planned. We can see Maro Itoje grabbing Sheehan's shirt and looking to propel him forward just as the hooker dives for the line. Advertisement Itoje wants to add any additional velocity he can to Sheehan's dive for the tryline. We can see how the two Wallabies tacklers who Sheehan drove under on the earlier tap penalties – Slipper and Porecki – are expecting him to do the same again. Porecki and Slipper are both dropping in low to try and complete the tackle, expecting Sheehan to be down there too. Instead, he clears both of them on his way to the tryline. It's very clever from Sheehan and the Lions, who show the Wallabies one picture with the hooker's tap and low carries before they spring a completely different picture on them. Referee Andrea Piardi awards the try, but the Wallabies immediately appeal, claiming that Sheehan has illegally jumped over the tackle. 'He's allowed to jump to score the try,' says Piardi as Wilson vehemently tries to get the try overturned. World Rugby issued a law clarification around this kind of thing back in 2022 at the behest of New Zealand Rugby, following two incidents where players jumped as a defender tried to tackle them. In the first instance, below, World Rugby ruled that Chiefs number eight Pita Gus Sowakula should have been penalised for jumping to hurdle the tackler, Aaron Smith of the Highlanders. World Rugby said that Sowakula's actions here were against Law 9.11, 'Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler.' Wales' Blair Murray was penalised for the same offence during this year's Six Nations. The same month, Moana Pasifika wing Kyren Taumoefolau was not penalised for the incident below, but Super Rugby bosses later admitted that this should have been a penalty against Taumoefolau. As World Rugby underlined in 2022, 'jumping to hurdle a potential tackler is dangerous play' and should be penalised. In each of these instances involving Sowakula, Murray, and Taumoefolau, they are clearly jumping to clear the defender, with each of them landing again before continuing upfield. They are not diving for the tryline. The other incident that New Zealand Rugby asked for clarification on in 2022 was Jonny May's memorable try against Italy. Frustratingly, World Rugby didn't actually say whether this finish was legal or illegal. They rather confusingly said that players should be allowed to dive to score, but also that defenders may attempt 'safe and legal tackles' in these instances. World Rugby added that in rare situations like this one, 'match officials have to make a judgement call as to which actions have taken place' and that 'if there is any element of dangerous play, in line with the above ruling [re. Sowakula], then a try cannot be the reward.' It's very rugby for the governing body to simply say it's up to the officials to decide in the moment. Just last month, World Rugby had another request in this area from its own high performance referee manager, Joël Jutge. 'At a ruck/breakdown close to the goal line, the attacking scrum-half picks up the ball and dives forward over the ruck in an attempt to score a try,' read the request. 'Is this legal or should it be sanctioned?' Lions skipper Itoje was involved in one of the incidents examined. World Rugby said that these incidents were 'potentially dangerous actions, so a player who attempts this and makes any contact with players already on the ground can be sanctioned' with a penalty. World Rugby did refer to its 2022 clarification in underlining that in these 'specific ruck situations, it would be difficult to either dive safely, or then be tackled safely.' So diving over a ruck to score was confirmed as illegal, as long as the diving player makes contact with other players already on the ground. But of course, Sheehan doesn't dive over a ruck for his Lions try, so really the 2022 clarification on May's try was the most relevant thing for Piardi on Saturday at the MCG. He knew it was a judgment call from his point of view. The Italian referee decided that Sheehan was making a genuine dive to score the try, rather than dangerously hurdling a tackler. And that's the bottom line here – World Rugby basically said that the referee's judgement call in this kind of situation is the law. Piardi decided it was a try, so it was a try. Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt – a former World Rugby director of rugby – expressed his concerns about the score post-match. 'It's illegal to jump the tackle, but he dived over,' said Schmidt. 'What it now challenges World Rugby to do is that if we have two guys going in low and a guy dives over that, he is pretty much headfirst. 'So what do we do to stop him scoring, apart from stopping his head? There's not much else you can do.' It's a fair point from Schmidt and underlines how willing Sheehan was to put his body on the line for the Lions. If one of the Wallabies defenders had stayed up high or popped upwards late, it could have been a nasty collision. But they didn't. The Wallabies tacklers were lured down into low positions by Sheehan's previous set-up plays and he soared right over the top of them. Piardi was happy and Andy Farrell's men had five crucial points.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Lions land in Sydney with sore heads as Australia continue to fume over MCG endgame
