Keenan delivers at the death to secure series glory for the British & Irish Lions in Australia
British & Irish Lions' Hugo Keenan celebrates scoring his side's fifth try. Pic: James Crombie/Inpho
Hugo Keenan snatched a last-gasp try to send the British & Irish Lions into raptures with a come-from-behind victory over Australia in Saturday’s second Test to secure a first series victory in a dozen years in front of a Lions test record 90,307 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
On a historic night at the MCG, the Lions fought back from a massive Wallabies turnaround in form as Joe Schmidt’s side raced into a 23-5 lead after 30 minutes, a week after succumbing to an early Lions onslaught in the series opener in Brisbane.
Tries from James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright, plus two penalties and a conversion from Tom Lynagh had put the home side in the driving seat with Dan Sheehan’s second try in as many weeks getting the Lions on the scoreboard 16 minutes in.
Yet tries from Tom Curry and Huw Jones, one of them converted by Finn Russell, closed the gap by half-time to 23-17.
A Lynagh penalty opened the second half but the Lions stormed back to 26-24 on the hour mark with Tadhg Beirne’s try converted by Russell.
The Wallabies stayed in the fight to leave the Lions scoreless for the next 19 minutes but Keenan struck at the death to break Australian hearts and spark wild celebrations from players and supporters alike.
The Wallabies team bus had arrived 25 minutes late to the MCG but it did not affect Joe Schmidt’s side one bit as they started the second Test even stronger than they finished the first.Â
In Brisbane, a strong second-half had reduced the Lions' lead from 24-5 after 42 minutes to 27-19 but with primary ball carrier Rob Valetini back in harness and Will Skelton bringing some bristling intensity, Australia had no problems making their presence felt.
Tom Lynagh had exploited Lions indiscipline to kick two early penalties but the first spell of pressure from the tourists brought the opening try of the game as hooker Dan Sheehan pounced from a five-metre tap penalty, diving athletically over the line to make it 6-5 on 16 minutes.
Finn Russell’s conversion struck a post and when play resumed so did the Lions' indisicipline.Â
With referee Andrea Piardi’s patience tested to the full, it cost them the services of wing Tommy Freeman, sent to the bin after an accumulation of team penalties as veteran loosehead prop James Slipper drove over for the first try of the game in the 23rd minute.
Lynagh missed his conversion from the edge but Freeman’s yellow card proved extremely costly as the Wallabies were able to exploit space in the back field, full-back Tom Wright kicking a 50-22.Â
From the lineout, Australia camped on the Lions tryline and eventually struck gold when scrum-half Jake Gordon sniped down the side of a ruck to score from five metres out. Lynagh’s simple conversion made it 18-5 and worse was to come for the Lions as the Wallabies weaved some magic from Russell’s restart.
Right wing Max Jorgensen received the kick-off deep in the corner and avoided contact with a smart dummy as the Australians were up and running, moving the ball at pace from right to left and upfield, where Wright made the crucial break to score his side’s second try in two minutes.Â
There was another missed conversion from Lynagh but the Wallabies were 23-5 to the good and full value for their big lead, just as the Lions had been at Suncorp Stadium seven days earlier.
The joy among the home supporters was short-lived though, as the Lions stormed back into this contest as Freeman returned from his 10 minutes in the bin, Tom Curry’s excellent series continuing with a neat step inside to wrongfoot Gordon as he swept across the backfield and score in the corner.Â
Russell missed his second conversion of the night but the Lions closed the gap soon after on 38 minutes as centre Huw Jones bulldozed over from close range after a five-metre lineout in the left corner.Â
Fly-half Russell made no mistake with his conversion from close to the posts and the Lions went into the break trailing by six at 23-17.
Valetini did not return for the second half and Skelton was withdrawn on 47 minutes to end their first shifts of the year but Lynagh stretched the Wallabies lead with a 53rd minute penalty.
Yet there was a distinct shift in the power battle in the early stages of the second half as the Lions upped their physical dominance. A strong carry from Bundee Aki gave them field position in Aussie territory and Tadhg Beirne scored in the left corner.Â
Russell’s touchline conversion made it 26-24 to the Wallabies but the Lions had finally wrested the momentum away from the home side with 30 minutes remaining.
It was still that way with less than a minute remaining, with the Lions camped inside the Australian 22, the Lions keeping their heads, drawing in Wallabies defenders before sending the ball wide to the left where Keenan was waiting to strike.
His try in the corner with 20 seconds left on the clock was awarded by Piardi, though the Lions’ wild celebrations were halted temporarily as the TMO reviewed a ruck clearout earlier in the attack.Â
Piardi stuck to his original decision, the try stood and though Russell missed the touchline conversion, the Lions had their series victory.
Keenan’s try at the death rescued victory and secured a series win but it took a TMO review to make it certain after a potentially dangerous ruck cleanout from Jac Morgan came out on the right side for the Lions.
The Wallabies deserve credit for their part in making this second Test so competitive.Â
After the Lions switched off while 24-5 in front after 42 minutes of the first Test, Joe Schmidt’s Australia were written off as also-rans in a two-horse race but they made this second Test a genuine contest in a high-level battle that forced the Lions to dig deep to secure the win.Â
The third Test may be a dead rubber, but hopefully, faith in Australian rugby has been restored and the sport’s battle for hearts and minds in their homeland has become a little easier.
Italian official Andrea Piardi came into this series with plenty of question marks over his appointment following mistakes during the URC season but he took charge of Leinster’s Grand Final victory over the Bulls and he avoided controversy in the high pressure of this pivotal Melbourne Test.Â
The Lions’ first-half yellow card for Tommy Freeman came after captain Maro Itoje was warned about an accumulation of penalties.Â
Fair enough. And the only TMO intervention came right at the end, Piardi upholding his own decision to award Hugo Keenan’s last-ditch try despite Wallabies' appeals for a dangerous ruck clearout by Jac Morgan.
Australia 8 Lions 9Â
The Wallabies lost left wing Harry Potter to injury after 20 minutes while the Lions appeared to emerge unscathed. There remains injury concerns over Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose for next Saturday's final Test.
The Lions head to Sydney for the last leg of this 2025 tour to Australia, with part of their mission already accomplished, a first series win since 2013.Â
Complete success for Andy Farrell's squad will only be achieved, however, with a 3-0 whitewash.
T Wright; M Jorgensen, J Suaalii, L Ikitau, H Potter (T McDermott, 20); T Lynagh, J Gordon; J Slipper (A Bell, 40), D Porecki (B Pollard, 56), A Alaalatoa (T Robertson, 40); N Frost, W Skelton (J Williams, 47); R Valetini (L Gleeson, h-t), F McReight (C Tizzano, 60), H Wilson – captain.
B Donaldson.
H Keenan; T Freeman, H Jones (O Farrell, 60), B Aki, J Lowe (B Kinghorn, 60); F Russell, J Gibson-Park; A Porter (E Genge, 55), D Sheehan (R Kelleher, 64), T Furlong (W Stuart, 64); M Itoje – captain, O Chessum (J Ryan, 55); T Beirne, T Curry (J Morgan, 55), J Conan.
T Freeman 23-33Â
A Mitchell.
Andrea Piardi (Italy)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
