All Blacks and Lions share spoils in drawn series

New Zealand and British and Irish Lions could not be separated as they played out a 15-15 draw in their series decider in Auckland on Saturday.

In a pulsating contest, in which the result was in the balance until the end, there was controversy in the game's closing stages when referee Romain Poite ruled that Lions replacement hooker Ken Owens had played the ball from an accidental offside position.

If the truth be told, this was not a vintage display from the All Blacks as their performance was littered with several unforced errors and although they outscored their tourists by two tries to none, the Lions deserve credit for stifling the world champions.

New Zealand led 12-6 at half-time thanks to tries from Ngani Laumape and Jordie Barrett and the Lions' only points of the half came courtesy of two Owen Farrell penalties.

With this being the biggest match of most of these players' careers, there was nerves aplenty, especially during the opening exchanges with All Blacks pivot Beauden Barrett missing a routine shot at goal in the second minute.

Two minutes later Jordie Barrett gathered a pass from his brother Beauden inside the Lions' 22 and offloaded to Julian Savea who knocked on with the try-line at his mercy.

The Lions were slowly getting to the match, however, and were soon camped close to the All Blacks' try-line after taking the ball through several phases.

Maro Itoje, Sean O'Brien and Mako Vunipola were prominent with ball in hand during that passage of play but it all came to nothing as Beauden Barrett intercepted a pass from Johnny Sexton inside his 22.

Liam Williams did well to haul in Barrett before he could showcase his electrifying speed but he did well to free his arms and offload to Laumape who set off towards the visitors' try-line but he was chased down by Jonathan Davies inside the Lions' 22.

The All Blacks eventually opened the scoring in the 15th minute and it came straight out of the Hurricanes playbook with the Barrett brothers combining to set Laumape up for the opening try.

This, after Beauden delivered a crossfield kick inside the Lions' 22 and although Jordie could not control the kick, he did well to knock it infield for the on-rushing Laumape, who dotted down in the right-hand corner.

The older Barrett did well to add the extras from close to the touchline before Farrell opened the tourists' account five minutes later from the kicking tee after the All Blacks strayed offside on defence.

The next 10 minutes was an attritional affair with the sides trying to gain the ascendancy but both teams committed a mistakes on attack.

The Lions eventually reduced the deficit to a point when Farrell landed a penalty after Anton Lienert-Brown strayed offside on defence.

The All Blacks extended their lead in style, four minutes before the interval, when Laumape offloaded brilliantly to Lienert-Brown who got a pass out to Jordie Barrett.  The 20-year-old crossed for a deserved try and although his brother failed to convert, the All Blacks had their tails up at half-time.

Two minutes after the restart, Elliot Daly left his stamp on the match when he landed a monster penalty from 51 metres out after Kieran Read had taken Williams out off the ball.

Shortly afterwards, the All Blacks were awarded a penalty and Beauden Barrett put the ball out on the tourists' five-metre line.  From there they set up a lineout drive before the ball was taken wide to Savea, who was in the clear, but the final pass from Jordie Barrett went forward.

Five minutes later, the All Blacks suffered a setback when referee Poite issued a yellow card to Jerome Kaino for a swinging arm tackle to the face of Alun Wyn Jones.

The world champions did well to keep the Lions at bay during Kaino's spell on the sidelines but just before his return, Farrell slotted his third penalty, after Brodie Retallick was penalised for a high tackle on Courtney Lawes, which meant the score was deadlocked at 12-12 by the hour-mark.

The final quarter was a strategic battle with both sides introducing players off the bench in a bid to clinch the result although Lions replacement Kyle Sinckler conceded a scrum penalty in the 68th minute and Barrett added the resulting penalty to give his side the lead again.

The Lions did not take that lying down and drew level when Farrell succeeded with a penalty from just inside his half after Wyatt Crockett infringed at a ruck.

The All Blacks thought they had a chance to secure victory when Poite initially awarded a penalty for Owens' infringement at the death.  Poite changed his decision after watching television replays, however, although there will be lots of debate on whether he made the right call in the end.

The match and series were subsequently drawn, bringing to an end a superb tour that will live long in the memory.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Laumape, J Barrett
Con:  B Barrett
Pen:  B Barrett
Yellow Card:  Kaino

For British & Irish Lions:
Pens:  Farrell 4, Daly

New Zealand:  15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

British & Irish Lions:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Ben Te'o, 23 Jack Nowell

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Lions fight back in Wellington

The British and Irish Lions levelled the series at one apiece with a 24-21 victory over the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

Tries from Taulupe Faletau and Conor Murray as well as 14 points from Owen Farrell's boot proved too much for the All Blacks who scored through seven penalties from Beauden Barrett.

The last time the All Blacks went try-less in a game was in a 12-12 draw against Australia in Sydney back in August 2014.

This levels the series at 1-1 with the third Test to take place at Eden Park now set up as a mouth-watering decider.

As expected, it was an extremely physical and bruising encounter with the regular exchange of handbags and off-the-ball scuffles.

The wet slippery conditions made handling difficult and resulted in a stop-start game where both sides struggled for continuity on attack.

Lions coach Warren Gatland would not have been happy with his side's indiscipline as they conceded far too many penalties and made too many silly errors, especially since they enjoyed numerical advantage for three quarters of the game after Sonny Bill Williams' red card.

However, Gatland's men came through and won the game although they were almost left kicking themselves having dominated the possession and territory stakes.

The first scoring opportunity went astray as Barrett's penalty hit the post but he made no mistake with his second attempt on the 20-minute mark to give the All Blacks the lead after the Lions were guilty of going offside.

However, Farrell levelled matters with an excellent kick from out wide on the left touchline after the All Blacks this time were penalised for offside.

But in an incredible twist, Williams was given a red card for a no-arms shoulder charge to the face of Anthony Watson in the 25th minute.  Ngani Laumape came on for Jerome Kaino as the All Blacks' coaching staff decided to go one short in the scrum.

Barrett and Farrell exchanged two further penalties apiece as the sides went into the interval drawn at 9-9.

The Lions' poor discipline continued after the break.  The All Blacks profited off this with two more Barrett penalties before Mako Vunipola was yellow-carded for a no-arms clear-out at the ruck, not the first time Vunipola was guilty of using no arms in the tackle.  Maro Itoje was himself lucky not to escape with sanction of for also being a repeat offender.

Barrett added another penalty with a quarter of the game to go giving the All Blacks a nine point buffer at 18-9 which meant the Lions needed to score more than a converted try.

The Lions finally scored with a sweeping team move to bring the deficit to back four.  After Watson showed good pace to make a break down the right wing on the overlap, the ball was swept out to the left wing by the Lions where Faletau collected before bumping off Israel Dagg to finish in the corner.  It was a powerful finish from Faletau when he looked odds-on to be pushed out into touch.

Barrett restored the lead to seven with his seventh penalty at 21-14 with yet another penalty.  However, the Lions hit back with a converted try.  Jamie George made the line break before being brought down five metres out from the All Blacks' try-line and from the ruck Murray's excellent sniping break ensured he dotted down.

With the scores levelled at 21-21, Farrell showed composure and big-match temperament under pressure to slot the match-winning penalty and send the large Lions' travelling support into rapturous celebrations.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Barrett 7
Red Card:  Williams

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Faletau, Murray
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 4
Yellow Card:  Vunipola

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ngani Laumape

British & Irish Lions:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Jack Nowell

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Clinical All Blacks draw first blood

The All Blacks drew first blood in their Test series with the Lions when they claimed a 30-15 win over the tourists in an epic game in Auckland on Saturday.

There was plenty of hype in the build-up to this Test and that was certainly justified as both sides went at each other hammer and tongs for the full 80 minutes.

The All Blacks eventually outscored their visitors three tries to two with Rieko Ioane leading the way with a deserved brace and Beauden Barrett finished with a 15-point haul courtesy of three penalties and three conversions.

In a thrilling contest with plenty of end-to-end action, the All Blacks led 13-8 at the interval with Codie Taylor crossing the whitewash for the All Blacks and Sean O'Brien scoring a superb try for the Lions.

The Lions were competitive for large periods but like so many Tests in the past, the All Blacks showed why they are the world champions by blowing their opponents off the park with a fine second half showing.

The Lions made a superb start and an early Jonathan Davies line break had the All Blacks defence at sixes and sevens.  Davies did well to get a pass out to Conor Murray, who was stopped just short of the All Blacks' tryline and the ball was recycled quickly to Elliot Daly, who went over in the left-hand corner.  But television replays revealed that Israel Dagg had done well to hold Daly up after making a brilliant cover tackle.

The next 10 minutes was a tense affair although the All Blacks were gradually gaining the upperhand.  The world champions looked impressive with ball in hand with Jerome Kaino, Sonny Bill Williams and Brodie Retallick leading the way with solid carries.

