Bruising finish to successful tour for Lions as Australia dominate stormy final Test in Sydney

The National

4 days ago

Maro Itoje had said the British & Irish Lions wanted a complete performance as the signature to a perfect tour of Australia. Instead, their copy was blotted by a miserable final day where everything that could go wrong more or less did.
As one of three touring players who fell foul of head injuries in quick succession, the captain himself had to watch from the bench as their hopes of a series clean sweep were lanced by a dogged Australia.
Nic White, playing his 73rd and last Test, was the architect. The Wallabies scrum half was the stick in the spokes that brought the Lions machine crashing to a halt in Sydney.
White was given a curtain call with plenty of the game still to run. As he was substituted, he put his thumbs up to the crowd, who in turn showed their appreciation, and his teammates finished the job, closing out a 22-12 win.
It was a sorry end to an otherwise triumphant tour for the Lions. Even the elements conspired against them.
They had travelled 17,000kms – as well as a circuitous round-trip around Australia once they got there – only to end up with the sort of rain they would be used to in Dublin, or London, or the Valleys, or the Borders.
Despite it being classic Six Nations weather, it was the home team who coped better. So heavy was the rain in the first half, it was difficult to see the ball, let alone handle it.
Somehow, the hosts managed. By half time, they were 8-0 up, via a Dylan Pietsch try. That advantage was far smaller than the Lions had overhauled the previous week in sealing the series in Melbourne, but the visitors were being dominated.
At the start of the second half, the match was suspended as an electrical storm had set in. At least it gave the touring side a chance to count the bodies they had left.
Immediately before the decision was made to suspend play for 30 minutes because of a lightning strike in the Sydney area, James Ryan had been knocked out.
His second row partner, Itoje, had failed a head injury assessment, as did the Lions wing Tommy Freeman.
While the coaching staff had a look round to see who was still available when play resumed, the players themselves looked for ways to keep themselves entertained during the unforeseen break.
Finn Russell went on his mobile phone. Tadgh Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki had a chill back on some beanbags.
In the opposition dressing room, assistant coach Geoff Parling was on his laptop, seemingly running a couple of players through some tactics.
Maybe the former England lock was recapping the Wallabies players the crucial impact he had for the opposition in the series 12 years ago.
Stung by going 2-0 down, the home players had clearly wanted to leave a mark in the final Test. They did, both on bodies as well as the scoreboard.
In the 22nd minute, there was a fracas after Will Skelton had been riling his former Saracens club mate Itoje. White joined in, starting a rare up with Dan Sheehan, the Lions hooker.
As the whistle was blowing for half time, it was announced Itoje was off for good, with Freeman suffering the same fate.
Two minutes after the break, Ryan became the third player concussed. The Irish second row was sparked out when he received a knee to the temple while trying to tackle Skelton.
Then there was the extended suspension in play. The gap in play was as long as either half lasted. If Lions fans thought it might revive their side, they were to be sorely disappointed.
As soon as they restarted, the Australians were back in the ascendancy. They scored tries through Max Jorgenson and Tate McDermott, either side of one for Jac Morgan, the Lions replacement.
The Lions were at least afforded a reminder that they had actually won the series as they scored with the last play, through the replacement, Will Stuart. Not that victory tasted so sweet for them by then.