As it happened: Late, great Hugo Keenan try secures series win for Lions
Hugo Keenan of the British & Irish Lions celebrates after scoring the match-winning try. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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The man-of-the-moment, Hugo Keenan, reacts to a special moment in his career.
"You don’t really think of these things, with my try-scoring record, I was probably the least likely.
"I’m absolutely delighted. It came off the back of countless phases of hard work from the lads. It was a pretty cool moment. One I’ll definitely savour."
Lions boss Andy Farrell: "Wow, It was never in doubt, was it?
"It’s amazing — the occasion, the fans all travelling out here — they all deserve this, and that grandstand finish. This is what Lions rugby is all about. I’m absolutely delighted."
He continued: "It wasn’t great, especially in the first half. We started with back-to-back penalties and yellow cards, and it really cost us on the scoreboard.
"But we found a way back into the game, and that gave us confidence heading into the second half. And, wow - what a finish!
"When we were able to build pressure, we rolled pretty nicely. Every time we got into the 22, we came away with something. We had solid belief at half-time and knew we could win if we controlled our discipline."
"It feels a little surreal. The first 20 minutes we weren't great, weren't physical enough," said Lions skipper Itoje. "We managed to find a way in the second half of the first half.
"The second half, again it wasn't perfect, but we just managed to fight, got close and big Faz (Andy Farrell) was just telling us to play big all the time, to believe in ourselves.
"I give a load of credit to the bench, all the guys that came on made a massive difference."
Ronan O'Gara: "The only time the Lions led was in the 81st minute!"
Excellent contest and it's hard not to feel a bit gutted for the Aussies, who improved tenfold between the first and second tests. - Duncan Casey
Two-nil Test series win secured for Andy Farrell and his Lions charges.
Wow. What a display that was, from both the Lions and Australia.
No foul play. Try. Keenan will be the hero. He's come a long way from that bout of sickness earlier in the tour.
Referee and TMO looking at a Morgan clear-out on Tizzano in the build-up.
Try! It's Hugo Keenan, he dives over past a stretched Wallabies defence. Is he the match-winner?
Lions have possession, it's now all about delivering. The drop goal is on but they spread the ball wide.
Owen Farrell drop goal anyone?
Genge loses the ball forward after the Lions looked to go quick off the back of a scrum.
Bit of a break now as Will Stuart swaps out his footwear for the colourful pair sported by Tadhg Furlong. Sound fella that Furlong lad is.
Lions - through Kinghorn and Co. build pressure, but Australia win a penalty. Lynagh kicks downfield. The lineout ends in a turnover for the Lions, however. This game is on a knife-edge.
Hearing less of that screeching PA announcer indicates that the game is absorbing in its own right.
Scrum penalty for the Lions. Russell kicks to the half-way line.
Wright moves the ball to Max Jorgensen, who hacks it down toward the Lions try. The Lions exit well after Gibson-Park comes over to cover.
More Lions reinforcements - Ronan Kelleher and Will Stuart replace Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong.
Maro Itoje forces a penalty and Russell gets absolutely everything out of it. Lions in position to strike. But it comes to nothing as Tizzano and Australia secure a crucial turnover on their own line. Lynagh - in turn - misses touch.
Lions and Australia subs - Owen Farrell and Blair Kinghorn are into the game. Lowe and Jones make way. Carlo Tiizzano on for the hosts.
Try Lions! It's that blue scrum cap and its owner, Tadhg Beirne, again. Lowe with a left-handed offload to the Munster man, who powers over. Superb conversion from Russell. Two between them.
Lions making a bit of headway now. Aki to the fore, Morgan, Ryan involved too.
Australia sub - David Porecki leaves the field. He's replaced by Billy Pollard.
Lions changes. Ellis Genge, Jack Morgan and James Ryan on, Andrew Porter, Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum off.
Massive play from Tom Curry. His try-saving tackle on Suaalii forces a knock-on turnover. That was brilliant play Gleeson and Fraser McReight in the build-up.
O'Gara: "I know there's 25 minutes left in the game, but you're going down potentially 16 points. That's a massive tackle."
