Never before has a British and Irish Lions side fought from 18 points behind to win a Test match – how did Andy Farrell’s tourists do so in Australia?

Saturday proved that rare enough occasion when hype and spectacular setting were matched by a truly breathtaking contest of live sport.

Off the back of a largely one-sided first Test the Lions dominated in Brisbane, Melbourne played host to a humdinger…

Calm heads allied to immense execution under pressure

Having been so comfortable for so long at Suncorp Stadium a week before, the Lions would have expected a Wallabies backlash in some form, but no one – including the players – could have predicted what Joe Schmidt’s side would produce for the first half-hour or so.

Armed with the returning Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Dave Porecki, the hosts were virtually note perfect from the start in front of a fervent 90,000-plus at the MCG.

Playing at blistering pace, with massive bite and punch to their carries, Australia knocked the Lions back and got on the right side of referee Andrea Piardi, earning decisions and territory from which to score points. Two penalties and three tries followed, two of which came with Tommy Freeman in the sin-bin, for a stunning 23-5 lead.

The Lions were shellshocked – or, at least, their supporters were – and appeared teetering on the brink of a shock knockout. Yet, their players remained calm.

Led by outstanding half-backs Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park, the tourists stared down an 18-point deficit with less than 10 minutes of the opening half to go and got to work.

The Lions would likely have taken one try before the break, but they registered two: Freeman, Gibson-Park and Jack Conan creating a chance the tireless Tom Curry did brilliantly to finish, before Huw Jones dipped his shoulder from close range to score two minutes before the oranges.

The most underrated skill in rugby at present? Line kicking penalties for touch. Have a look at Russell’s effort late in the opening half to earn the territory and chance for Jones’ crucial try – it was a monster kick for huge metreage (55m or so) at a clutch moment.

Russell’s penalty kicks to touch caused maximum damage to Australia all night, with the Lions skilful enough and powerful enough to convert from there. Most critically, they were calm enough.

The players would have known they simply had to score before half-time, and within the final five minutes of the half scored twice: an 18-point Wallabies lead reduced to just six in the blink of an eye with a whole 40 minutes to go.

At nine points behind in a tighter second period, the Lions knew they needed two scores. Again, calm prevailed in their patterned attack led by Russell and Gibson-Park as Beirne finished fantastically in the corner with 20 minutes to go after an excellent James Lowe offload.

The Wallabies dug in, two Lions chances in the 22 came and went when Carlo Tizzano won a breakdown penalty in the shadow of his try-line and replacement Lions tighthead Will Stuart was then pinged for an extra roll, but just when it seemed the game was up, the Lions came again at a moment when they could afford no more mistakes.

Exhibiting not a shred of desperation, they stuck to the task, pulling Australia one way and then the next before striking through Hugo Keenan inside the final minute – a moment which will no doubt go down now as a classic to secure the series.

Utterly galling for Australia, but mightily impressive from the Lions under the most acute duress on the highest stage.

Superb bench impact when Australia were hanging on after punching themselves out

Into the second half, with Valetini off at the break and Skelton soon following him, it became clear Australia had emptied the tank with their sensational start and all but punched themselves out.

That pinch was laid bare when the Lions were able to bring the likes of Ellis Genge, James Ryan, Jac Morgan and Blair Kinghorn off the bench, each of whom had a noticeable impact on proceedings.

Owen Farrell came on too, most notably lending his weight – often in tandem with Morgan – to several effective ruck clear-outs as the Lions sought to finish off a stubborn Wallabies side on their knees.

The power and venom Genge and Ryan in particular brought to the Lions’ carrying was immensely damaging for Australia.

In many ways the visitors’ strength in reserve was always likely to prove significant, but Australia’s marvellous start to the Test meant the Lions replacements simply had to come on and deliver accurately and effectively. They did just that.

The final TMO call: fair on the Lions or fortunate?

For Schmidt, the Wallabies players and Australian media the major talking point coming away from the second Test was Morgan’s clear-out on Tizzano at the final ruck prior to Keenan’s magical moment.

As if the Test hadn’t had enough drama, a final TMO review to decide the fate of the Test series arrived, and although it was a forceful and impactful ‘clean’, with the benefit of viewing replays several times it is hard to argue Morgan could have done anything differently.

The Welsh back-row enters the breakdown legally from the front, as low as he can possibly get and while wrapping both arms. In many ways his form is near identical to the jackalling Tizzano, who dipped his head extremely low while going in for the poach.

The delayed theatrics from Tizzano in diving back and holding his head was not a great sight, but pretty much any player from any nation under such pressure in the final play would likely have stayed down.

Schmidt started quoting Law 9.20 in the aftermath in relation to ruck contests and the illegality of hitting a player “above the shoulder line.” What that doesn’t account for, of course, is Tizzano’s head being below his hips.

All in all, consensus is it was a fair call to allow the try to stand. A legal clear-out at best, a ‘rugby incident’ at worst.

The MCG: one of the world’s greatest arenas

Finally to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. What a magnificent sporting venue.

In terms of sheer size, scale, acoustics and atmosphere, it undoubtedly ranks up there as one of the greatest stadia in the world.

The previous record attendance for a Lions Test stood at the approximate 90,000 recorded in August 1955 at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park for an opening 23-22 Lions victory over South Africa – over the years since some have claimed there to have been more that day.

On Saturday at the MCG a remarkable 90,307 fans turned out to witness as thrilling a Test match spectacle as you will find, and it will go down officially as a record.

British and Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and seven tour matches to be shown exclusively live.

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