The Lions upset the odds to beat Australia 29-13 on Saturday in the first Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, after a monumental tussle which saw the tourists hold-off a late Wallaby rally to claim a memorable win.
Jason Robinson set the game alight with a try in the second minute, then setting one up for Welshman Dafydd James in a first-half which saw the Lions tame a Wallaby team who never fired on all cylinders until the last 20 minutes -- by which time the game had passed them by.
After a 12-3 interval lead, the Lions' second-half tries came through Brian O'Driscoll and Scott Quinnell, with the game showing no manifestation of the pre-match bickering which had threatened to turn it in to a dour slug-fest.
When Australia finally got their act together, their two late tries came through Andrew Walker and Nathan Grey, with Rod Macqueen's experiment of fielding Walker as goal-kicker failing to pay-off as first he, then Matt Burke struggled to counter the rampant Lions.
It was not only the result, but the magnitude of the Lions' performance for the first 60 minutes which clearly stunned a talented Wallaby team, with the Lions' pack pillaging ball all evening, and not giving the Gregan/Larkham combination time to exercise their tried and tested gameplan.
The Wallaby backs were equally subdued for large periods, Steve Larkham shipped off near half-time after failing to ignite the game, and the centre pairing of Dan Herbert and Nathan Grey thoroughly overshadowed by Rob Henderson and Brian O'Driscoll, whose adventure and industry created many of the openings.
Talk of water-tight defences and slow ball was dispelled after only two minutes when Robinson's dashing finish in the left corner past a sluggish Chris Latham saw the England man touch down a memorable try for the many legions of Lions fans who descended on Brisbane, almost turning the Gabba in a home ground for the Lions.
It was a move which stemmed from good combination play between Ireland centre pairing Rob Henderson and Brian O'Driscoll, with Jonny Wilkinson the link man as O'Driscoll set away down the middle of the pitch on a diagonal left slant. The ball found Matt Perry -- up from fullback -- and with only Latham to beat, he offloaded to Robinson who skinned Latham on the outside, exposing the Queenslander's lack of pace for the touchdown.
With no Matt Burke, goal-kicking duties fell to internationally untested Andrew Walker, but he was not the only kicker having trouble in the first-half as Wilkinson missed his first three attempts at goal.
The Wallaby scrum was having trouble against the power of Phil Vickery in particular, Nick Stiles and Glenn Panoho getting driven into the ground on a number of occasions. Stiles then showed his gamesmanship by slowing down play by first going down with an 'injury' and then taking more than a minute do tie his bootlaces after another set-piece tussle with Vickery on his own five metre line.
Walker narrowed the margin to 5-3 with a penalty on 18 minutes, but missed another one seven minutes later as George Gregan's relentless ball-chasing kept the Wallabies in it, and his combination play with Larkham started to rear its head.
Nathan Grey and Dan Herbert were struggling though with Henderson in fine tackling form, and the next try of the game came just after the half hour, going again to the tourists.
This time it was Dafydd James who touched down in the right corner, but again it owed much to the improved tactical play of Robinson, whose timely switch from left wing to right saw him on the end of another O'Driscoll break, with the Ireland centre showing Owen Finegan a clean pair of heels down the blindside from midfield.
Robinson scooted on to the ball, and again exposed Latham by popping a short ball for James to surge over the line from five metres out in the right corner, with Wilkinson making up for his earlier misses by striking the conversion from way out wide.
Another missed penalty from Walker failed to bolster the Wallabies' cause as the first-half came to an end, with the Lions going in to the break in front 12-3.
It was always risky opting for Walker as the kicker, and by half-time Rod Macqueen had seen enough, shipping on the more tested Burke as goal-kicker, Latham the man to make way after a torrid first-half, with opposite number Perry off for Iain Balshaw due to injury.
Burke got a taste of the Lions' attack straightaway though with a superb individual try from Brian O'Driscoll.
The Leinsterman picked up the ball on halfway and showed a dummy to Nathan Grey, before accelerating past the NSW player, and leaving George Smith exposed in the middle.
Streaking away to the 22 in a straight line, O'Driscoll showed that his pace is not just effective over the short distances, rounding Burke on the 22 before diving under the posts for a superb solo score. The Wallabies were in a state of shock, their half-time containment plans destroyed as Wilkinson's conversion put the score at 19-3.
A penalty from Wilkinson extended that lead by three points, but there was even more to come as the Wallabies' defensive capitulation coincided with the rampant Lions' attacking streak.
A diagonal run from Henderson -- having the game of his life -- saw the Ireland man take on Matt Burke and win in the 22, before recycling the ball for Balshaw five metres out. Balshaw could not find the gap, but sensibly worked it back in the ruck.
