Farrell's Lions focussed only on historic series win in Australia

When talk of a 3-nil series sweep started in the week leading up to the second Test, British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell was careful to play down those prospects in the full expection of a potent comeback from Australia.

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With that sweep now within sight in Sydney on Saturday after a contentious, last-minute 29-26 win over the Wallabies in Melbourne, some have questioned Australia’s place in the rotation for quadrennial Lions tours that also includes World Cup champion South Africa and New Zealand.

Farrell thinks that kind of speculation is disrespectful.

“Every single team have their ups and downs but Australia - the sporting nation that they are - are always going to come back,” he said. “Come the 2027 World Cup, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Australia won the Rugby World Cup in 1991 and ‘99, beat the Lions in 2001 and lost the World Cup finals in 2003 and ‘15. But since then, the Wallabies have been on a slide that included a group-stage exit at the 2023 World Cup in France.

“It would be tragic not to tour here,” Farrell said. “To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way.”

Whatever Farrell thinks, even the inference adds to the tension of another sold-out Test in Sydney, where the Wallabies will be desperate to avoid a sweep and the Lions determined to finish off a historic, undefeated tour.