One passage of play saw the All Blacks taking the ball through 11 phases before Barrett delivered a teasing crossfield kick but Anthony Watson saved the day for the tourists with a spectacular over-the-head catch inside his 22 before clearing his line from the resulting mark.

The home side eventually took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of a Barrett penalty after Tadgh Furlong infringed at a ruck and their early dominance was rewarded with the opening try five minutes later thanks to quick thinking from Aaron Smith.

With the All Blacks handed a penalty deep inside the Lions' 22, Smith caught the defence napping by playing quickly.  The ball was shifted wide to Dagg, whose pass to Taylor was gathered brilliantly on his toes by the hooker before he crashed over in the right-hand corner for the opening try.

The next 10 minutes was an attritional affair but although the All Blacks held a slight edge they could not extend their lead.  On the half-hour mark, Owen Farrell opened the Lions' account after Owen Franks was blown up for a ruck infringement and with points finally on the board, the Lions seemed reinvigorated.

Barrett added a second penalty three minutes later before O'Brien got over for one of the best ever tries scored at Eden Park.  Liam Williams deserves plenty of praise for his role in the score as it was his counter attack, from deep inside his 22 which tore the All Blacks defence to shreds.

After beating five defenders, Williams' progress was eventually halted close to the halfway mark but he did well to offload to Davies, who traded passes with Daly before Davies got a pass out to the on-rushing O'Brien who crashed over for a deserved try.

The attritional nature of this contest continued in the second half although the Lions wasted a chance to draw level when Ben Te'o slipped while trying to take the ball into contact inside New Zealand's 22, when he had Watson in the clear on his outside.

That decision proved costly as the All Blacks extended their lead in the 55th minute when Ioane went over for his first try.  This, after the All Blacks pack destroyed their counterparts at a scrum and the ball was taken out wide to the 20-year-old, who dived over in the left-hand corner.

Barrett added the extras and added a penalty five minutes later which meant the hosts were in control with the score at 23-8 in their favour by the hour-mark.

With the visitors needing to score twice to take the lead, confidence grew in the All Blacks ranks and they sealed their win when Ioane pounced after Williams dropped a high ball midway between the halfway mark and the Lions' 10-metre line.

Despite being first to the loose ball, Ioane still had work to do but his pace proved too much for Daly and he sealed the win for the hosts when he went over for his second try.

That score knocked the wind out of the Lions' sails but to their credit, they did not surrender.  They spent most of the closing stages camped in the All Blacks' half and were rewarded just before full-time when Rhys Webb crossed for a consolation try from close quarters.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Taylor, Ioane 2
Cons:  Barrett 3
Pens:  Barrett 3

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  O'Brien, Webb
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Aaron Cruden/Lima Sopoaga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

British and Irish Lions:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Jonathan Sexton, 23 Leigh Halfpenny

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Jérôme Garcès (France)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Lions too strong for Maori All Blacks

The British and Irish Lions bounced back with a commanding 32-10 win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.

Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.

As with the Crusaders, for all their firepower out wide the Maori All Blacks could not get firing against a miserly Lions pack, whose kicking game dominated the contest.

The so-called 'fourth Test' certainly played out like a Test match, aided by difficult, slippery conditions in Rotorua.  The Lions simply outpowered their opposition in the second half, moving clear thanks to two quick tries.

Finishing off line breaks and soft penalties, familiar issues on this tour, appeared once again in Rotorua and especially in the first half, before the Lions ultimately settled.

They started patiently, showing good ball retention and involving their forwards before winning a penalty for not rolling away, converted by Halfpenny with four minutes on the clock.

Their initial approach was tight but effective, momentum from the maul and then Murray's box kick forcing an offside penalty for Halfpenny to make it 6-0.

Understandably the Maori All Blacks wanted to lift the tempo, opting for quick lineouts, but with the ball slipping and sliding all over the place it was the hosts who scored the first try against the run of play.

Milner-Skudder's grubber kick wasn't covered by George North and Leigh Halfpenny, the two colliding with the loose ball then hacked on into space for Messam to slide and score.  McKenzie converted to give the Maori a 7-6 lead.

Slightly deflated as a result of that the Lions needed a lift, and it came from a Jonathan Davies break, spotting the space and cutting through as the Lions came away with a third penalty from Halfpenny.  The lack of a try however was symptomatic of the Lions' issues in the red zone on this tour.

McKenzie responded instantly with his first three-pointer, with his opposite man Sexton growing in confidence and enjoying his best game so far on tour.

Tries might have looked unlikely for the Lions but the work of their tight five especially in defence and attack continued to win penalties, the Maori penalised for not rolling away as Halfpenny made it 12-10.

McKenzie attempted a long-range strike from 60 metres to swing the lead back, his kick having the distance but not the direction.

A soft breakdown penalty conceded by Tadgh Furlong threatened to put the Lions under pressure, but the defence held firm to win a penalty, ensuring the Lions led at the break despite not knowing their laws and kicking straight to touch from the penalty, consequently forced to take another lineout.

The heavens opening naturally suited the Lions' approach perfectly, Halfpenny adding three more points, as Lowe continued to struggle under the high ball.

And the tourists' control on the contest continued to grow after Tawera Kerr-Barlow's yellow card for leading with the shoulder on Halfpenny metres out from the line.

Jamie George claimed to have scored, the TMO ruling he was short of the line, and the Lions simply had to come away with points so close to the home side's line.  Winning successive scrum penalties with huge power from the tight five, Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try.

A second try wasn't far behind, Itoje burrowing his way over after another five-metre scrum, with the Maori All Blacks having been harried back into their own dead-ball area by more accurate kicking.  Halfpenny, yet to miss, converted from out wide.

Peter O'Mahony's treatment on his knee saw him swiftly replaced by Sam Warburton with the game wearing on, the Lions pack continuing to dictate.

Halfpenny twisted the screw with a sixth penalty after the Maoris strayed offside, making the score 32-10, with the Lions unable to add to their tally but leaving Rotorua with a spring in their step.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Try:  Messam
Con:  McKenzie
Pen:  McKenzie
Yellow Card:  Kerr-Barlow

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Itoje
Con:  Penalty Try, Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 6

Maori All Blacks:  15 James Lowe, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Rob Thompson

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Lions too strong for Maori All Blacks

The British and Irish Lions bounced back with a commanding 32-10 win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.

Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.

As with the Crusaders, for all their firepower out wide the Maori All Blacks could not get firing against a miserly Lions pack, whose kicking game dominated the contest.

The so-called 'fourth Test' certainly played out like a Test match, aided by difficult, slippery conditions in Rotorua.  The Lions simply outpowered their opposition in the second half, moving clear thanks to two quick tries.

Finishing off line breaks and soft penalties, familiar issues on this tour, appeared once again in Rotorua and especially in the first half, before the Lions ultimately settled.

They started patiently, showing good ball retention and involving their forwards before winning a penalty for not rolling away, converted by Halfpenny with four minutes on the clock.

Their initial approach was tight but effective, momentum from the maul and then Murray's box kick forcing an offside penalty for Halfpenny to make it 6-0.

Understandably the Maori All Blacks wanted to lift the tempo, opting for quick lineouts, but with the ball slipping and sliding all over the place it was the hosts who scored the first try against the run of play.

Milner-Skudder's grubber kick wasn't covered by George North and Leigh Halfpenny, the two colliding with the loose ball then hacked on into space for Messam to slide and score.  McKenzie converted to give the Maori a 7-6 lead.

Slightly deflated as a result of that the Lions needed a lift, and it came from a Jonathan Davies break, spotting the space and cutting through as the Lions came away with a third penalty from Halfpenny.  The lack of a try however was symptomatic of the Lions' issues in the red zone on this tour.

McKenzie responded instantly with his first three-pointer, with his opposite man Sexton growing in confidence and enjoying his best game so far on tour.

Tries might have looked unlikely for the Lions but the work of their tight five especially in defence and attack continued to win penalties, the Maori penalised for not rolling away as Halfpenny made it 12-10.

McKenzie attempted a long-range strike from 60 metres to swing the lead back, his kick having the distance but not the direction.

A soft breakdown penalty conceded by Tadgh Furlong threatened to put the Lions under pressure, but the defence held firm to win a penalty, ensuring the Lions led at the break despite not knowing their laws and kicking straight to touch from the penalty, consequently forced to take another lineout.

The heavens opening naturally suited the Lions' approach perfectly, Halfpenny adding three more points, as Lowe continued to struggle under the high ball.

And the tourists' control on the contest continued to grow after Tawera Kerr-Barlow's yellow card for leading with the shoulder on Halfpenny metres out from the line.

Jamie George claimed to have scored, the TMO ruling he was short of the line, and the Lions simply had to come away with points so close to the home side's line.  Winning successive scrum penalties with huge power from the tight five, Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try.