Scott Quinnell picked up, and instead of going round the ruck, drove straight through it, taking the flailing Burke with him to barge over for what turned out to be the Lions' final try of the evening. Wilkinson converted to make it 29-3 and it seemed the Wallabies were out for the count.
Steve Larkham -- not allowed the time by the Lions' back-row to play his natural game -- then left the field for Elton Flatley to pick up the reins at fly-half, but his task was an impossible one with the Lions so far ahead, and the Wallaby pack coming off second best to their counterparts.
Jeremy Paul left the field injured for Michael Foley in the Wallaby hooking slot, but Australia finally put the Lions under pressure near their own line as Gregan worked the ball from left to right through the hands. Walker was just halted by Balshaw, but as the ball came back after a break by Finegan, Burke found space on the right.
Diving for the corner he appeared to get the ball down, but referee Andre Watson signalled for the video ref, with the tape revealing Burke slightly brushing the flag just millimetres before the ball was put down. A decision which could have gone either way as the world champions appeared to find some composure, using their assets like Gregan as they had failed to do early on.
Toutai Kefu looked too as if he had broken the Lions' defence when he went over the line on 60 minutes, but previous crossing in the move saw yet another try chalked off, this one a more clear-cut case.
The sin-binning of Martin Corry a minute later for killing the ball showed that the referee's patience had finally worn out with the Lions, as Colin Charvis replaced Quinnell in a back-row reshuffle.
Australia were again frustrated when a break from Kefu looked like putting Joe Roff in at the left corner, but a poor shovel pass from the No.8 gave Roff no chance of taking the catch on the overlap.
The try finally came though, and it was worth the wait as Walker finally got a free run at Robinson down the wing. The Brumbies star passed Robinson on the inside before changing the angle to wrong-foot Balshaw on the inside, but the Wallaby cause was not helped by Burke failing to nail the conversion, and the Lions still led 29-8, with 13 minutes left.
Nathan Grey also exposed the 14-man Lions -- still without the sin-binned Corry -- touching down the Wallabies' second try, one created by Roff down the left wing in the Lions' 22. Both James and Balshaw went for Roff, leaving Grey a clear run-in when the inside ball came from short range, but Burke's conversion struck the post, still leaving a 29-13 mountain to climb, with the clock working against them.
Phil Vickery found himself in the sin-bin for yet more Lions' hands in the ruck, but the contest was all but over by then, a failed drop-goal attempt from Keith Wood with 30 seconds to go the last real act of the game as the Lions upset the pundits.
It was a match which saw the tourists claim a heroic win over the world champions on their own soil -- one that will go down in history as a great day in northern hemisphere rugby, and one the Wallabies will want to forget.
So advantage to the Lions but surely the Wallabies won't get caught out again? Roll on Melbourne.
Man of the match: Rob Henderson. So many options and all in the Lions side. The fleet-footed Robinson, the surging O'Driscoll, the ever-present Hill but we opt for Rob Henderson who represented the whole Lions team today -- written off beforehand but stepped up to the plate and barely put a foot wrong. Earning his Test place by default arguably, after injuries to Mike Catt and Will Greenwood, Henderson needed a huge game to quieten the call for Scott Gibbs to play inside centre, and he produced the goods. Combination play with O'Driscoll in the open field, his resolute defence and the fact he found an extra yard of pace.
Moment of the match: Jason Robinson's try. Only two minutes into the game, Robinson ignited the match by taking the outside line offered to him by Chris Latham, showing the Wallaby fullback a clean pair of heels by turning on the after-burners in the left corner. His first Test try, and what a way to do it. Set the tone for the Lions and their fans.
Villain of the match: The Lions' pack. It was always going to be a tough encounter up front, but the Lions pack delayed ball throughout by lying over the top and putting hands in the ruck, particularly during the Australian second half fightback. Vickery and Corry were the only ones sin-binned, but there could have been more yellow cards flourished if referee Andre Watson had been stricter earlier on in the match.
Sin bin: Corry (Lions, 61-71), Vickery (Lions, 74-full time)
The teams:
Australia: 1 Glenn Panoho, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Nic Stiles, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Nathan Grey, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Andrew Walker, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Matthew Burke, Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Michael Foley, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
British Isles: 1 Phil Vickery, 2 Keith Wood, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Martin Corry, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Scott Quinnell, 9 Rob Howley, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Jason Robinson, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Dafydd James, 15 Matt Perry
Reserves: Jason Leonard, Iain Balshaw, Gordon Bulloch, Colin Charvis
Unused: Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Martyn Williams
Referee: Watson a.
Points Scorers
Australia
Tries: Grey N.P. 1, Walker A.M. 1
Pen K.: Walker A.M. 1
British Isles
Tries: Robinson J.T. 1, O'Driscoll B.G. 1, James D.R. 1, Quinnell L.S. 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 3
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 1
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