Australia 26-29 British & Irish Lions – Test series LIVE: Andy Farrell’s side pull off incredible comeback as Hugo Keenan’s last-gasp try sees Lions WIN series

Ireland legend Ronan O’Gara has admitted that his memories of the Lions will be very different to the emotions that Andy Farrell’s squad will be feeling today.

O’Gara referenced the Lions tour to South Africa back in 2009 where the the fly-half had given away a penalty in the final moments of the second Test allowing South Africa to win the series with a penalty kick from Morne Steyn.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he lauded the Lions for their fight to bounce back in the match, while also claiming Australia were quite unlucky.

‘Those competitors don’t have to wake up to a series like 2009. They’ll remember this, but my Lions memories is the opposite, it’s a negative, but it’s a positive with how it shapes you.’

‘It was a proper game, Australia fired shots, they were quite unlucky. Joe said off air, he thought his cleaner was on the ball, if you’re on the ball, it should be penalty Australia.’

Lions boss Andy Farrell says he is ‘absolutely delighted’ after his side sealed the victory.

It was never in doubt, was it? It’s amazing — the occasion, the fans all travelling out here — they all deserve this, and that grandstand finish. This is what Lions rugby is all about. I’m absolutely delighted.

His side certainly dug deep to muster up an incredible victory after Australia had thumped the Lions in the first-half, taking a 23-17 at half-time.

It wasn’t great, especially in the first half. We started with back-to-back penalties and yellow cards, and it really cost us on the scoreboard.

But we found a way back into the game, and that gave us confidence heading into the second half. And, wow – what a finish!

When we were able to build pressure, we rolled pretty nicely. Every time we got into the 22, we came away with something. We had solid belief at half-time and knew we could win if we controlled our discipline.

The hero of the match, Hugo Keenan, has been carried off the pitch by his team-mates.

Sky analyst Will Greenwood has just joked that he will ‘never have to pay for a drink again’ after he scored the winning try to seal the series.

‘You don’t really think of these things — with my try-scoring record, I was probably the least likely!’ Keenan said.

‘I’m absolutely delighted. It came off the back of countless phases of hard work from the lads. It was a pretty cool moment — one I’ll definitely savour.’

The Lions players have caught their breath and have been giving their initial reactions to Sky Sports.

Ellis Genge couldn’t believe what the team had done overcoming Australia at the MCG.

This is mental. Everyone is overwhelmed at the moment. I don’t think it has sunk in. This has been one of the best experiences of my life.

Ollie Chessum explained he was lost for words.

This is everything I’ve ever dreamt of. I haven’t got the words for it right now, but hopefully I will in a couple of weeks.

Faz said to us at half-time: ‘If you pull this back it will be the win of your lives and a night you’ll never forget’. That’s exactly what it’s been.”

Dan Sheehan stated this was the ‘pinnacle of my career’

The amount of games I’ve been a part of in that situation… and I don’t think I’ve won any of them. By far the pinnacle of my career, and something I’ll always cherish.

Huw Jones has lauded Garry Ringrose for his selfless act earlier in the week.

Jones took the Ireland star’s place in the starting XV after Ringrose self-reported that he was still experiencing concussion symptoms, after suffering a head injury during the Lions clash against the Brumbies.

The outside centre came into the fold and his addition to the side proved pivotal with Jones scoring a crucial try to help the Lions fight back against Australia just before half-time.

But after the match he paid tribute to Ringrose to Sky Sports.

It’s so special to come and do it here in front of nearly 100,000 in an incredible atmosphere. Wasn’t perfect, but when the bench comes on, that finish.. it’s unbelievable.

Obviously, I had] the initial disappointment of not being named in the squad internally. Luckily we’d all gone through the plays.

I’m gutted for Garry (Ringrose) because he deserved to play and we’ve got so close over this period – all the centres together have connected really well. To have to pull himself out is so tough.

But I got the nod, was ready to go and I’m glad we got the job done today.

This young Australia side came so agonisingly close to sending this series to the third and final Test to a winner-takes-all battle in Sydney next week.

It was a gripping performance from the Wallabies, who dazzled in the first half, forcing the Lions to make multiple errors with their brutal physicality.

Rob Valetini was a stand-out alongside James Slipper in the front row, while Tom Lynagh looked much more composed at No 10.

Tries from Tom Wright and Jake Gordon saw the Wallabies build pressure on the Lions, but it was the tourists’ second-half reinforcements that took the game away from the Wallabies.

‘Australia said they were going to show up — and they did,’ Andy Farrell told Sky Sports.

‘It was more than physical. They played some nice rugby and capitalised on our ill-discipline.’