A second try wasn't far behind, Itoje burrowing his way over after another five-metre scrum, with the Maori All Blacks having been harried back into their own dead-ball area by more accurate kicking.  Halfpenny, yet to miss, converted from out wide.

Peter O'Mahony's treatment on his knee saw him swiftly replaced by Sam Warburton with the game wearing on, the Lions pack continuing to dictate.

Halfpenny twisted the screw with a sixth penalty after the Maoris strayed offside, making the score 32-10, with the Lions unable to add to their tally but leaving Rotorua with a spring in their step.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Try:  Messam
Con:  McKenzie
Pen:  McKenzie
Yellow Card:  Kerr-Barlow

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Itoje
Con:  Penalty Try, Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 6

Maori All Blacks:  15 James Lowe, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Rob Thompson

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Magnificent Lions win the series

An outstanding performance from the British and Irish Lions sealed a rampant 41-16 victory over Australia to win the Test series 2-1.

Australia were simply unable to live with the Lions in the second half, with the tourists unleashing a triple punch of tries from Jonathan Sexton, George North and Jamie Roberts — inspired by the brilliance of Leigh Halfpenny.

So much talk about whether the Lions had picked the right side was instantly banished by Alex Corbisiero's second-minute score.

The tourists could not have asked for a better start.  Omitting Brian O'Driscoll had stolen plenty of headlines, but the return of Corbisiero was proving paramount as the England loosehead combined with Richard Hibbard and Adam Jones to cause havoc at the scrum.

Ben Alexander's sin-binning was inevitable, but in a way it momentarily swung in the Wallabies favour.  With Sekope Kepu shoring up the tighthead side Australia plugged a hole and stopped their ship from sinking, leading the way for a comeback from 19-3 to 19-16 just after the interval.

Sexton's try gave the Lions daylight, before North hammered the nail into the Wallabies coffin.  By the time Roberts cantered over, the Test was already being written into the history books.

For the Lions it was the perfect start, Corbisiero rolling his way over after a rampant burst from the kick-off.  The hunger that was missing in Melbourne was alive in Sydney after only a minute.

George Smith's return to Test rugby then had the light switch punched out after only four minutes, a collision with Hibbard sending ripples around the Olympic Stadium.  Somehow he returned.

Turning down the three points cost the Wallabies as Halfpenny enlarged the gap from seven points to ten, a monster from the halfway line disposing of any lingering doubts from the second Test over his ability from long-range.

Leali'ifano responded with three points of his own to put the Wallabies on the board and stem the tourists' early momentum, but the Lions scrum dictated — a second and third penalty leaving Halfpenny to stretch the lead to 16-3 with the Lions scoring more points than the number of minutes passed.

An issue for Australia turned into a calamity with Ben Alexander sent to the bin, the Wallabies revisiting some of their darkest scrummaging memories as Halfpenny's fourth penalty sailed over.

Folau shortly followed Alexander off the field, with a hamstring injury rather than for an offence.

There were golden moments for Australia, a burst from replacement Jesse Mogg cut down by a brilliant tap tackle from Geoff Parling, but their tails were firmly up as they pummeled away at the Lions line towards the end of the first half.

It paid dividends — O'Connor skipping and slicing his way in the tiniest box of space to bring the Wallabies back into the game, trailing 19-10 at half-time.

A pair of Leali'ifano penalties after the break shortened the gap to just three — that early Lions gap wiped out.

Kepu's introduction may have alleviated the pressure momentarily, but Jones remained a threat on the other side and earned the tourists another penalty, Halfpenny's fifth of the night.

The Lions then delivered a try straight into Lions folklore.  Patience from Davies with the pass released Halfpenny down the wing, timing his pass to Sexton just right on his inside to open up a thirteen-point lead and a chasm of daylight.

Opting against taking crucial penalty chances was bold in theory but idiotic in execution from the Wallabies.  North then made them pay.

More brilliance from Halfpenny, jinking his way upfield and searing past Genia, fed the giant Welsh wing for the try that sealed not just the third Test, but the series.

Bread of Heaven and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot filled the ground as the clock counted down, with Lions hearts and minds already soaking up every minute and feeling something missed since 1997.

For the Wallabies and Robbie Deans, uncertainty lies ahead after finishing so far behind in a series that at times appeared was there for them to win.

For the Lions, it is immortality.

Man of the Match:  Alex Corbisiero deserves a ton of praise, but impossible to look past the Player of the Series — Leigh Halfpenny.

Moment of the Match:  The Wallabies had fought and clawed their back into the match before Jonathan Sexton cantered under the posts and stopped the fightback.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  O'Connor
Con:  Leali'ifano
Pens:  Leali'ifano 3
Yellow Card:  Alexander

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Corbisiero, Sexton, North, Roberts
Cons:  Halfpenny 3
Pens:  Halfpenny 5

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 James Horwill (captain), 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Michael Hooper, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Jesse Mogg.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Manu Tuilagi.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Dogged Australia level the series

A magnificent curling conversion from Christian Lealiifano gave Australia a 16-15 win to level the Lions Test series at 1-1.

Adam Ashley-Cooper's 76th minute sucker-punch broke the Lions hearts, with Leigh Halfpenny's injury-time penalty attempt dropping short of the posts.

It means that the Test series will go down to the wire in Sydney next weekend — the final chapter in an enthralling, brutal tour that has left the nerves of both sets of supporters in shreds.

An opening half dominated by the scrum and interpretation of referee Craig Joubert was at the core of an excruciatingly tense first half — Halfpenny and Leali'ifano finding themselves in a shootout.

The suffocating tension under the Etihad Stadium roof saw both sides make plenty of mistakes in the opening quarter.

There were however obvious strengths early on — the Lions rolling maul for one, and the Australian scrum as Will Genia gradually began to control the tempo of the match.

Halfpenny fell short with his first penalty attempt, hitting the crossbar after good work from Warburton at the breakdown with the Lions free of the constraints placed upon the ruck area under Chris Pollock's officiating in Brisbane.

Bold leadership from Warburton saw the Lions unleash two successive lineout drives on the Wallaby line, a 12-man maul on the second drive bringing a penalty advantage.  Halfpenny this time made no mistake.

Early struggles for Mako Vunipola at the scrum handed the Wallabies their first points, Ben Alexander winning the opening exchange for Leali'ifano to score his first points in an Australian jersey.

Another scrum penalty, again against Vunipola, turned a Lions problem into a calamity as the loosehead's struggles continued but Australia were not beyond conceding a penalty at the scrum themselves — Adam Jones splintering the front row to result in Halfpenny's second penalty and a tied scoreboard at 6-6 after 27 minutes.

Pressure does funny things even to experienced Test players, as the Lions lineout wobbled and James O'Connor dropped a simple pass.  Scrums though persisted to dictate the match — Halfpenny's third penalty coming as the Wallaby pack creaked and turned.

A lazy offside penalty against Dan Lydiate saw Leali'ifano level things up a 9-9 but the Lions had the final say of the half.  North had been subdued throughout the opening 40 but a burst created the penalty chance for Halfpenny to put the Lions ahead again — 12-9 at half-time.

A golden wall repelled the Lions in the opening minutes of the second half held firm but the action was breathless — neither side adding points as Warburton grew into the role of a winning Lions captain.

Utterly draining and breathless stuff from both sides as the game opened up gradually turned the Etihad into a cauldron of screams.

Warburton was enormous, writing his way into Lions folklore as poor execution from both sides hindered the attacks of both sides and saw the total number of scrums rise into double figures.

Australia threw everything at the tourists, enjoying more possession and working the short side, but it came at a price.  North produced an act of incredible physicality to carry Folau on his back, but landed on his head as a result to the concern of every fan in a red shirt.

The introduction of Dan Cole and Richard Hibbard gave the Lions impetus in the battle upfront, leading Halfpenny to slot his most remarkable kick of all from 48 metres out.

Making half the number of tackles as the visitors, the Wallabies continued to stutter — Beale this time the culprit with numbers on his outside as they chased the game.

They nearly came so close.  Folau's step undid the Lions in Brisbane and it nearly bamboozled them again, instead resulting in a five-metre Wallaby scrum under the Lions posts, from which Folau was unable to gather O'Connor's clever inside pass.

Australia's persistence though was undeniable.  With the space on the outside to left, O'Connor sucked in the drift and unleashed Ashley-Cooper through the gap for the try.  It was a hammerblow.

Nor was the drama over.  A loose kick from O'Connor after Genia's pass came back into the 22 handed Hibbard and the Lions a chance to set up the platform for the win.  His accuracy, as so often on this tour, was sorely absent.

It summed up the Lions lack of control, in a second-half were the Wallabies retained 68% possession.

There was one last chance for Halfpenny, a long-range attempt from just on the wrong side of half way.  But as with Beale in Brisbane, it was not to be Halfpenny's night in Melbourne.  The Wallabies have gloriously stayed alive.  All eyes on Sydney.

