Storming Wallabies wash away Lions’ sweep dreams

Australia prevent the men in red’s historic series whitewash

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

Australia 22

Lions 12

AT ACCOR STADIUM

If last week's second Test at the MCG was an epic occasion of grand proportions, this was a rugby experience quite unlike just about anything that had gone before in a very different way.

It was tough to make sense of all that unfolded over 80 minutes - and more - of chaos and carnage: a series of worrying head injuries, brawls breaking out all over the place and a 40-minute delay as lightning brought a halt to messy proceedings early in the second half.

And, at the end of it all, Australia emerged from a night of incident and accident having avoided the ignominy of a 3-0 whitewash. There was to be no glorious farewell for a British & Irish Lions side that had thought of themselves as history-makers; it was the Wallabies with a golden goodbye. The tourists had spoken of finishing the job properly, gathering together for one last push to go where no Lions team had since 1927 - but a combination of misfortune and mishaps left a dispirited group to celebrate a series victory on the back of a damp squib of a defeat.

Even a meticulous planner like Andy Farrell would surely not have a scenario planned for all that unfolded in Sydney. The Lions lost their captain, Maro Itoje, to injury half an hour in and 12 minutes later, his second-row partner, James Ryan, in a sickening clash of knee on head. The withdrawal of Tommy Freeman meant a forward-heavy bench split backfired, while the long weather delay seemed to aid Australia, who reemerged with greater purpose.