One to savour: The Wallabies celebrate an important victory – Photo: Djuro Sen / Image Matrix

by Paul Cook in Melbourne –

Tries win matches, that’s the lesson the British & Irish Lions must learn from this one as the Wallabies kept this incredible series alive with a heart stopping 16-15 victory at Etihad Stadium. In a serious case of déjà vu from last week’s clash in Brisbane, Leigh Halfpenny lined up a match winning penalty with the last kick of the game in order to claim the first Lions series win since 1997 but, as with Kurtley Beale seven days previously, the attempt fell agonisingly short and it was the green and gold half of the stadium that celebrated this time around.

In a game high on defence and peppered by scrum penalties, it was the home side that showed the greater intent with ball in hand while the Lions contented themselves with a physical and controlled display – full of heart and brave defence but ultimately, little in the way of penetration within the opposition 22.

Five penalties from Halfpenny had looked like being enough for the tourists to claim the spoils as they held a 15-9 lead with only five minutes remaining but the Wallabies weren’t to be outdone and persistent pressure paid off when Adam Ashley-Cooper crossed and an ice cool Christian Leali’ifano slotted what proved to be the winner before Halfpenny’s late miss.

Matchwinner: Christian Leali’ifano struck 11pts on his first ‘full’ debut – Photo: Djuro Sen / Image Matrix

A beaming Wallaby coach Robbie Deans told afterwards how the win was just reward for his side’s perseverance. “I’m very proud of them. They knew that anything less than a try at the end there would mean that the series was over but they had the composure to get it done. It was a frustrating game to watch but I was hoping we could get our hands on the ball at the right end of the ground in that last ten minutes and make something happen and it did.”

Captain James Horwill put a tough week behind him to lead his team home but cautioned against too much confidence going into next week’s decider in Sydney. “All bets are off, it’s all square and it’s just like a grand final now,” he said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game tonight but we found a way to win. The game of chess will continue next week, I’m expecting it to be the toughest game yet.”

A pragmatic Lions coach Warren Gatland simply looked forward to Sydney. “Last week was close, it was another close one tonight which could have gone either way and it was a tough test match. Next week is a massive opportunity, I thought the support we had from the fans was brilliant today and hopefully, we can deliver something for them next week.”

The Lions certainly started like a team intent on owning their own slice of history but after governing the first six minutes with some fierce work at the breakdown and the use of a powerful rolling maul, the Wallabies regrouped to boss the rest of the opening quarter.

Halfpenny had already struck the crossbar from a long range penalty before he opened the scoring after the Wallabies were pinged for a second collapse of a Lions maul but the fire was soon doused by a home side that suddenly realised all the pre-match concerns over Mako Vunipola’s scrum technique were warranted.

The Saracens loosehead was warned once by referee Craig Joubert in the 12th minute for losing his bind and when he did so again two minutes later, Christian Leali’ifano stepped up to open his account in the gold jersey. When he was pinged again in the 21st minute and Leali’ifano gave the Wallabies the lead, alarm bells must have been ringing in the Lions coaches box and reserve Ryan Grant must have been preparing for an early introduction to the fray.

All of a sudden, a facet of the game that was predicted to be the most productive for the tourists was in danger of becoming a liability, however, with Joubert doing his best to maintain a competitive engagement and adjusting the gap between the packs, momentum swung back to the Lions with Benn Robinson guilty of collapsing in the 26th minute and Halfpenny levelled the scores.

Thankfully, the lineout proved to be much less of a headache on the night than the scrum
Photo: Djuro Sen / Image Matrix

The diminutive fullback regained the lead for the visitors just after the half hour as the scrum lottery continued and a game, which promised so much in the build-up, had been reduced to a scrum-fest penalty-athon. Not exactly what the record 56,000 plus crowd under the Etihad roof had come to see or the millions of TV viewers worldwide had tuned in for.

Leali’ifano again levelled with the boot when Dan Lydiate strayed offside but the Lions finished the half the stronger, putting together their best period of running phase play in the shadows of half-time when quick ball from Geoff Parling in midfield released flyhalf Jonny Sexton who had numbers outside him.

The Wallabies shut down that attack but at the expense of a penalty, gifting Halfpenny the chance to leave the ‘Sea of Red’ with their voices raised as the teams went to the sheds but with the Wallabies taking heart from the fact that they’d managed to silence the visiting hordes for large parts of the first 40 minutes.

Vunipola’s scrum issues continued after the break but a raft of changes from both sides between the 50th and 60th minutes saw the pendulum swing back to the Lions. Richard Hibbard and Dan Cole, on for Tom Youngs and Adam Jones, went some way towards ameliorating last week’s second half wobbles with a couple of powerful hits that caused ref Joubert to revise his thinking in terms of the dominant pack and allowed Halfpenny to make it 15-9.

Giddy’up: George North takes Israel Folau for a ride – Photo: Djuro Sen / Image Matrix

The Wallabies were definitely the more menacing side with ball in hand, Will Genia again the main tormenter in chief as he probed the fringes before introducing a wider pass to try and release the hitherto unseen Israel Folau and Joe Tomane into the fray. However, the Lions tackling was crisp and efficient, George North and Tommy Bowe both in control of their flanks, at least defensively.

When North picked up Folau, literally, and drove him back 10 metres in the air from one collision, the crowd roared in equal parts elation and awe but it didn’t get the Lions anywhere nearer the tryline and despite their 6pt advantage, there was a nagging suspicion that it would take a five pointer to decide the game.

The match took another twist in the 67th minute with the departure of Lions captain Sam Warburton. The Welshman has been much maligned on this tour regarding the validity of his inclusion given his form but he was back to his annoying best tonight, frustrating, quelling and pilfering with aplomb and his exit from the field was a blow to a Lions side set-up to contest every breakdown as if their lives depended on it.

The Wallabies sniffed an opportunity and spent the remaining 10 minutes firmly on the front foot, looking for that one moment of hesitation or one glimmer of space with which to strike – and it duly came.

Forcing a penalty, they opted for a 5 metre scrum, a rare choice for a Wallaby pack against Northern Hemisphere opponents in recent times and an indication of their newfound confidence at the engagement. Sure enough, they held firm, enough for Genia to scoot off the back and find James O’Connor, who put a perfectly placed Ashley-Cooper through a gap and over the chalk.

That just left Leali’ifano with the small task of converting for the lead but the inside centre was the calmest head in the stadium, slotting supremely to edge the Australians in front by a point. That should have been that but they insisted on making life interesting by turning over possession after the siren and giving away a potentially match losing penalty but from a distance of 55 metres, even the great Halfpenny is human.

After two games decided by a missed kick in the last play and a total of only one point between the teams, Sydney looms as another tense, nail biting affair not for the feint of heart. As Robbie Deans put it, “What a series. It’s great for the game and Sydney will be another great occasion.” Bring it on.

Australia 16 (Adam Ashley-Cooper try; Christian Leali’ifano 3 pens, con) British & Irish Lions 15 (Leigh Halfpenny 5 pens)

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