The British and Irish Lions failed to complete the series sweep against Australia in a chaotic third Test in Sydney, falling 22-12 at Accor Stadium. Joe Schmidt’s team showed passion, emotion, and determination, dominating much of the match, especially in the lineout and the initial scrums. While it wasn’t the Lions’ best performance, with the series already secured, they could be forgiven for slowing down a bit. Perhaps that’s what makes a sweep so difficult.
- As it happened: Lions denied series sweep
- Match report: Australia 22-12 British and Irish Lions
Andrew Porter, prop
RATING: 6 He was overpowered by Taniela Tupou in the scrum and Australia found it quite easy to get under his skin.Dan Sheehan, hooker
RATING: 7 Stunning as always. He loves wide spaces and made good ground in them again. The Lions struggled at the lineout, but Sheehan is arguably the best hooker in the world right now.Tadhg Furlong, propRATING: 6 Strong in defense, but struggled to make an impact after the weather interruption.Maro Itoje, second rowRATING: 7 I was getting into the game well before his head injury. Not much to see, but he looked solid when he was on the field.James Ryan, second rowRATING: 6 It probably didn’t have the physical impact he would have wanted after being given a starting position against a very determined Australian pack.Tadhg Beirne, flanker
RATING: 6.5 It wasn’t as impactful as in the second Test, but it was solid enough in good conditions. He had problems in the lineout.Tom Curry, flanker
RATING: 7 He won a couple of big ground duels and made some important tackles, but another who got a little distracted by the off-the-ball niggles.Jack Conan, No. 8
RATING: 7.6 It was difficult for him to move forward and it did not have the impact it 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 from Dylan Pietsch at the end.Finn Russell, fly-half
RATING: 6 It seemed to struggle with the conditions with some handling errors and, at times, trying a little too hard to make the team work. Named player of the series, which was well deserved.Bundee Aki, inside centre
RATING: 6.5 It seemed like he lacked rhythm at times and struggled to deal with the Australian centers who seemed sharp at all times.Huw Jones, outside centerRATING: 7 Calm during the game, but didn’t make many mistakes. Once again, overshadowed by the opposition’s centers.Blair Kinghorn, left wingRATING: 8 He seemed animated with his first touches. Not in his preferred position, so it would have been good to see him at fullback, but safe hands anyway. He would have wanted more ball.Tommy Freeman, Right WingRATING: 7 He had a couple of good runs at the beginning considering he hasn’t trained much this week. Another one who didn’t return after the break due to a failed HIA.Hugo Keenan, fullback
RATING: 8 It always seems to be in the right position and cleaned up well in the conditions. It 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 – Impacted and got physical with Taniela Tupuo, which was necessary. Will Stuart: 7.5 – Scored a try and will take a lot from the tour as a whole. Would have been good to see more of him, but he 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, but he got into the game early and fought to catch up. The weather disruption wouldn’t have helped.