Man of the match:  Hard to look past the Lions captain.  Sam Warburton was initially a doubt to start in the Test series, let alone lead the Lions, but his performance in Melbourne regardless of how the result turned out was always going to go down in history.  His loss to injury in the 67th minute was a cruel blow.

Moment of the match:  The composure of Christian Leali'ifano to curl in that conversion spoke volumes of the young man.  An incredibly assured performance.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Ashley-Cooper
Con:  Leali'ifano
Pens:  Leali'ifano 3

For British and Irish Lions:
Pens:  Halfpenny 5

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Rob Horne, 23 Jesse Mogg.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Makovina Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Cuthbert.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Lions go 1-0 up

Wallaby back Kurtley Beale missed two late penalty attempts as the British and Irish Lions held on to win 23-21 in the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.

The replacement was unsuccessful off the tee as an Australian outfit decimated by injuries almost pulled off a famous victory against the tourists.

It was not to be for the home side who had lost Christian Lealiifano, Pat McCabe, Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper to respective injuries.

Instead the Lions managed to take a crucial 1-0 lead in the series with a result that will be best remembered for George North's impact on the wing — his impressive individual score in the first-half silencing the 42,499 at Suncorp Stadium.

Australia, who were handing debuts to Israel Folau, Lealiifano and Ben Mowen, lost two men during an enthralling opening 40 in Brisbane.

Their first to depart was inside centre Lealiifano, who was forced off inside a minute after being knocked out attempting to tackle Jonathan Davies.

That hard-running start from the Welshman was not reciprocated by his Irish midfield colleague though as Brian O'Driscoll coughed up two penalties.  Luckily for the 34-year-old, both those offences were not capitalised on by Wallaby place-kicker James O'Connor.

The Lions would soon find their rhythm and enjoyed field position and possession in the opposition 22, moving through the phases until O'Driscoll was again penalised, this time for holding on at ruck time.  That would be the moment that announced Folau on the Test stage.

From the penalty, Will Genia, as is his wont, went quickly five metres from his own line and promptly set off, causing a backtracking Mike Phillips several issues as the nine held off committing to the tackle.  Genia's magic ended with a grubber to the supporting Folau who cruised in for the first try.  Robbie Deans would have been delighted to see O'Connor knock over the simple two points for a seven-point lead with thirteen minutes on the clock.

Despite falling behind, the travelling Lions supporters will have been warmed to witness the first scrum of the game being dominated by the tourists.  That battle up front was always going to be key so when Wallaby captain James Horwill was penalised for being all over Paul O'Connell at a line-out, Leigh Halfpenny would gratefully reward his forward pack's hard work to make it 7-3 with just over a quarter of the opening Test gone at Suncorp.

Things would get even better for the travelling supporters two minutes later when North collected a kick deep inside his own territory before sprinting through the defence to score.

Halfpenny's touchline conversion made it 7-10 before North almost barged over in the same corner but for TMO replays to show his elbow was in touch.  Consolation was found via an earlier penalty offence, which Halfpenny slotted to continue his excellent kicking form.

Folau would then strike again, this time through all of his own good work as he slipped tackles before going in on the right.  O'Connor's missed conversion meant that the Lions were 13-12 up at the half-time break, with the win there for the taking for both sides.

Upon the turnaround, the Wallabies would lose Barnes and McCabe to respective injuries which meant openside flanker Michael Hooper would move to centre in a make-shift line-up.  And the Lions would capitalise on that fact when North's Welsh team-mate Alex Cuthbert ran through the midfield defence for a converted try that made it 12-20 at the Brisbane venue.

O'Connor would reply off the tee before replacement Beale landed three points to leave it 18-20 to the Lions with 20 minutes remaining.  The tension was palpable in the final quarter.

Halfpenny and Beale traded shots inside the final fourteen minutes and with six minutes left, Beale had the chance to kick the Wallabies in front but he pushed his attempt wide.

Then at the death Beale had another kick to win it, but he dramatically slipped on his run-up as the chance went begging, sparking celebrations from the Lions players and fans.

Man of the match:  Jamie Heaslip was solid, as was Jonathan Davies, Brian O'Driscoll and Leigh Halfpenny.  But for his ability to change a game, George North gets this gong, seeing off opposition wing and two-try debutant Israel Folau.  North's try was something special.

Moment of the match:  Unfortunate that it has to be a mistake but Kurtley Beale's slip in the act of kicking his last-minute penalty effort ultimately saw the Lions hold on.  Heartbreak for Beale, elation for the Lions who, like twelve years ago, take the first Test in Brisbane.

Villain of the match:  Delon Armitage's wave to Brock James was given the thumbs down by us and the same goes to George North's finger wag.  Let's cut that stuff out please guys.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau 2
Con:  O'Connor
Pen:  O'Connor, Beale 2

For B&I Lions:
Tries:  North, Cuthbert
Con:  Halfpenny 2
Pen:  Halfpenny 3

Australia:  15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Pat McCabe, 23 Kurtley Beale.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Makovina Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Sean Maitland.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Romain Poite (France)

Lions sweat to heavy victory

The British and Irish Lions began their 2013 tour with a 59-8 victory over the Barbarians in an intensely humid affair in Hong Kong.

Eight tries from the Lions including doubles from Mike Phillips and Alex Cuthbert set them on the road to success as encouraging moments were mixed with multiple handling errors — the Lions coming into their own to produce an excellent second half.

The humidity, at one point reaching 94 percent, turned both sets of shirts into waterslides — with the state of Paul O'Connell's kit after the opening quarter telling the story.

Overall, greater cohesion in the set-piece and fitness from the Lions were enough to create a comfortable victory.

Flashes of brilliance from young stars such as Richie Gray, Stuart Hogg and Jonathan Davies all showed that they will be challenging for Test places, but the assuredness of Lions veterans Phillips and O'Connell — the first two try-scorers — truly guided the Lions ship through their opening fixture with eventual ease.

A heavy tackle from Casey Laulala on Hogg offered a reminder that this occasion would be far removed from the exhibition the Barbarians served up at Twickenham — but it was Farrell who racked up the game's first points with a penalty.

Farrell's early composure then sorely let him down.  Punched by his Saracens team-mate Schalk Brits after holding him at the ruck, Farrell angrily reacted but the penalty against him was then reversed — with Brits instead sent for ten minutes in the sin-bin.

Sean Maitland came close to a debut Lions try, but the distance and bounce of a clever kick through by Davies proved too much.  Farrell's second shot at goal, after a busy few minutes, then flew wide to the left of the posts.

Wasps youngster Elliot Daly added a long-range penalty to put the Barbarians on the board but it was the Lions who showed the greater promise early on.

Trying to juggle a ball as slippery as an ice cube turned handling into a nightmare — but the scrum though was an area of greater certainty, early Lions dominance resulting in another penalty for Farrell who this time comfortably converted.

Slippery the ball might have been, but the Lions put together a persistent five minutes of possession to bring them right up to the Barbarians try line.  Phillips went close but was held up by a brilliant Martin Castrogiovanni tackle — but O'Connell was not to be denied, the first try-scorer of the 2013 tour burrowing over.

A second try was not far behind.  The communication between Phillips and Farrell appeared to be under construction, but the Welsh scrum-half's individual carrying was strong and a break through the defence saw him this time reach the line.

Continued struggles for the Barbarians at the scrum compounded any territory or continuity they were able to build up.  The Lions won another penalty before half-time for Farrell to convert — leading 23-3 at half-time.

Phillips had been difficult to contain in the first half and he didn't let up, scampering over after the interval for his second try of the match.  Gliding through a gap at the back of the lineout after Sam Jones slipped for the Barbarians, there was no stopping him from close-range.

Mako Vunipola's offload then released Justin Tipuric under the posts but excellent defence from Joe Rokocoko denied the Osprey from close-range.

It was nearly followed up a mesmeric team try, starting at the back with Hogg and Alex Cuthbert and ending after good work from Maitland and Justin Tipuric with Farrell's pass being cut off by Dimitri Yachvili.  End to end, more fitting of a real Barbarians fixture, with the Lions looking confident.

The Barbarians though can play.  Rokocoko's defensive work had been his best work so far until he left Toby Faletau for dead with an inside step, feeding Kahn Fotuali'i to score.

Davies' try for the Lions was less pretty, Jamie Roberts and his Welsh centre partner fumbling their way to touching the ball down for the tourists after confirmation from the TMO.

Alex Cuthbert got in on the act with a sprint down the right touchline after more good work from Roberts and he was at it again minutes later — Conor Murray coming off the bench and like a replica of Phillips slicing through a gap and finding the winger on his outside.

Time remained for Dan Lydiate to add a score of his own, pouncing from the back of a rolling maul to bring up the 50-point mark for Warren Gatland's side.