Australia comfortably the better side in the opening period of the second half. They look fully in control and the Lions have lots of work to do here. Even with Skelton off the field, Australia continue to get lots of change from attacking the narrow channels around the ruck. Lions unable to get reward on the ground like they did last week.
Play is pulled back for the aforementioned penalty and Lynagh does the necessary to stretch their lead.
Real pressure being applied by the Wallabies now, who have an advantage.
A promising midfield scrum has so much upside for the Lions, but Russell kicks out on the full. Back on the back foot. This is finely poised.
Another Wallabies change, and another big name departs. Skelton off, Jeremy Williams on.
Gleeson has been good since coming on. Australia - through the boot of Wright - have pinned the Lions into their own 22.
Great from Keenan, who expertly keeps a kick in play before launching downfield.
A James Lowe knock-on gives Australia an early scrum but Harry Wilson gives up a breakdown penalty shortly after. Russell kicks to touch.
We're back underway and Australia have made three changes. Valetini injured? He makes way for Langi Gleeson. Tom Robertson and Ulster-bound Angus Bell are also on in the front-row. Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa head for the touchline.
Lions coach Johnny Sexton: “We gave them some access with our ill-disciple. We need to rectify that. We’ve pulled ourselves back into it and now we need to go and get the first score in the second half.
"We’ve got to hold the ball better, keep our discipline, when we do that we look pretty impressive."
Brilliant first half of rugby and a completely different spectacle to what many of us expected. You feel that the Lions were hitting their stride after Freeman's return to the pitch so the break probably came at a better time for the hosts than their guests.
Gatland on Sky Sports: "That was unbelievable. Australia were amazing, they were direct with Skelton and Valetini and caused the Lions problems defensively.
"But the Lions came back, and they have looked comfortable whenever they got into the Wallabies 22. What a first half of rugby."
Wallabies lead but what the hell. The series needed this sort of contest. Been lukewarm and bloodless to this point. This is on a par with great Lions tests down the years.
And breath...
Another Lions try! A Suaalii infringement at the breakdown allows Russell to bang the ball very long and deep into Wallaby territory. Everything goes to plan from the lineout and Keenan's pass allows Huw Jones to force his way over and give Russell a tap-over conversion. Huge score for the Lions. What a first half we have had!
The Lions respond with a try of their own! At the end of it was Conan, who swings over to Tom Curry to finish in the corner. No extras from Russell.
Another Australia try! The Wallabies come alive with a spectacular breakaway. With a run through the Lions' defense, Joseph Suaalii makes his introduction. He then offloads to full-back Tom Wright, who finishes.
The value Skelton and Valetini bring has been evident throughout the first half. The go forward they get their team allows the other carriers to attack the seams around the ruck, sucking in more and more defenders and creating the confusion that allows Gordon to exploit the space and score.
Try! They're over again. O'Gara credits Schmidt's detail as Jake Gordon snipes through to put daylight between the sides. Lynagh taps over. 18-5 Australia.
Full-back Tom Wright bangs a monster 50:22 into the corner. Hugo Keenan tried and failed to stop it. Advantage Australia. They're really motoring now.
Excellent finish from old-timer Slipper there. You shouldn't underestimate how difficult it is to shift two defenders back the requisite 6 inches to touch down from that body position.
Try! And they're over. James Slipper goes over in the corner. His fourth international try in 146 caps. Tommy Freeman heads to the bin. Lynagh misses a difficult conversion. Game on now, that's for sure.
Another penalty and a warning for the Lions. To the corner they go again and the lineout is claimed. Another advantage too, the Lions might be in trouble.
Big carries lead to an Australian penalty, and they go to the corner. Skelton has done more in 20 minutes than the entire Wallaby pack managed in 80 last week.
Schmidt had bemoaned his side’s lack of intensity in the early stages of the first Test but he can have few complaints from an increase in intensity at the MCG. This is a proper contest.- Simon Lewis
The risk of the 6-2 split. Winger Harry Potter is forced off injured. His replacement is scrum-half Tate McDermott.
Try! Sheehan taps quickly and dives over superman-like. Questions over the legality but referee Andrea Piardi sees nothing wrong. Russell fails to add the extras.