Maro Itoje, who was today’s player of the match, revealed after the game that his uncle gave him some special advice ahead of the match, stating that his side ‘were not the Harlem Globetrotters’.

I think we started hitting. It sounds pretty basic, but our scrum got on top and our decision-makers – Finn (Russell), Faz (Owen Farrell), Jamo (Gibson-Park) at 9 – they started playing really well.

We just managed to stay close enough and scored in the end.

My uncle last week sent me a message saying: “look, you guys aren’t the Harlem Globetrotters – you need to make sure you win”. So….thank you uncle! Luckily we did it.

The exciting thing – you know and I know we’ve got so much more in us. Hopefully next week we have an opportunity to actually bring it all together.

Lions captain Maro Itoje has spoken on the gravity of this win, claiming that the Lions had to dig deep and believe in themselves as they faced a barrage of Australian attacks.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

It feels a little surreal. The first 20 minutes we weren’t great, weren’t physical enough. We managed to find a way in the second half of the first half.

The second half, again it wasn’t perfect, but we just managed to fight, got close and big Faz (Andy Farrell) was just telling us to play big all the time, to believe in ourselves.

I give a load of credit to the bench – all the guys that came on made a massive difference.

Scenes of jubilation have unfolded here at the MCG for the Lions players.

They have now sealed back-to-back series victories against Australia after winning during their most recent trip Down Under in 2013.

What a finish! Befitting of this incredible and utterly bonkers test match, Hugo Keenan has crossed the tryline in the dying embers of this clash to seal a 26-29 victory.

But it didn’t come without drama. Even though it had looked like Keenan had crossed the line fairly, the referees went upstairs to check that there was no foul play in the build-up to the try.

With both sides on tenter hooks, the referee finally confirmed the score, sending the Lions bench into meltdown.

It was a brilliant comeback from the Lions, who just edged a gallant Wallabies side at the end, bringing on their forward reinforcements at just the right time.

Despite the scoreline, the Wallabies were brilliant in the first-half, with Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and James Slipper all starring for the hosts.

Stay with us as we’ll have all the fallout from the match, with Maro Itoje’s reaction coming right up!

We’ve got seven minutes left to go on the clock and the Lions have some good field position in the Australian half.

The Wallabies have been brilliant defensively today, forcing Andy Farrell’s side to make multiple unforced errors.

But the Lions need to be clinical if they want to win the match and the series.

The Lions have a scrum on Australia’s 10m line on the left side of the pitch.

Meanwhile, I’ve just seen Will Stuart swapping his left boot out for Tadhg Furlong’s left boot on the touchline. He

He’s currently playing with odd boots on…

Dan Biggar has just summed up this Test match perfectly.

‘We spoke last week after the game and we said a Lions Test series shouldn’t feel like it did after last week,’ he said to Sky Sports.

This is the game 26-24, both sides emptying the tank and their benches – this is what Lions series are all about.

‘A really special evening here.’

Owen Farrell and Blair Kinghorn have come on and the Saracens play-maker is straight into the action.

He steps out of his line to tackle Wallabies forward Langi Gleeson, but gets his head on the wrong side and is bounced off the tackle. Thankfully, the England star is OK to continue, but it was a brutal crunch of a contact.

Meanwhile, the Lions have made their way back up to Australia’s five-metre line but turn over possession at a crucial moment.

They have 15 minutes left to win this match, but Australia are fighting back against the tourists.

What a try. Bundee Aki charges upfield to set up an attack inside the Wallabies’ 22.

The ball comes out wide and James Lowe brilliantly draws the man to sent the ball wide to the Irish flanker.

Tadhg Beirne ploughs his way over the try line to put the Lions two points behind.

Giant dice forfeits, singing along to Status Quo… and chats about VAT! Nik Simon takes us behind what REALLY goes on in the Lions’ camp Down Under…

Just as Chris was saying, Farrell has sought to rejuvenate his pack.

Ellis Genge joins the action while huge cheers go up from the masses of Welsh fans inside the MCG as Jac Morgan takes to the field in place of Tom Curry.

Irish second-row James Ryan is also on the pitch for Ollie Chessum.

The Lions scrum has largely gone well tonight, which suggests that the decision to promote Andrew Porter into the starting front row was a smart ploy.

However, now that giant Wallaby lock Will Skelton has gone off, it makes sense to unleash Ellis Genge as soon as possible. The visitors need a fresh spark of inspiration and the rampaging Bristolian could be just the man to provide it off the bench.

Will Skelton has left the field and looks to be in some discomfort.

Skelton has been superb for the Wallabies so far, with the towering second row dominating at the contact in the first-half.

He was making his comeback from a calf injury today, but, as he left the field, he cut a dejected figure, appearing to look down at his leg.