There was time left for another try, carrying on the trend of the night coming another Welshman, this time by Alun-Wyn Jones who cantered over after a fine pass from Sexton.

It sealed a strong win, as much a battle against the conditions as it was a battle against the Barbarians, with links forged and tries aplenty to send the Lions on their way to Australia.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Try:  Fotuali'i
Pen:  Daly
Yellow Card:  Brits

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  O'Connell, Phillips 2, Davies, Cuthbert 2, Lydiate, AW Jones
Cons:  Farrell 3, Sexton 2
Pens:  Farrell 3

Barbarians:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Casey Laulala, 11 Taku Ngwenya, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sam Jones, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Andrea Lo Cicero, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 James Hook, 23 Mike Tindall.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 George North.

Date:  Saturday June 1
Venue:  Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Kick-off:  19.30 (11.30 GMT)
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)

Lions win back their pride

The British and Irish Lions notched their first win in eight Tests on Saturday, beating South Africa convincingly 28-9 in Johannesburg.

The tourists had been widely-tipped to fall flat on their faces in the third match, a dead rubber at the end of a long tour.  Not a bit of it.  All the energy and pride associated with the proud red jersey was on display for the full eighty minutes, while the Boks floundered under the weight of changes and occasional lack of experience at key moments.

But South Africa will not garner any sympathy.  They took to the fields with white armbands emblazoned with "Justice 4", a puerile protest at the two-week ban handed out to the Bakkies Botha.  It was an absolutely ludicrous idea, which smacked of Peter de Villiers' nonsensical thinking and deserves full censure from the IRB, who must surely examine this brazen flouting of their authority and take some form of action.

The stats also tell a little tale.  The Lions have outscored their hosts by seven tries to five, and by 74 points to 63 over the three games.  The key stat is obviously the 2-1 series defeat, but small wonder that the tourists did a lap of honour at the end.  The Lions brand is alive and strong and whatever the result, credit has to be lavished upon the touring party for the way they have gone about their business.

The Lions set their stall out to up the pace of the game early on, eschewing kicks for touch for measured up and unders or the mesmerising counter-attack talents of Rob Kearney.  It worked a charm.  Riki Flutey and Shane Williams got ball in the danger zones as a result and rather than the blunt hammer of the first two Tests, the Lions wielded a honed sword in attack.  Martyn Williams in particular, was pure class, aided by his team-mates' deft handling skills.

They were in fine fettle in the set-pieces too.  At the first scrum both Phil Vickery and Andy Sheridan annihilated their opposite numbers, forcing a penalty.  Stephen Jones missed with his first, but succeeded minutes later after a penalty conceded for not releasing the tackled player -- the Boks' fourth penalty to zero from the Lions.

Those points were donated back at the restart, with Shane Williams slicing the clearance kick and the Boks forcing a penalty from the resulting line-out and subsequent phases.

In defence, the tourists tightened up significantly, not so much in technique but with some indomitable spirit.  Flutey put in a monstrous hit on Wynand Olivier, while Joe Worsley's backtrack to grad Odwa Ndungane by the ankles was near-miraculous.

The Boks looked like a team with ten changes at times, especially in defence.  Heinrich Brüssow, mentioned by Ieuan Evans before the game as a possible player of the series, was nowhere to be seen.  Martyn Williams was everywhere -- at times the gulf in positioning ability and game-reading was that of tutor and tutee.  Brüssow lashed out at Williams after 63 minutes as his frustration boiled over;  he was not the only Bok to have a go as they faced an ignominious defeat in a pugnacious final twenty minutes.

There was not the same accuracy at the rucks and mauls from the men in green, especially with the ball in hand.  As a result, the Lions forced all sorts of turnovers, two of which yielded tries.

The first one was imbued with a whiff of controversy, with South Africa justly complaining that Simon Shaw had run in front of Jamie Heaslip as the Irish number eight broke the line on the blindside.

Neither Stuart Dickinson nor Vinny Munro picked it up though, and Heaslip drew Zane Kirchner masterfully before popping inside to Shane Williams for the opening score under the posts.

A bizarre missed conversion followed, as the ball fell off the tee during Jones' run-up and he was unable to pick it up and drop goal it in time -- and was there just a sniff of a lash-out from Brüssow's boot as he smothered Jones?

8-3 seemed precarious, but the Lions quickly put that to rights with the try of the series.  Flutey's chip bounced kindly, but his catch and flip over his head to Williams was as instinctive as it was scintillating.  Williams again had the simplest of run-ins to the posts and this time there was no intervening gust of wind.

In between the two there could have been a third try had anyone chased up Williams' infield kick but it was perhaps the one criticism of the Lions at times.

The Boks got themselves a toe back in the door at the end of the half, controlling the ball better and tempting Simon Shaw to incur the wrath of the crowd with a knee to the upper back of Fourie du Preez.  Shaw got ten minutes, but Du Preez did not re-appear after half-time -- given the atmosphere around the tams with regard to foul play, a citing will surely follow.

Two more penalties followed the line-out, the second of which Morné Steyn knocked over on half-time to make it 15-6, a deserved lead for the tourists.

The game followed a similar pattern in the second half, although Francois Steyn's introduction sparked a bit of life into the South African attack.

Tommy Bowe made a terrific cover tackle on Ndungane, knocking the ball out of the winger's hands as he neared the corner.

The decisive moment came on 55 minutes.  As the Boks searched for the try out wide that would get them back into it, Ugo Monye came in off his wing.  It's a defensive move that has cost the Lions four or five tries during this series but this time the Harlequins flyer picked off the floated pass and hared away for an 80m try under the posts.

That sealed the game.  The Boks fought briefly and secured three further points from the boot of Steyn, but discipline crumbled under pressure, enabling Jones to put the game out of reach with two quick penalties.

Man of the match:  Another magnificent performance from Martyn Williams in his last showing in a Lions jersey.

Moment of the match:  Ugo Monye's intercept -- with a little juggle and against a three-man overlap to put hearts in mouths -- killed it all off.

Villain of the match:  Quite a few nasty moments.  Simon Shaw will no doubt be censured for his knee to Fourie du Preez's back, while Francois Steyn was fortunate not to catch Mike Phillips with a vicious backhand swing.  One apiece there ... so a joint award.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 3

For the British & Irish Lions:
Tries:  S.Williams 2, Monye
Cons:  Jones 2
Pens:  Jones 3

Yellow card:  Shaw (Lions, 38, knee)

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Johann Muller, 3 John Smit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Guthro Steenkamp, 18 Dean Carstens, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Pierre Spies, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Frans Steyn.

British & Irish Lions:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 John Hayes, 18 Alun-Wyn Jones, 19 David Wallace, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 James Hook.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referee:  Christophe Berdos (France), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning

Morné Steyn sinks the Lions

A last-minute penalty by Morné Steyn gave South Africa a 28-25 victory and 2-0 series lead over the British & Irish Lions in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Lions will head back to Johannesburg seething.  They will likely fly back to Britain and Ireland still seething.  And it's safe to say, Christophe Berdos will not have any cards with Joyeaux Noël write across it on Lions stationary any time soon.

How the French referee failed to send Schalk Burger off for gouging is beyond belief.  Not only was Burger caught on the giant TV screens picking furiously at Luke Fitzgerald's eyes, but assistant Bryce Lawrence also caught the incident and reported it.  Berdos thought for a minute, and chickened out ingloriously, telling Burger to keep his fingers to himself in future and dispatching him for ten minutes.  It was a like a suspended sentence for a murder.

It had, for the sake of the game which is being increasingly blighted by this most cowardly of crimes, to be a red card.  It was not.

In a match decided with the final kick, it was the ultimate turning point and it was in the opening minute.  The likely subsequent citing and long ban will do nothing to remove the sour taste in the Lions' mouths, but Peter de Villiers' ridiculous and detestable denial of the offence -- "Ach, it's sport, man, this is what it's all about" -- after the game will merely exacerbate it -- both to the British rugby public and, potentially, the world's.

Burger aside, Ronan O'Gara will also have to take a long period of deep introspection.  The blood rushed in the final minute, and instead of settling for a kick to touch which would have secured the draw he launched a huge up and under, following it up with a hot-blooded mid-air shoulder charge on Fourie du Preez.  Steyn had to land a kick from 55 metres, but in his home stadium and at altitude, it was always his to make.  O'Gara should never have given that opportunity, certainly not in that fashion.

There were so many other talking points.  Did the Lions have their game eviscerated by losing both props to injury in the 46th minute?  The South African comeback after that point suggests so.  Should JP Pietersen have been yellow-carded for his atrocious tackle on Rob Kearney shortly after Burger had returned?  Most definitely.  The Lions were no angels in a Test match of shuddering physicality, but the pick of the fouls -- aside from O'Gara's -- came from the men in green.

Enough of all that now though, instead, let's have a sift through the finest Test match all those lucky enough to be in Loftus have seen for some time.