A day after they'd gone to war and gone to the wire, the respective Wallabies and Lions squads made the post-second Test trek from Melbourne to Sydney for next Saturday's series finale, one with heavy hearts, the other with collective sore heads. Joe Schmidt and his Australian squad were on a morning flight and, one ventures, an altogether quieter one, not least as Andrea Piardi and his match officials were apparently among them. Andy Farrell has cultivated a ruthless, winning mentality in the touring squad and hence they were frolicking and cavorting like caged Lions let loose into the wild in the aftermath of Saturday's dramatic and pulsating 29-26 win to emulate the series win of 2013. As Farrell and Maro Itoje were conducting their valedictory post-match press conference in a cramped room in the otherwise spacious MCG, they were already being serenaded by the rest of the squad in the away 'shed'. In their own, ever-changing adaptation of Rockin' All Over the World, the chorus hailed coach and captain: 'Ohhhhh Farrell and Captain Marohhhh'. READ MORE The squad's extensive playlist carried on throughout the Lions and Wallabies press conferences, and included Dirty Old Town which, although popularised by The Dubliners and The Pogues, was written by an Englishman of Scottish extraction, Ewan McColl, about Salford in Manchester. The players then brought white chairs and beers out to the centre of the MCG pitch, by then deserted of its record-breaking 90,037 attendance, and when Hugo Keenan emerged from his media duties in the mixed zone he had to re-enact his match-winning 80th minute try. Meanwhile, Schmidt had already been stoking up the widespread outrage that the try had not been over-ruled and a penalty awarded to the Wallabies on review for Jac Morgan's clearout on Carlo Tizzano at the preceding ruck. Former Wallaby turned pundit Morgan Turinui said on Stan Sport: 'The referees were too weak to give it.' And described it as 'a terrible decision'. Australia backrow Carlo Tizzano receives treatment after the clearout by the Lions' Jac Morgan at a ruck in the lead-up to Hugo Keenan's late try at the MCG. Photograph:'Robbed' screamed the back page of the Sunday Telegraph, while inside the heading on one piece read 'This Will Cost Us Forever'. Yet the Lions, to a man, maintained Morgan had made a legal clearout on Tizzano, with Finn Russell indicating that the Wallabies sub had milked the moment. And the outrage would have been even greater had Keenan's try been ruled out on review for something that happens in every second ruck. The pity is that the controversy distracted from an unforgettable Test in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch the Lions play in Australia and the biggest rugby union attendance on Australian soil in two decades. And who knows, despite all the naysayers who have decried the Wallabies and the series, primarily from home, this may mark the beginning of a rebirth for Australian rugby. Saturday's epic win, sealed by Keenan's finish to an utterly compelling 13-phase attack, was all the more memorable for the Wallabies producing what has been described as their best performances in the last decade. They were a side transformed, not surprisingly, by the raised stakes, the injection of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini's ball carrying, sharpened lineout launch plays and Joseph Suaalii coming to the party. 'They were good. They turned up,' agreed Farrell. 'I suppose the drama and how it unfolded is what makes it special. You wouldn't have backed us at 23-5 but to find a way adds to the story, doesn't it? It adds to the fairytale.' Saturday's game had uncanny echoes of Ireland's epic clash with the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium in 2013. Back then, Schmidt was overseeing just his third match as Ireland's head coach. A week previously Ireland had been beaten 32-15 by Australia and akin to last week's build-up, his Wallabies side went into Saturday's game as 10-point underdogs, with a 7-2 chance of victory. Jamison Gibson-Park leads the celebrations in the Lions' dressingroom after the win over Australia at the MCG. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho On that November Sunday in 2013, Ireland flew out of the blocks with a three-try salvo to lead 22-7 after 35 minutes. Here, the Wallabies' three-try salvo earned them a 23-5 lead after 31 minutes. Ireland would not add another point while on Saturday the Wallabies were restricted to just one more Tom Lynagh penalty in the 54th minute. A dozen years ago, the All Blacks completed the biggest comeback in their history to lead 24-22 for the first time with the last play of the game, namely Aaron Cruden's retaken conversion after Ryan Crotty's try. On Saturday, after Keenan's try was confirmed, the Lions thus led for the first time with the last play of the game to complete their biggest Test comeback in history; the only difference being that Russell's conversion served to run down the lock and wasn't required to seal the victory. Russell spoke of the 'calmness' which permeated throughout the Lions, both at 23-7 down and entering the endgame. Their matchday squad boasted 1,337 Test caps as against the Wallabies' 715, and perhaps tellingly, their finishing XV had 789 caps to their opponents' 335. When they first came together, Farrell targeted a 3-0 series win in Australia for the first time since a 'British Isles' team did so in 1904. 'Everybody wants to play next week,' said Russell, a sentiment echoed by Itoje. For Farrell to be true to his word, the changes in selection might be sprinkling rather than wholesale. After all, the likes of Tadhg Furlong , Itoje, Tom Curry and Jack Conan deserve to be ever-presents for a second series in a row, and in Furlong's case a third, and ditto key performers like Dan Sheehan , Tadhg Beirne , Jamison Gibson-Park and Russell, while Joe McCarthy , Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen could come back into the mix. Decision, decisions, decisions. But from a happy place.
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'We knew what we had to get done' - Finn Russell hails clam Lions' reaction
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."