That will no doubt be a worrying sign for Australia.

Jeremy Williams comes on in his place.

Here’s that outstanding piece of play from Joseph Suaalii to set up Tom Wright for the Wallabies in the first-half…

Not a great start from the Lions in this second-half.

Despite gaining field position, they manage to lose the ball once again after making their way into Australia’s half.

Tadhg Beirne uncharacteristically knocks the ball on after going into contact and Australia win back possession. They kick for field position and send the ball way back into their own half.

However, Irish fly-half Hugo Keenan is there and he produces a moment of magic, tapping the ball back in play just as it looked like it was about to cross the touchline.

He saves the Lions from having to defend a line-out on their own five-metre line, booting the ball back downfield. But the Wallabies have again started the better side, pinning the Lions back inside their own 22.

Earlier in the week, Maro Itoje insisted that his side were not underestimating this Australia side, who are seeking revenge after last week’s defeat at the Suncorp Stadium.

Check out the latest episode here!

Jonny Sexton, just speaking to Sky Sports, has given his verdict on the match.

‘We gave them too much access in the first-half,’ the former Ireland fly-half explains.

Meanwhile, I’ve just seen Andy Farrell laying down the law in the dressing room.

There’s no doubt the Lions coach will be telling his side they need to be more physical in the contact and cut out the silly mistakes.

We’re back underway here at the MCG!

Crazy half. Utterly bonkers. The Lions were a rabble after half an hour, but once Tommy Freeman came back on and they had 15 players on the field again, they regained some shape and cohesion. Good luck to the coaches who have quarter of an hour to make sense of that, knowing that the match is in the balance and the series is on a knife-edge.

I’m just catching my breath. Australia blew the Lions away in that opening 30 minutes with James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright all touching down for the hosts with three brilliant tries.

The Wallabies, bolstered by the returns of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, have been brilliant in the contact, dominating the Lions going forward.

The Lions have been errant with penalties too and haven’t looked like they’ve been completely at the races today, with Tommy Freeman also being shown a yellow card after Slipper crossed over.

But just as Australia were looking like they might run away with the match, a brilliant pass from Jack Conan set Tom Curry up for a score in the corner, while Huw Jones, in for Garry Ringrose this week, used his brute force to power his way over the tryline for a second late score.

Andy Farrell’s side look comfortable and dangerous in the Australia 22, but they must cut out the silly penalties.

I can barely keep up here!

It’s Huw Jones who battles his way through the defence from just five metres out and, while carrying two defenders with him, he barrels his way over the try line to turn the tide back in the Lions’ favour!

Tom Curry shows off some impressive footwork to dance around Gordon on the wing and touch down for a try to cut the deficit to just 13 points.

It’s a great pass out wide from his back-row partner Jack Conan who takes the ball as the first receiver and shifts the play out wide to Curry on the wing.

Russell can’t convert, so the score remains 23-10.

The Lions have been completely swept away by the Wallabies. Joe Schmidt’s defiant side are here to fight and they have taken a commanding 23-5 lead in the match.

First James Gordon crosses over, sneaking his way through a gap in the Lions’ defence from just five metres out.

Then Tom Wright is released by Joseph Suaalii to run in from long range and put the Lions 18 points down.

The Lions really need to get Bundee Aki into the game here to help them build a platform to attack from.

That last few minutes was alarming. The Lions are in a mess at the moment; chronic lack of intensity and organisation. They need leadership and a real up-lift in energy and physicality soon, or this game could get away from them in a hurry.

Prop forward James Slipper has bundled his way over, to score his fourth international try in 146 caps.

It’s a brilliant try for the hosts who crashed their way up to the tryline, with Len Ikitau appearing to just fall short of the tryline.

With the Lions defence in disarray, Slipper takes the ball off the back of the ruck, gets his body position under the defenders and drives over for a brilliant try.

Meanwhile, things have gone from bad to worse for the Lions, as Tommy Freeman has been shown a yellow card!

The risk of opting for a 6-2 bench split has just been exposed after the Wallabies were forced into an early change.

An injury to Harry Potter has led to replacement scrum-half Tate McDermott being deployed on the wing, which is far from ideal with almost an hour of this match remaining.

Sheehan takes the tap and sprints full pelt at the Wallabies defence from five metres out.

The Ireland star leaps his way over the Australian defenders on his way to scoring, but the Aussies are fuming after the hooker left the ground.

In rugby union, players are not allowed to jump into tackles in open play but there is a small caveat to the rule when scoring a try.

Some of the Wallabies players were left remonstrating with referee Piardi claiming ‘he jumped’ after the try was awarded.

However players can leap while scoring a try.