In a rip-roaring first half, the Lions did everything they had to do, not only to take control of the game but to make the strongest statement possible to their hosts that this series would go all the way to the wire.

There was physical intimidation, a magnificent scrum against the head on their own five-metre line, an early try and a domination of possession that will have warmed the hearts of the coaching team who have made that kind of style their priority.  By 25 minutes, the Lions had enjoyed a staggering 71 per cent of the ball in play and were good value for perhaps more than their 13-5 lead.

The Lions had heroes everywhere -- no-one more so than 35-year-old lock Simon Shaw, whose magnificent Test debut gained its deserving reward when he was named man of the match.

South Africa kept themselves in the contest as Bryan Habana, his fellow wing JP Pietersen and substitute centre Jaque Fourie scored tries, the latter just six minutes from time following lengthy deliberation by Australian television official Stuart Dickinson.

Steyn added 10 points from the boot, while his namesake Francois slotted a long-range effort, and the Lions were thwarted.

It was a game that had everything, and is still not over for Springboks flanker Schalk Burger, who must surely be facing a disciplinary hearing on Sunday after he clearly eye-gouged Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald inside the first minute of the match.

Referee Christophe Berdos opted for a yellow card for Burger, who was winning his 50th cap, but television replays suggested it should have been red, with Burger now looking certain to be cited by the match commissioner.

The Lions cashed in on his 10-minute absence, taking the lead through a Jones penalty and then carving South Africa open by creating a quality try for Kearney.

Berdos had been forced to issue a warning just seconds before following a dust-up sparked by Springboks lock Victor Matfield, yet the Lions kept their focus.

Scrum-half Mike Phillips launched a blindside attack, and Jones' exquisite off-load freed Kearney, who finished majestically.

Jones' effortless touchline conversion put the Lions 10-0 ahead after they delivered a start in stark contrast to their efforts in Durban seven days ago.

South Africa needed an immediate response, and it arrived within five minutes when flanker Juan Smith and Du Preez combined from a lineout and Pietersen exploded through an inviting midfield gap.

Ruan Pienaar hit the post with an easy conversion attempt, before a second Jones penalty and a magnificent defensive Lions scrum under pressure underlined their colossal first-half improvement from last weekend.

The Lions were once again confident with ball in hand, and after going through the phases deep inside Springboks territory, Jones dropped a short-range goal.

It was impressively assured rugby from the Lions, and although Steyn booted a long-range penalty as half-time approached, South Africa still had it all to do at 16-8 adrift.

There were big problems for the Lions though within six minutes of the restart as props Jenkins and Jones both went off.

Jenkins clashed heads with Habana, and was forced off nursing a head wound, but worse was to follow when Jones suffered a serious-looking arm injury.

Lock Alun-Wyn Jones took over from his Ospreys colleague, with Andrew Sheridan replacing Jenkins, yet it meant uncontested scrums for the final 30 minutes.

A scoreless third quarter played into the Lions' hands, and the physical intensity of the match was further underlined when a collision between O'Driscoll and Springboks substitute Danie Rossouw ended with Rossouw going off just four minutes after joining the action.

O'Driscoll only lasted another two minutes though, making his exit after South Africa had cut the deficit in ruthless fashion.

Habana sprinted over for his 33rd Test try in 48 games, finishing off a rapier-like move, and substitute Steyn's conversion set up a gripping finish with the Lions leading 19-15.

Steyn then slotted a penalty that cranked up the pressure on the Lions, but the immaculate Jones quickly responded, making it 22-18 with 10 minutes left.

An injury to Roberts meant the Lions had to reorganise their back division, and they entered the closing stages with O'Gara at fly-half, Jones and wing Tommy Bowe in midfield and Fitzgerald and Shane Williams on the wings.

There was a sense of the Lions hanging on, and they relinquished their lead five minutes from time when Fourie squeezed in at the corner and Steyn booted the touchline conversion.

A draw would have been arguably the fair result -- but Steyn had other ideas.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Pietersen, Habana, Fourie
Cons:  Pienaar, M Steyn
Pens:  M Steyn 2, F Steyn

For the Lions:
Try:  Kearney
Con:  Jones
Pens:  Jones 5
Drop goal:  Jones

South Africa:  15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Heinrich Brüssow, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Morné Steyn.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Sheridan, 17 Ross Ford, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Shane Williams

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

Lions go down in Durban

In the end, it was all a little bit tame.  The Lions came to Durban, on the back of six victories and with confidence abounding, and were beaten 26-21 by the Boks.

There was fight at the death, and high drama as the tourists produced a super final quarter to narrow the gap to within a score.  But the game had long been lost in a dreadful first half -- in reality, it was the multiple changes that stumped the Boks' rhythm and nearly cost them their win, rather than any inherent superiority.

What on earth happened early on though?  The scrums, so talked up as the focal point of the Lions efforts, so derided in southern hemisphere teams as being devoid of the necessary technique and strength, were annihilated.  Phil Vickery alone on five occasions crumpled like a milk carton under an elephant's foot against Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira.  The Boks got six points from that alone.

The line-outs were always going to be difficult, but after losing two of the first four the Lions simply gave up kicking for touch and kicked down the sidelines instead, playing right into the hands of the big-booted Bok full-back Frans Steyn, who returned the kicks with interest.

The Boks were a yard faster to the breakdown every time, with the Lions often caught looking on and willing the carrier to break the line rather than heading off in support.  It was a classic team freeze.  A choke straight from the Greg Norman school of choking.  It was ruthlessly punished by a clinical home side that looked fresh, hungry and together.  Underdone?  Not a bit of it.  This was a champion team of near-limitless experience performing to its absolute prime.

The Lions may point with frustration at the officiating, which absolutely did not go their way until a frantic final quarter in which everything seemed to go the Lions' way.  They can point to two well-taken tries, two more TMO calls and Ugo Monye's drop of the ball in a tackle with the tryline begging.  There are bright spots for a team that needs to grow together still further.  They will point with fury too, at the farce that allowed John Smit back on after he had previously been substituted -- that has to warrant an investigation.

But they must also reflect that for the first hour the Boks made their own luck with the officials and however well the Lions fought back, there was far too much to do.  There are deficiencies all over the park that the Lions will have to address next week in Pretoria, in rucks, at scrums, with the boot and in attack with the ball in hand.

The faint hope for the Lions fans might have been that half-time could precipitate one of those miracle turnarounds.  Fat chance.  Within five minutes of the second half starting, the Boks pack had driven two mauls a combined total of 35 metres and scored their second try through Heinrich Brüssow.  If Lions heads had not dropped before, they did then.  It could have been a massacre.

In the end, there was enough fight in the tourists to avoid that.  The Boks sat back and defended patiently against an attack as imaginative as the latest Obama biography, concentrating on their numbers at the breakdown and waiting for the frustration and penalties to come, playing the percentages with their own possession.

The first try came so easily.  The Boks stole a line-out, and after an initial thrust by Jean de Villiers Ruan Pienaar floated a super kick across for JP Pietersen to chase.  The Boks won a 5m scrum at the breakdown, took the ball through three simple, quick phases, and John Smit crashed over near the posts on the third.

Worse came.  Vickery took the first two of his Beast-ings, and on the second Pienaar made it 10-0 from the tee.  Stephen Jones, who had already missed one long-range shot, missed a sitter from 30 metres, while Pienaar made no mistake after a no-arm tackle by Tom Croft, a hugely contestable decision.

David Wallace took a simple pop pass to break the line, but found himself running away from his support, which was scant anyway.  Then came another of those officiating moments, when Bryce Lawrence allowed a Lions advantage to go only one phase further before calling it over, raising the ire of the Lions players and fans alike.

Moments later came the first of the TMO calls, with Monye haring for the corner after a simple miss-move, and brilliantly double-tackled by Steyn and De Villiers, whose grab of the ball and flip of it free just as Monye was sliding over the line was genius.

On 22 minutes, Tom Croft scored a cracking try, started by Jamie Roberts' bust of a gap and offload to Brian O'Driscoll, and finished off when O'Driscoll showed the presence of mind to cut inside for Croft on the offload.

It was a brief flicker for first half momentum, which stayed with the hosts.  Beast conquered Vickery again:  16-7 -- courtesy of Steyn.  Tommy Bowe was left isolated by another raking Pienaar kick:  19-7.  That was it at the break.

The second half started with a shower of penalties against the Lions, including some lengthy advantage at a driving maul so palpably absent from the officiating of the Lions' efforts.

This time, the Boks eschewed the posts for the touchline and more driving.  Ultimately, they drove 55m down the pitch for Brussow to score the try that made it 26-7.

Phillips nearly struck right back, but he lost the ball in the tackle from Bakkies Botha as he lunged for the line -- the tightest of calls from the TMO, but once again, an act of desperation born out of a ludicrously short advantage allowance from referee Lawrence.

