The British and Irish Lions failed to complete the series sweep against Australia in the third Test, falling 22-12 at Accor Stadium. Joe Schmidt’s team showed passion and determination, dominating much of the match, especially in the lineout and early scrums. Despite not being their best performance, with the series already won, they could be forgiven for slowing down a bit. Perhaps that’s what makes a sweep so difficult.
- The Lions were looking to be the first team in over 50 years to achieve the feat, but they stumbled in the humid conditions.
- An early try by Dylan Pietsch and the boot of Tom Lynagh gave Australia an advantage that prevented them from dominating the match as they did in the previous two Tests.
We analyze the performance of each Lions player in this final match:
Player Analysis
Andrew Porter, prop: Rating: 6. He was overpowered by Taniela Tupou in the scrum and Australia found it easy to get under his skin.Dan Sheehan, hooker: Rating: 7. Stunning as always. He loves the wide spaces and did a good job in them again. The Lions struggled in the lineout, but Sheehan is arguably the best hooker in the world right now.Tadhg Furlong, prop: Rating: 6. Strong in defense, but struggled to make an impact after the weather interruption.Maro Itoje, second row: Rating: 7. He was getting into the game well before his head injury. Not much to highlight, but he looked solid when he was on the field.James Ryan, second row: Rating: 6. Probably didn’t have the physical impact he would have wanted after starting against a very determined Australian pack.Tadhg Beirne, flanker: Rating: 6.5. Not as impactful as in the second Test, but solid enough in good conditions. Struggled in the lineout.Tom Curry, flanker: Rating: 7. Won a couple of big turnovers on the ground and made some important tackles, but another one who got a little distracted by the small irritations off the ball.Jack Conan, No. 8: Rating: 7.6. He found it difficult to advance and didn’t have the impact he had in the previous two Tests.
Jamison Gibson-Park, scrum-half: Rating: 8. He controlled things well considering the terrible conditions. He also made a smart play to stop a certain try by Dylan Pietsch at the end.Finn Russell, fly-half: Rating: 6. Seemed to struggle with the conditions, with some handling errors and at times trying to do too much to get the team forward. Named player of the series, which was well deserved.Bundee Aki, inside centre: Rating: 6.5. At times he seemed to lack rhythm and struggled to deal with the Australian centres, who looked sharp throughout.Huw Jones, outside center: Rating: 7. Calm during the game, but didn’t make many mistakes. Again overshadowed by the opposition’s centers.
Blair Kinghorn, left wing: Rating: 8. Showed enthusiasm with his first touches. Not in his preferred position, so it would have been good to see him at fullback, but safe hands nonetheless. Would have liked more of the ball.
Tommy Freeman, right wing: Rating: 7. Had a couple of good runs early on considering he hasn’t trained much this week. Another who didn’t return after the break due to a failed HIA.Hugo Keenan, fullback: Rating: 8. Always seems to be in the right position and cleared well under the conditions. Never seemed to be under pressure and always seems to have time with the ball.Substitutes:
Ronan Kelleher: 5.5 – Yellow carded when he came on. Failed to make a big impact.Ellis Genge: 8 – He had an impact and got physical with Taniela Tupuo, which was necessary.Will Stuart: 7.5 – Scored a try and will take a lot from the tour overall. Would have been good to see more of him, but looked solid throughout.Ollie Chessum: 8 – Handled his early introduction well and did a solid job.Jac Morgan: 9 – He had a great impact when he came on. It would have been good to see him start.Ben Earl: n/a
Alex Mitchell: n/a
Owen Farrell: 6 – It wasn’t his best game, but he got into the game early and struggled to catch up. The weather interruption wouldn’t have helped.
