It wasn't a pretty game - far from it indeed with far too many handling errors and scrummaging penalties making this the beast to the beauty that was the 1st test in Brisbane. Yet, it was still gripping to watch and in the end had a blast of a finish which somehow saw the Wallabies keep the series alive and take it to a decider in Sydney, having been behind for much of the 2nd half.
In such a stale game with much of the game played between each other's 22 m lines, it was always going to take a bit of brilliance to break open this game and the Wallabies were the ones to deliver that. Granted, it was a dogged team effort that eventually saw Adam Ashley-Cooper continue his hot-streak of scoring tries in tests at the Docklands stadium - no matter what name the stadium has.
Even so, it needed a conversion kick for the Wallabies to take the lead from the Lions - up stepped Christian Leali'ifano, injured in the 1st test in Brisbane, to curl in a beauty from a difficult angle and give the Wallabies a one point lead going into the last 5 minutes.
Yet, the Wallabies seemed to want to give up that lead and two penalties gave the Lions who looked certain to win this game, the opportunity to snatch victory at the end - although it was a very difficult opportunity coming from the 50 m line. Leigh Halfpenny whose kicking was near perfect up to that point, couldn't quite get the ball to cross the bar and the Wallabies avenged their close defeat in Brisbane to take the series to Sydney.
It was good news for Deano and his skipper James Horwill - although his participation in next week's decider is questionable after the IRB decided to overturn the judiciary's decision that he was not guilty of stomping in the first test. It is bad news for the Lions - and Ewen McKenzie who might still very well end up as Wallabies coach in the near future - who must now rebuild and head to the cauldron of the Olympic Stadium in Sydney to end a 16 year drought without a series win.
In a way, the Wallabies deserved to win for their endeavour and courage but there are still too many question marks over many key players, i.e. James O'Connor's control of the game at first five, Kurtley Beale's hands and kicking. However, the scrummaging is definitely up there and will give them confidence and as always they have quality in the back row and in the backs.
The Lions could still very well have Jamie Roberts available for the decider in Sydney and Mike Phillips and Alex Corbisiero might be in line for a recall after missing out on this game due to injury. However, the Lions will have to wait on the results on Sam Warburton's injury to decide if the inspirational skipper who was badly missed in the end is fit for the decider.
In the end, it might very well be Welsh flair that could save the day for the Lions and end years of misery - and very well seal their survival as a relevant rugby team today.
 |
Moment of the game - George North gives Israel Folau a piggy-back while running with the ball |
No comments:
Post a Comment