From then, Pienaar controlled the game with some raking kicks, with Steyn mopping up the return and the chasers tight as the nun's proverbial with their pattern, forcing the Lions to kick back and run down the clock.

The game was changed by the weird and wonderful changes of Peter de Villiers, who decided that Brussow should come off despite his magnificence at getting to the breakdown and that Smit and Beast no longer needed to boss the scrums.  Suddenly, the Lions clicked, kept their ball and forced penalty after penalty out of the Boks.

One went to the corner, and two rucks later, Tom Croft took an inside pass from Roberts to score the Lions' second.  With five minutes to go, Phillips made a trademark dummy and dart off the back of a ruck for a third, with Jones converting both to make it 26-21.

The stadium held its breath, while the Bok coaching team panicked and sent Smit back on to shore things up.  It worked to a degree, with the Boks also grateful to a tackle by Pierre Spies in the final minute that knocked the ball loose on the Lions' final attack.  But the Lions now know:  it can be done.  Next week, maybe it will be done in the first half as well.

Man of the match:  The Beast.  He was magnificent.

Moment of the match:  The 40m driving maul that led to the Boks' second try.  Awesome.

Villain of the match:  Why does Ricky Januarie have to start a fight every time he comes on the pitch?  He really is an unpleasant and unwelcome little man.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Smit, Brussow
Cons:  Pienaar 2
Pens:  Pienaar 3, Steyn

For the Lions:
Tries:  Croft 2, Phillips
Cons:  S. Jones 3

South Africa:  15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Morné Steyn.

British & Irish Lions:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Rob Kearney.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Stuart Dickinson, Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

Australia 29 British Isles 23

Two tries from centre Daniel Herbert helped Australia to a 29-23 win over the Lions in the decisive third Test in Sydney, claiming an enthralling 2-1 Test series win at a tension-filled Stadium Australia.

The scores were tied at 23-23 going in to the last 12 minutes, but fullback Matt Burke stepped up and shrugged off the pressure to become the Wallabies' hero landing two penalties to fend-off a gallant, if at times headstrong Lions' challenge.

The home side had gone into the half-time interval at 16-13 in front after an early Lions' try from wing Jason Robinson, but Herbert's touch down just before the break set the tone for a see-saw match, which had pulses on both sides of the equator racing as the Lions mounted a failed late challenge.

The Lions' other try on the day came from Jonny Wilkinson just after half-time, putting the Lions in front only until Herbert's second in the 49th minute.

In truth, the series could have swung either way, but it was the Wallabies' tenacity in the 50/50 contests which saw them edging ahead, Justin Harrison in the second row having a debut to remember, stealing a memorable late lineout from Lions skipper Martin Johnson with the hooter imminent to drive a further nail into the Lions' coffin.

The tourists far from disgraced themselves, with the back-row in particular exposing the soft underbelly of the home side in the loose, where they repeatedly drove through the heart of the Wallaby pack with a string of surging rolling mauls.  But in the battle on the ground, it was Wallaby openside George Smith who emerged victorious, with team-mates Kefu and Finegan not far behind him.

Without late injury withdrawal Austin Healey, the 84,000 crowd at Stadium Australia were denied the chance to witness the Leicester wing's pre-match slurs against all things Australia being rammed down his throat.

His late replacement was Welshman Dafydd James, but with Healey also due to serve as Matt Dawson's scrum-half replacement, the Lions' management had to take desperate measures and recruit Scotland scrum-half Andy Nicol to the bench.

Nicol had not even been part of the squad, being in Sydney merely as a tour guide, but found himself thrown into the cauldron of Stadium Australia.  He was not used in the end, but his inclusion in the squad served as a fitting marker of the drama surrounding the 2001 tour right from day one.

But the real drama unfolded on the pitch and it was Jason Robinson -- one of the shining lights for the Lions -- who made the first in-roads to the Wallaby defence out wide when he touched down in the left corner after 20 minutes.

It was a move which proved that the tourists -- underdogs going into this match -- were capable of playing their own brand of "total rugby", two front row players out wide playing a valuable part in the score.  Firstly hooker Keith Wood drew in Andrew Walker ten metres out, and then loosehead Tom Smith pulled in the last defender before putting Robinson in for a textbook 2 on 1 overlap try next to the corner flag, with Wilkinson nailing the tricky extras in a mixed kicking half.

By this time though Matt Burke had already kicked three penalties to Wilkinson's one, and Herbert's try just before the half-time whistle was the next score as both teams sparred around the fringes of the ruck -- the Wallaby front-row again given a rough ride by the Lions as Nick Stiles and Rod Moore looked out of sorts.

Herbert's try when it came was a result of constant Wallaby pressure, the marvellous George Gregan in particular back to his marshalling best at the base of every ruck, capitalising on some quick breaks by the three-quarters to set the scene for the try, which eventually came after a quick exchange between Herbert and Andrew Walker on the right flank, Burke hitting the conversion for a 16-13 half-time lead.

Jonny Wilkinson gave the vast and noisy legions of Lions fans something to cheer when he jinked over from short range just after the break, showing a shimmy to Toutai Kefu before cutting in past Dan Herbert for the try, and then hitting the conversion to snatch the lead.

Herbert made amends five minutes later when he was on the end of a quick transfer through the Wallaby hands, their speedy continuity play creating the stage for hooker Michael Foley out wide to unselfishly offload to Herbert for his second try.  Foley could well have gone himself, but made sure of the score by putting in the Queensland centre on the overlap, Burke again converting.

Herbert's next contribution to the match was not so glorious when his clothes-line tackle on the below-par Lions centre Brian O'Driscoll landed the Wallaby a ten-minute spell in the sin-bin.

The Lions failed to make the most of the space though, Wilkinson's penalty drawing the scores, but no more points coming in what could have been a crucial ten-minutes.

The England man missed his third kick of the day shortly after, the pivot's hit-and-miss kicking day giving heart to the Wallabies, particularly during the enforced absence of Herbert.

Almost immediately after Herbert's return to the fray, Burke again put the home side in front with a penalty.  It was a decisive moment, and the Lions had a mountain to climb as injury-time approached.

The Lions' rolling-maul got into full swing, and as a Lions' lineout came with seconds to go in Wallaby territory, the visitors knew this was the moment they had to sieze the initiative.

Keith Wood threw in, and Justin Harrison claimed an awesome take at the front, eclipsing Martin Johnson at the front, leaping across his line of sight, stealing the ball, and shutting the door firmly on the Lions.

Referee Paddy O'Brien pulled the curtain down on a memorable series with the final whistle, Australia on balance deserved victors in a series which had everything, great tries, big-hits, controversy, injury, two well-matched teams and most of all, a true rugby atmosphere.

Australia were wounded after their first Test humiliation, but the last eight days have seen them stamp their mantle as true champions, obliterating the Lions in Melbourne, and then finding the scrapping spirit to pull out a win under adversity in Sydney.

The 2001 Lions may have been only seven points away from emulating their 1997 counterparts, but the Wallabies will be partying away in to the wee small hours, knowing that they have beaten the northern hemisphere's finest.

It was a fitting way for the cerebral and dignified Rod Macqueen to end his tenure as Wallaby coach, and sets up a fascinating Tri-Nations series as Eddie Jones takes the reins.

So, a day of joy for Australia but disappointment for the many thousands of away supporters who had journeyed across the globe to yell themselves hoarse for their team.  No matter, after this epic series, the majority of them will already have begun their plans to play their part in British and Irish rugby's next great crusade -- the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand.

Man of the match:  Justin Harrison.  What a debut!  On this showing, it is hard to imagine why the aggressive Brumbies lock has been frozen out of the starting XV for the first two Tests.  His edgy, abrasive play may have earnt him the wrath of opponents and Lions' fans, but his lineout play and general combative game will surely see him as a must for the Wallabies in the Tri-Nations.  Two try hero Dan Herbert may be the scoreboard's choice for our award, but although his support play may have earned him his two scores, Harrison's excellence throughout shades our vote.  Not a vast abundance of Lions' contenders, with Martin Corry and Scott Quinnell the main two that spring to mind, as well as a largely impressive showing from Jonny Wilkinson.

Moment of the match:  Daniel Herbert's second try.  Herbert's first score may have been easier on the eye, but the sheer importance of this try wins the vote by a mile, as it eventually led to the scores being ties going in to the final stages with Burke's conversion.  Coming from a quick series of Wallaby phases, Michael Foley created the overlap for Herbert to dive in the left corner and set the scene for a Wallaby series win.

Villain of the match:  Daniel Herbert.  The only blot on Herbert's copybook was his deserved second-half sin-binning after flattening opposite number Brian O'Driscoll with a stiff-arm clothesline tackle round the neck.  Not normally a malicious competitor, Herbert served his ten-minute penance with relative calm as the Lions failed to capitalise on his absence.