Go for goal or tap and go? I’d build a scoreboard as the Wallabies have done, but the Lions believe in themselves. And bingo.
Wallabies keep the Lions out, but are offside again. Lions need to make this count.
Conan's try is ruled out but Lions retain the ball as Skelton and Co. were offside in the build-up.
They get the territory and a bit of a scuffle follows. Penalty Lions. Russell goes to the corner. Dan Sheehan throws and it ends up in Jack Conan crosses over for the Lions' opening try.
The next score is now very important, says Ronan O'Gara on comms. The Lions need territory.
Australia's cohesion is night and day compared to last week. They are securing possession well, playing the territory, winning collisions and being rewarded with penalties as a result. The structure that was absent last week is definitely there today.
Over it goes. That'll really help the young out-half.
Another penalty for the hosts. They are starting to get some joy from their physical start. Lynagh's second effort at the posts.
Russell catches the Wallabies out off the restart and finds touch, but they eventually clear. Bit of back and forth with the boot the last few minutes. Game settling down.
Nice variation and creativity in the Australian lineout early on, much more positive than last week and it's given them a foothold in the early exchanges.
Lions offside. Penalty Wallabies. Lynagh's is straight and through.
First penalty goes to the Wallabies. Michael Lynagh kicks downfield. Lineout goes over the top to the returning Valetini.
Australia claim possession from an early line-out and pump ball deep into Lions territory.
Finn Russell gets proceedings underway in front of 95,000 Wallabies and Lions supporters at the MCG.
Out come the teams, we'll have the Australian national anthem prior to the action getting underway.
We're just minutes away now. Former Lions head coach Warren Gatland says a desperate home side will bring massive emotion.
A bad omen for the Wallabies?
Their team bus arrived 25 minutes late to the MCG, echoing a similar experience for head coach Schmidt during his Ireland tenure, at Murrayfield during the 2017 Six Nations when his side were 15 minutes behind schedule. Scotland won the game 27-22 and Schmidt said his players had been unsettled by a rushed warm-up.
You hope that the MCG lives up to the hype. Oval stadiums are not a natural habitat for rugby. Quite a way away for fans. Give me a Millennium or an old Lansdowne any day. Sea of Red needs to be heard.
Lions head coach Andy Farrell has urged his charges to raise their standards to a new high.
"From our point of view, we need to back what we believe is our potential within our side, and making sure that we're accurate with our game, and that's accuracy in all single areas, including physicality, etc.
“So we believe that we understand what type of team we're chasing, and we think if we're able to put that out on the field, that should be good enough to put us in with a good shout at winning the game.”
Melbourne is not a happy hunting ground for the Lions. I remember chatting with an Aussie journo mate at half-time at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium in 2001. ‘All over this, isn’t it,’ said my pal. Lions hugely dominant. And then it all went horribly wrong.
Here's O'Gara on Skelton, the man, and the player.
For Ronan O'Gara, Melbourne offers the Wallabies a final lifeline — but Joe Schmidt’s side must find belief before it’s too late.
" Will Skelton has more than a role for himself this weekend, he has a role for Australian rugby. He needs to play well which will give belief to his teammates," O'Gara writes.
"Joe Schmidt clearly didn’t like his chances of going deep into the first test but will need his lock and back row Rob Valetini to go for an hour in Melbourne and help sow doubts into the tourists by ensuring, minimum, it’s a one or two-score game at that stage."
Here's the team news for the second Test. Rob Valetini and Will Skelton are the big story out of the Wallabies squad. Their inclusion is vital for their hopes of tying the series.
Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Alan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson – captain.
Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson.
H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); A Porter (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, O Chessum (England); T Beirne (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland).
R Kelleher (Ireland), E Genge (England), W Stuart (England), J Ryan (Ireland), J Morgan (Wales), A Mitchell (England), O Farrell (England), B Kinghorn (Scotland).
Andrea Piardi
Good morning all, Shane Donovan will talk you through the action at the MCG, while there'll also be contributions from Simon Lewis, Mick Cleary and Duncan Casey. Strap in, folks, Test two is on the way.
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