So close for Lions as last-minute kick lands short

Australia 16 British & Irish Lions 15

By Simon Lewis, Melbourne

Australia kept their series hopes alive at Etihad Stadium as Lions kicking hero Leigh Halfpenny suffered last-minute agony with a missed penalty to hand the Wallabies victory.

A week earlier, Kurtley Beale had missed his game-winning opportunity to hand the Lions an opening-Test win in Brisbane and this time Halfpenny had the chance to seal a first series victory since 1997, only for his effort to come up short and experience the desolation his opposite number had faced.

For the second week in a row, the Test was on a knife-edge for 80 minutes, Adam Ashley-Cooper grabbing the only try of the game in the 75th minute, Christian Leali'ifano converting to send the Australians' into the lead at 16-15, their win levelling the series at 1-1, taking it to a final-Test decider in Sydney next Saturday.

Head coach Warren Gatland had made five changes, only two enforced, to the team which started the first Test, loosehead prop Mako Vunipola replacing Alex Corbisiero and Geoff Parling coming into the second row for Paul O'Connell.

The Lions head coach also decided to rest scrum-half Mike Phillips who had been carrying a knock since the opening tour game in Hong Kong on June 1, instead starting Ben Youngs and promoting Conor Murray to the bench. He also chose fit-again first-choice wing Tommy Bowe ahead of opening-Test try scorer Alex Cuthbert, just 20 days after the Irishman underwent surgery on broken bone in his hand.

Perhaps the most controversial pick, though, was to replace blindside flanker Tom Croft with Dan Lydiate, a move Gatland hoped would bring more physicality to the Lions' breakdown performance while admitting his “calculated risk” would also sacrifice a valuable lineout option.

There was even more of a gamble when the Lions named both Croft and fellow back-rower Sean O'Brien as replacements at the expense of a specialist lock.

In contrast, the Wallabies had made just two changes to their starting XV in Brisbane, both injury-enforced, Robbie Deans replacing Berrick Barnes at full-back with Kurtley Beale and bringing in Joe Tomane for Digby Ioane.

Captain James Horwill also started having been cleared of stamping on Alun Wyn Jones's head during the first Test, although his will face an IRB appeal hearing on Monday, a fact not lost on the Lions fans who booed his name when announced ahead of the match.

The Australians were expected to start strongly given their billing as wounded Wallabies after the first Test but it was the Lions who were quickest out of the blocks, Alun Wyn Jones scoring a first-minute turnover on back-pedalling hooker Stephen Moore.

And after all the attention on the tourists at the breakdown in the series opener, it was the home side who were first to cross referee Craig Joubert, a tackler not releasing in the third minute. They were relieved, though, to see Halfpenny's penalty from just inside their half, come up just short, hitting the top of the crossbar.

It would be the Welsh full-back's last miss of the opening period, Halfpenny getting his side up and running six minutes later after Australian No.8 Wycliff Palu was penalised for a second time in 60 seconds for collapsing a maul as the Lions forwards made a strong drive towards the try line.

Gatland's lineout gamble was brought into sharp focus on 10 minutes when Alun Wyn Jones went down hurt after an attempted tackle on Michael Hooper but after receiving treatment there was relief all round from the massed ranks of travelling supporters as the Wales lock rose to his feet.

The other fear factor, in the tight five, was faring less well, initially at least, as Vunipola was penalised at the scrum, Leali'ifano, a first minute casualty in Brisbane seven days ago, converting his first kick in Test rugby to level the scores on the quarter hour.

Vunipola was in trouble again in the front row on 22 minutes, seconds after Joubert had warned his captain Sam Warburton of the prop's illegal body angle in the scrum, Leali'ifano again punishing the poor technique to edge the Wallabies in front at 6-3.

Lions tighthead Adam Jones evened things up by earning a penalty for his side at the next scrum on 26 minutes, Halfpenny levelling the scores with the subsequent kick.

Vunipola got in on the act by turning the tables on Australia tighthead Ben Alexander, getting underneath his man and riving him up out of the scrum, with Halfpenny's penalty kick sending the Lions in front at 9-6.

The tit-for-tat with Leali'ifano continued as the Wallabies centre levelled the scores once more in the 36th minute, Lydiate having mistimed his slingshot out of the defensive line for an offside, but the Lions finished the first half in front with another Halfpenny penalty, going in at the break 12-9 in front.

It would be an anxious, error-ridden second half, all 40 minutes of it as the two sides ground it out with the rugby far from flowing, the fluency of the game lost in the tension, only marginally relieved when George North picked up his tackler, wing rival Israel Folau, and carried him several metres over his shoulder, the delight of Lions' supporters quickly tempered as the Wales star stayed down hurt for several moments before returning to the fray.

Halfpenny sent over a 63rd minute penalty as the Australian scrum buckled, the battle of the replacement props being won by Dan Cole over James Slipper.

The were further concerns for the Lions as they defended a 15-9 lead, when Warburton was forced off with an injury in the 67thminute, the captain helped from the field and Brian O'Driscoll taking over the leadership role.

O'Driscoll was forced to oversee a defensive rearguard, however, as Australia fought to stay in the series.

Horwill gave his forwards a boost when he opted for a scrum in front of the posts on 72 minutes rather than take three points and was rewarded when the red line finally creaked five minutes from time.

Folau broke through the middle and then Will Genia followed him, the home side going around the corner until the scrum-half eyed a chance, flinging the ball out left from where Ashley-Cooper left Jon Davies tackling air to score the only try of the game.

Leali'ifano capped a perfect kicking debut with the conversion for a four-from-four return as Australia hit the front at 16-15 with three minutes left on the clock.

And this time it was the Lions kicker in agony as the Wallabies conceded a penalty right on halfway for not releasing at the breakdown. O'Driscoll looked Halfpenny in the eye and saw his full-back wanted to take on the long-range kick for a game-winning penalty and long-awaited series clincher.

Joubert pointed to the posts but the glory did not follow, Halfpenny's kick coming up short, caught by Genia, who launched the ball into the crowd to end the game, the series now level at 1-1.

AUSTRALIA: K Beale; I Folau, A Ashley-Cooper (R Horne, 78), C Leali’ifano, J Tomane; J O’Connor, W Genia; B Robinson (J Slipper, 61), S Moore, B Alexander (S Kepu, 58); K Douglas (R Simmons, 53), J Horwill - captain; B Mowen, M Hooper, W Palu (L Gill, 61).

Replacements not used: S Fainga’a, N Phipps, R Horne, J Mogg.

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: L Halfpenny; T Bowe, B O’Driscoll, J Davies , G North; J Sexton, B Youngs (C Murray, 53); M Vunipola, T Youngs (R Hibbard, 56), A Jones (D Cole, 59); A W Jones, G Parling; D Lydiate, S Warburton – captain (T Croft, 67), J Heaslip (S O’Brien, 63).

Replacements not used: R Grant, O Farrell, A Cuthbert.

REFEREE: Craig Joubert (South Africa).