12 reasons why this was one of greatest ever Lions Tests

After a somewhat unsatisfying series opener, Australia bounced back in a veritable barn-burner in the second Test at a raucous Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Having trailed since Tom Lynagh’s penalty in the fourth minute, the British and Irish Lions prevailed 29-26 thanks to a last-gasp try from Hugo Keenan after the drama had built to a nerve-shredding climax.

Here are 12 factors that coloured a compelling occasion.

Comeback for the ages

Before this weekend, according to statistician Stuart Farmer, the biggest Lions comeback to win a Test match was just 10 points, way back in 1938, when they overcame a 13-3 half-time deficit to beat the Springboks 21-16.

Yet Andy Farrell’s side were trailing 23-5 at one stage. Wiping away an 87-year-old record, regardless of the opposition, represents a remarkable achievement.

Skelton’s villainy

It is not unfair to suggest that Will Skelton’s accomplishments for Saracens and La Rochelle have eclipsed his efforts for Australia. When the Wallabies needed him, though, the towering 33-year-old stood tall as a totem.

Australia gaffed the opening kick-off, allowing Finn Russell’s strike to bounce into touch, but Skelton offered himself from the ensuing line-out. He took it at the front and rumbled five metres before flipping an offload to Dave Porecki.

From there, he was a grinning menace revelling in the do-or-die tussle. He bumped Tadhg Furlong to spark a bout of handbags, in which he manhandled former Saracens colleague Maro Itoje, and was precisely the figure for Australia to rally around. Skelton’s absence from the first Test felt important, and his influence in Melbourne confirmed it.

Wallabies rediscover their venom

Skelton and Rob Valetini, who carried with venom and heft, epitomised Australia’s renewed vigour. And there was accuracy, ambition and skill to go with the grunt.

In the 20th minute, from a scrum on halfway, the Wallabies back line moved the ball to space beautifully. Len Ikitau ran flat and played a pull-back behind Joseph Suaalii to Lynagh, with Harry Potter coming off his wing to feed Max Jorgensen with a cut-out pass.

Jorgensen’s chip ahead brought about a line-out on the Lions’ 22 and the hosts kept up the pressure until veteran James Slipper shunted over. Tommy Freeman was sent to the sin-bin, a victim of multiple team offences, and Australia capitalised beautifully.

Tom Wright found space in the understaffed Lions back-field with a fine 50:22, foreshadowing Jake Gordon’s sniping score, and Jorgensen danced 20 metres up-field from the next restart. A retreating defensive line was picked off, Ikitau ghosting behind his forwards to feed Suaalii, who stepped off his left foot and glided up the middle. Wright arrived in support to finish a 75-metre move. Could he have arced around closer to the posts to make the conversion easier? Perhaps. Jamison Gibson-Park chased Wright until the end, and Lynagh failed to land the extras.

…to put the Lions in a hole

A stirring response requires an epic preamble, and Australia absolutely earned the 23-5 advantage. The Lions were on the canvas, yet roused themselves remarkably.

Curry’s crunching tackle… and other turning points

Test matches need to be won several times, as the old cliche tells us. Even in the moment, one could sense momentum swinging back and forth.

Lynagh spilled a Gibson-Park box-kick and Freeman, back from the bin, surged around 15 metres through contact from the scrum. Tom Curry’s finish, having stepped inside a scrambling Gordon, was no gimme.

In the 37th minute, the double act of Curry and Tadhg Beirne struck again. As a pair, they held up Harry Wilson, and Suaalii slipped in at the side to ship a penalty. Finn Russell whacked an extraordinary touch-finder from his own 10m line to set up a line-out around five metres from the whitewash.

Again, the Lions were clinical in the “red zone”. Keenan’s pass launched Huw Jones, who bumped through two to score. From 23-5 down, the Lions were within six points.

The respective withdrawals of Valetini, at half-time, and Skelton, seven minutes into the second period, seemed hugely significant. But Curry needed to brave the flames in the 55th minute after another Lynagh penalty had made it 26-17 to Australia. Jorgensen batted Gordon’s box-kick in-field and Langi Gleeson and Fraser McReight poured forward to work Suaalii into space.

3 – Tom Curry’s last act before being replaced is to come up with a crucial try-saving tackle a minute after Australia had opened up a 26-17 lead that the Lions overturned thanks to Hugo Keenan’s class try in the last play of the game (3/3) pic.twitter.com/hQKEtiTxLF

— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) July 26, 2025

With Tate McDermott unmarked on the left flank, the Wallabies looked poised to go at least 31-17 up. Surely, then, it would have been game over. Curry charged to the rescue, though, and clattered Suaalii to force a knock-on. Even at the time, with plenty for the Lions to do, it seemed a pivotal intervention founded on pure grit – and so it would prove.

