Donal Lenihan: Wounded Wallabies rescue series and make victory that much sweeter

SERIES WINNERS: Winning try scorer Hugo Keenan of British & Irish Lions is lifted by teammates Mack Hansen, left, and Jamie George as they celebrate after the second test match. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Now that’s what a Lions test is supposed to look like. What a captivating spectacle from start to finish.

They’re called Test matches for a reason and against all the odds how the Lions were finally tested by a completely rejuvenated Australian side. Winning the series will feel a whole lot better for the players and management given the way the Wallabies made the Lions earn it.

Despite the widely held view that the Lions would win this series at a canter, history has taught me that the Australians are a special breed of competitive animal especially when taken for granted.

That’s why I was so reluctant to write them off on these pages, even after their sub-par performance in the first test. They were always going to be better for having a game of that magnitude and intensity under their belt and so it proved.

It says everything about the quality of their performance this time out that the first time the Lions hit the lead was when Irish full back Hugo Keenan touched down in the 80th minute with the hosts frantically trying to keep their line intact in the knowledge that the final hooter was only seconds away. Then again, it only takes a second to touch the ball down.

In doing so, Keenan has cemented his place in the storied history of the Lions, scoring a try that will be replayed ad nauseam every time the Lions contest a series. For someone whose tour was decimated from the outset by injury and illness, that final contribution could not have been sweeter for Ireland’s Mr Dependable.

While there’s one more test to come, the main job has been completed. No doubt, over the week to come, we’ll hear constantly about the desire of the Lions to finish the tour unbeaten on Australian soil.

Even if the Wallabies had managed to cling on at the death, they’d find it very difficult to raise their game to such heights for a second week in a row. That said, for Joe Schmidt’s men, the soul searching will continue for a long time.

This was a game firmly within Australia’s grasp, having delivered their most complete performance in years, at least for the opening 35 minutes. They grasped the game by the scruff of the neck from the outset, dominated the collisions, took ownership of the gain line and controlled territory, before eventually losing their way.

Schmidt will rue the fact that, from the 35th minute onwards, Australia scored a measly three points, having outplayed and outscored the highly fancied Lions 23-5 to that point. No Lions team had ever recovered from an 18-point deficit to win a test.

A brace of tries from Tom Curry and Huw Jones in that game-defining spell before the break ended up having a massive influence on the outcome, especially with the outstanding Rob Valetini forced off at the break and the equally impactful Will Skelton leaving the field eight minutes into the second half.

Once news emerged prior to the opening test in Brisbane that both those key forwards hadn’t sufficiently recovered from injury to start, it was impossible to predict anything other than a win for the tourists.

Physically Australia weren’t at the races in that Test and the Lions should have won by far more than the final margin of eight points. Once Schmidt declared both fit to start in Melbourne, you just knew the ground rules were set to change.

With 14 highly explosive carries between Skelton and Valetini alone in the opening half, finally on the front foot and with serious momentum, the Wallabies played a different game. They were a team transformed.

On the flip side the Lions were but a pale shadow of the team that dominated the collisions for the opening 50 minutes the previous week. It didn’t help their cause that their discipline fell apart with six penalties and a yellow card for Tommy Freeman conceded in the opening half alone.

Australia ruthlessly exploited Freeman’s visit to the sin bin with a return of 12 points. For a period, the Lions looked in disarray but those two tries in closing minutes of the half completely altered the narrative in both dressing rooms at half-time.

The biggest issue for Andy Farrell’s men in that opening half was their inability to generate any sustained foothold in the Wallaby 22. Any time they managed to do so, invariably they left with points on the board.

Consequently, the message from Farrell at the break was pretty simple. Stop conceding silly penalties and chase territory over everything else. The fact that Skelton and Valetini both had to be withdrawn prematurely proved a real momentum killer for Australia and played into the Lions' hands.

In contrast to the Brisbane test, the Lions bench made a far greater impact this time out. Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, James Ryan and Jac Morgan - as a former Lion it felt right for me that a Welshman was finally in the thick of the action - were immense, with only Langi Gleeson managing to match that impact in Wallaby colours.

Coupled with their introduction up front, Owen Farrell’s sheer presence and the air of confidence Blair Kinghorn brought from his French Top 14 title-winning campaign with Toulouse also proved invaluable.

Another key factor was the dominance the Lions enjoyed in the scrum. When under pressure, Jack Conan had the luxury of holding the ball at his feet and call for a second drive that invariably led to a penalty. Four scrum penalties in a game that dangled on a knife-edge right to the final whistle ultimately proved invaluable.

To their credit, the under pressure Wallaby half-back pairing of Jake Gordon and Tom Lynagh, on the front foot for long periods, were so much better this week, but still failed to influence the outcome to the same degree as Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell.

Gibson-Park is now up there with the great Antoine Dupont when it comes to dictating a game from the base. Outside him, Russell was calmness personified, exemplified by one incredible 60-metre penalty kick to within five metres of the Wallaby line to set up a crucial try scoring opportunity which the Lions nailed.

Without the brilliance of that duo, the series may well have gone to the wire in Sydney next week. Adding to the drama was the fact that uncertainty hung over the legitimacy of Keenan’s try due to a contentious clean-out by Morgan on Carlo Tizzano in the ruck leading up to Keenan’s series-winning try.

I’m with Farrell on his assertion that the Welsh captain effected a brilliant clean-out even if Schmidt wasn’t happy with the call from the officials. I can understand his frustration since I’ve seen those marginal calls go the other way. If anything, I’d question the legality of Dan Sheehan’s first-half try which, to the naked eye, just didn’t look right.

With the series in the bag, the Lions now have one last week together, not only to enjoy each other's company in what has clearly been a very enjoyable experience for everyone involved, but with something tangible still to play for.

Farrell even has the breathing room to reward some players on the fringe of test selection, who missed out in marginal calls in the opening two tests. The Lions could not be in a better place.