Wallabies restore pride with consolation victory over Lions

The Wallabies restored some pride by finally producing an 80-minute performance to beat the British & Irish Lions 22-12 in a weather-disrupted third test on Saturday, handing the visitors their only loss of their nine-match tour of Australia.

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Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen scored tries either side of a 40-minute delay for a lightning warning, and Tate McDermott added a third late on to ensure Australia would not be swept 3-0 by the Lions for the first time since 1904.

Australia coach Joe Schmidt said the victory was all the sweeter given how crushed his players had been after losing the second test, and the series, to a late try in Melbourne last week.

"I think they really earned what they got tonight," he told reporters.

"That's the longest test match I've ever been involved in, with a big hiatus, but I couldn't be a lot prouder of the way the players rebounded after last week, after the feeling of disappointment that they had, it was deep."

The Lions, who had late tries from Jac Morgan and Will Stuart, had already secured series honours for the first time since their last visit to Australia in 2013 but were disappointed not to secure the sweep.

"There's going to be frustration because we didn’t do what we wanted to do in the end, but the best team won today," said Lions coach Andy Farrell.