Scrummaging swings it

More big moments were conjured by the Lions. There was a carving run from Bundee Aki and a deft offload from James Lowe in the lead-up to Beirne’s try. Gibson-Park darted across the back-field to cover a Jorgensen grubber superbly, too. Could Wright have held on with Beirne beaten just beforehand?

Among the ifs and buts, there was one undeniable area of dominance for the Lions. Upon the introduction of Ellis Genge, which helpfully coincided with Skelton’s departure, the Wallabies were splintered at the scrum and bled penalties. In spite of sexier thrills and spills, the pushing contest distinctive to rugby union governs the course of the biggest matches.

Squeezing every last drop from bench

Schmidt’s deployment of six forwards on the Australia bench was a sensible hedge against the lack of game-time that Skelton and Valetini had before the second Test. Gleeson was lively and McDermott, the reserve scrum-half, deserves immense credit for an admirable hour on the wing after Potter went down.

As for the Lions, Farrell was impressively proactive. He brought on Genge, James Ryan and Jac Morgan just after Curry’s tackle on Suaalii. Keeping on Curry might have been tempting.

Ryan vindicated his selection with two robust tackles in the 68th minute. The second, thumping Wilson backwards, led to a turnover when Gordon threw a forward pass to Carlo Tizzano. Ryan’s trundle with ball in hand brought about Keenan’s scamper for glory as well.

Blair Kinghorn and Owen Farrell were brought on for Huw Jones and Lowe, respectively, on the hour mark. A midfield of Russell, Farrell and Aki, with Farrell defending in the 13 channel, looked rather interesting. Yet it gave the Lions two distributors with whom they found width from first-phase moves.

Back-rowers and Aki ran hard angles as Russell and Farrell conducted screen plays to put Kinghorn and Freeman into space on McDermott’s wing. Andy Farrell certainly needed his reinforcements.

Moment for amateurs to relate to

Will Stuart was another influential replacement and his touchline boot swap with Furlong – the tighthead prop only needed new footwear on his left foot rather than both – would have been at home in a Boxing Day chuck-around. Itoje stressed that the Wallabies were not “a pub team” beforehand. This was charmingly amateurish from the Lions.

Replenished with workable studs, Stuart was a major contributor to the scrummaging exchanges and also made a decisive carry in the outside-centre channel in the 79th minute. He slipped off Nick Frost and rolled over Wilson, returning to his feet to reach the Wallabies 22. In all, Stuart made 20 metres. Furlong might ask to borrow a couple of those for the post-match stats sheet.

Tries of true quality

A memorable contest is canonised by scores that stick in the memory. Sparks of quality – or controversy – punctuated all eight in this classic. The move for Wright’s finish was wonderful and the Lions cycled through 14 phases, spending one minute and 47 seconds in possession, after launching from a line-out for Keenan’s winner.

Russell’s restraint while directing the final phases deserves special mention. He drew Suaalii and flicked an offload over Wright to Kinghorn before finding himself isolated in the shadow of Australia’s posts a little later. Rather than force a Hollywood pass, he held on to it and sought the haven of his forwards to lift a delivery to Ryan.

Refereeing controversies

Dan Sheehan’s superman dive and Jac Morgan’s clear-out on Carlo Tizzano ensured enough pub ammunition for the next 12 years. On a less angry note, the smile and fist-pump that Morgan afforded himself when Andrea Piardi ruled that Keenan’s try should stand will have warmed hearts far beyond Wales.

We await the effect of this spectacle on rugby union in Australia – and around the world. The hope is that it spurs people to immerse themselves in the 15-a-side code. With a crowd of 90,307 recorded, it is a safe bet that some impressionable youngsters will have been inspired.

Celebrations will stretch into the Melboune night with some justification. A match this dramatic bodes well for how these Lions will be remembered. Itoje and Furlong, for instance, now have a series victory to complement a draw against New Zealand in 2017 and a loss to the Springboks in 2021. In due course, Itoje may reset his ambitions on a trip to take on the All Blacks in 2029.

The performances of Russell and Sheehan are bound to age better for this result. And, make no mistake, Andy Farrell will want a 3-0 clean sweep to add to the legacy. Hangovers will not be tolerated for long.

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