Sin bin:  Herbert (Aus, 52-62 mins)

The teams:

Australia:  1 Rod Moore, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Nic Stiles, 4 John Eales (c), 5 Justin Harrison, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan, 10 Elton Flatley, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Nathan Grey, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Andrew Walker, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, James Holbeck
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Latham, Chris Whitaker, Ben Darwin, David Lyons

British Isles:  1 Phil Vickery, 2 Keith Wood, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Martin Corry, 8 Scott Quinnell, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Jason Robinson, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Dafydd James, 15 Matt Perry
Reserves:  Iain Balshaw, Colin Charvis, Darren Morris
Unused:  Dorian West, Ronan O'Gara, Andy Nicol, Martyn Williams

Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Herbert D.J. 2
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 5

British Isles
Tries:  Robinson J.T. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 2
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 3

Australia 35 British Isles 14

A resurgent Australia put to bed the ghosts of Brisbane a week earlier by dominating the Lions in the second Test in Melbourne, claiming a powerful and well deserved 35-14 win as Joe Roff touched down two tries.

The third Test in Sydney is now the series decider after Rod Macqueen's Wallabies battled back from an 6-11 half-time deficit, Roff's score immediately after the break cancelling out Neil Back's first-half try.

Roff added another five minutes later, and when Matt Burke went over for Australia's third on 64 minutes, the result was beyond all doubt.

Burke was equally potent with the boot after his recall at fullback, kicking six penalties and a conversion under the Colonial Stadium roof.

There were only brief early signs of the Lions' penetration in the backs, with Rob Henderson in particular failing to summon up the sort of composure and pace which typified their first Test win seven days previously.

In truth, the Lions weren't given half the room to play that they had last time out, with the Wallaby back-row a constant threat, Toutai Kefu and George Smith first to the breakdown more often than not, and George Gregan marshalling the whole team with superb poise throughout.

Ominous signs for the Lions were the departures through injury of Jonny Wilkinson and Rob Howley in the second-half, with Richard Hill also leaving the field with a facial injury as a result of Nathan Grey's clumsy high challenge just before the interval.  Andrew Walker went off looking groggy for the Wallabies after a clattering Jason Robinson tackle.

For all the Australian Rugby Union's free handouts of flags, scraves and baseball caps, it was clear from the start that the vast legions of Lions' fans would not be easily silenced -- even tinkering with the traditional Australian pre-match rugby anthem in their own rendition of Waltzing O'Driscoll, but their volume was only to last 40 minutes as the Wallabies fought back.

Just as in Brisbane last week, the early momentum was with the Lions, but with both sides showing signs of nerves, a one-dimensional start to the match saw the Lions take a 6-0 lead via two Jonny Wilkinson penalties.

There was no Wallaby defensive capitulation though, with George Smith finally living up to at least some of the hype, spoiling Lions' ball in the ruck in tandem with Toutai Kefu.

Matt Burke -- shipped in for goal-kicking duties after last week -- missed his first ambitious shot from the halfway line, but got the Wallabies back in the game with an elementary penalty on 20 minutes after a needless offside at the base of the scrum from Lions scrum-half Rob Howley, showing his impatience as Kefu kept the ball at his feet.

The Wallaby scrum also showed added steel after their abysmal performance last week, and held their own in the set piece, although in the loose, it was the constant battering-ram running of Scott Quinnell early on which punctured the defensive line time after time.

The Lions put their foot on the pedal after 25 minutes, and the result sent the vast Lions' contingent in to delirium, when Brian O'Driscoll's breath taking chip-and-chase down the right wing saw the ball worked back to Jonny Wilkinson on the Australia 22.

Wilkinson fired a precision crossfield kick right on top of right wing Andrew Walker near the try line, and Richard Hill's pressure on the Brumbies star forced a close lineout on the left flank for the Lions.

A typically Leicester-esque rolling maul saw the ball worked first left then right, and as the heap of bodies crossed the line, it was recalled openside Neil Back who emerged with the ball, excellent referee Jonathan Kaplan awarding the try, with Wilkinson slicing the wide conversion attempt.

George Gregan continued to test the Lions' defence around the fringes, and Australia narrowed the tourists' lead two minutes before the half-time whistle after a clothes-line tackle by Martin Johnson on Steve Larkham in midfield -- not a malicious stiff-arm, but still round the neck as Richard Hill clattered in to Larkham's ribs.

Wilkinson dropped a 45 metre penalty effort from way out on the left just short of the posts, before the hooter went for half-time with the Lions in front at 11-6.

The lead was instantly diminished as the game restarted, a careless miss pass by Wilkinson in the loose, snapped up by Joe Roff on the 22, with Roff beating Howley for pace and evading the challenge of O'Driscoll for the touchdown.

It took a video-referee decision to confirm the score, but after the brief wait, Burke had the chance to give the Wallabies the lead for the first time with the conversion attempt.  He missed though, leaving the game on a knife edge at 11-11.

For the first time in the Test series, the Wallabies took the lead as Burke nailed a long penalty.  Andrew Walker left the field looking groggy after a massive, but legal tackle from Robinson, with Chris Latham coming on for the former League flyer.

The Wallabies turned the screw as the Lions' gameplan went up in smoke, their discipline and cohesion seemingly evaporating as Kefu and Smith in the scrum conspired to wheel the Lions' put-in.

From the turnover, Gregan picked the ball up in midfield, shipping it to Larkham at pace on the left.  With an overlap at their disposal, Larkham put in Roff.  The Brumbies wing ran through the tackle of Dafydd James on the 22, stepping inside O'Driscoll for the try, converted by Burke as the Australian crowd finally made some noise.

A penalty miss from Wilkinson failed to reel-in the 21-11 deficit as Iain Balshaw replaced Perry at fullback for the Lions as they looked desperately for some kind of spark.

Owen Finegan gave the Lions a chance of points when once again he was on the wrong side of a ruck on the floor, presenting a penalty for Wilkinson outside the 22 which the Newcastle man made no mistake with, the Lions finally finding some forward momentum as the Wallaby lineout started to dominate, Giffin and skipper Eales both taking clean ball to set the platform.

Now at full tilt in both the forwards and backs, the Wallabies' quick recycling had the Lions on the ropes, with the knockout blow coming on 65 minutes, with phase after phase of swift ruck ball.

It was the break of Owen Finegan down the left wing near the 22 which did the damage, Henderson standing him up in the tackle, but giving him sufficient space to sneak out a basketball pass to Burke on the flank, with the fullback wriggling over the line for a try, but failing to hit the tough conversion attempt from the touchline.

A further Burke penalty put the game beyond the reach of the Lions, with Jonny Wilkinson's early exit through injury not cheering up their already miserable day, Neil Jenkins replacing him for the last five minutes.

Burke kicked two injury-time penalties to end proceedings, setting up a fitting climax to a dramatic series when the two sides clash at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Not a great evening for the Lions, in a game which saw Australia reveal their true colours with a physical and dominant 80 minutes, and demonstrated the tourists' failings under adversity.

The best of Britain and Ireland now have to draw on the positives, but after such a brutal dismantling, all the momentum lies with the impressive Wallabies.

Roll on Sydney.

Man of the match:  Joe Roff.  Harsh to deny contenders such as George Gregan, Owen Finegan and the sole standout for the Lions Scott Quinnell, but Roff finished the opportunities which came his way with pacy ruthlessness, burning off Dafydd James for the first, and showing brilliant support play for the second.  Biarritz fans must be raising a glass of the finest chablis to his imminent arrival.

Moment of the match:  Joe Roff's first try.  It came immediately after the half-time break, and obliterated the Lions' lead.  A foolish, misjudged lob pass from Wilkinson was sniffed out by Roff on the intercept, leaving Rob Howley for dead down the left flank for the touch down.  From then on it was all Wallaby.

Villain of the match:  Nathan Grey.  Not a dirty game by any stretch, but Grey's challenge on Richard Hill in the first-half saw the Waratahs' centre catch Hill in the face, forcing the flanker to leave the field after an initial blood-bin period.  Arguably a sin-binning offence, but more clumsy than brutal in the heat of battle.  Steve Larkham took two uncalled for late challenges from Rob Henderson and Scott Quinnell, but neither had the effect of Grey's, drawing blood and leaving the Lions without one of their most effective back-row weapons.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Rod Moore, 2 Michael Foley, 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 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Chris Latham
Unused:  Chris Whitaker, Ben Darwin, David Lyons

British Isles:  1 Phil Vickery, 2 Keith Wood, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 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:  Martin Corry, Matt Dawson, Jason Leonard, Iain Balshaw, Neil Jenkins
Unused:  Dorian West, Martyn Williams

Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Roff J.W.C. 2
Conv:  Burke M.C. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 6

British Isles
Tries:  Back N.A. 1
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 3