‘You are allowed to jump in the act of scoring a try,’ referee Piardi explained back to the Aussies.

Tempers are flaring here as Australia think the ball may have been dropped on the line, and the officials don’t look convinced either.

And the referees aren’t convinced either.

Jack Conan bundles his way over the try line but the ball is dislodged in the process.

Now Italian referee is Andrea Piardi is giving a dressing down to both captains, after both sides scuffled following the moment.

Despite missing out on the try, the Lions have a five-metre penalty…

The Aussies are making the Lions pay for their indiscipline with Tom Curry being penalised for handling the ball at a ruck.

Lynagh steps up again and slots the ball through the posts again, from further out this time to give the hosts the lead.

He is certainly enjoying a much better match so far as opposed to last week.

But there’s still a long way to go in this match. Here’s how the Lions will try and target the young fly-half…

We’re three minutes in and Skelton has already made three carries, bulldozing his way through the Lions’ defence.

And the hosts have gotten off to a perfect start, crashing the ball upfield to win a penalty in front of the posts.

Tom Lynagh converts and that will be a big boost in confidence for the young No 10.

We’re underway here at the MCG. The Lions kick-off to the hosts and the ball goes straight out for a line-out.

The atmosphere inside the MCG is incredible right now…

Australia boss Joe Schmidt has revealed to Sky Sports why the Wallabies were late arriving at the MCG for tonight’s clash.

We were about 15 minutes late because you couldn’t drive very far in the traffic that is indicative of the crowd that is gathering. It’s a massive crowd, a huge venue and a massive night.

The players are conscious of that and all they can do is put their best foot forward. They have trained well during the week and, off the back of that, hopefully they will be right in the contest. We need to be a little bit sharper and smarter around the contestable parts of the game.

I feel massive pressure but I’m pragmatic enough to know we’ve worked hard during the week to get the players prepared. Now they will go out and represent their country well.’

We’re two minutes away from kick-off and the MCG has erupted into a cauldron of noise and lights.

Approximately 95,000 fans are in the house tonight for the second Test and the atmosphere is building as the players prepare to run out onto the field.

Here’s a few of the Lions soaking in every moment ahead of the warm-up.

Will Skelton lines up in the Wallabies pack tonight and the man-mountain will pose a huge threat to the Lions tonight.

However, the La Rochelle star admits he wouldn’t be here today without the support of his family.

The towering second-row has fought his way back from a calf injury to be fit for tonight’s game, but took a moment to heap praise on his wife, Kate, for helping him throughout his career.

‘(I can’t thank her enough)…they (wives) stop their (own) careers and they jump on your back,’ he told Code Sports.

‘It’s such a special honour to play for Australia, but you’ve got to recognise that our girls are the ones who are putting us there…without them the whole place would burn down.’

Read the full story here…

Check out the latest episode here!

It’s been a big week of rugby union in Melbourne this week, with a British and Irish Lions Legends side taking on the Classic Wallabies at the AAMI Park, just across the road from the MCG.

It was a hugely entertaining match, but there was ultimately woe for the tourists who were beaten 41-31 by Australia.

Legends, including Mike Tindall, Andy Powell and Alex Cuthbert all turned out for the Lions side. Meanwhile, Aussie icons Matt Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Drew Mitchell donned the green and gold jersey for the hosts.

Australia ran through some brilliant tries against the Lions, but there was a hilarious moment where Australia star Kurtley Beale poked fun at his good mate Mitchell.

The former Australian winger broke through the Lions’ defence and charged up the field. But just 20m out from the try line, Mitchell appeared to pull up with a hamstring injury.

Beale, who was on commentary, had no sympathy for his former team-mate, breaking down in stitches after he pulled up.

‘He’s done his hammy! He’s done his hammy!’ Beale shouted while ruthlessly laughing at his team-mate.

Meanwhile, Tindall and his wife Zara have been enjoying a big vacation Down Under.

The couple took a trip over to Hamilton Island last week having also been spotted at the Accor Stadium in Sydney watching Queensland’s State of Origin III victory against New South Wales.

Check out what they’ve been upto here…

It’s been a busy week of action at the MCG. It hosted an AFL match between the Hawks and Carlton on Thursday night, with a good contingent of Lions players here to enjoy the show.

The game pulled in a crowd of more than 50,000, which is pretty impressive for a regular league match on a school night. AFL is king here.

Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of tonight’s second Test after self-reporting concussion symptoms earlier in the week.

As part of the concussion protocols, Lions boss Andy Farrell was forced to remove the Irish centre from the squad, despite having been picked to start in midfield tonight.

It is understood that Ringrose approached the Lions boss after Thursday’s training session, just before he was set to announce his team. It means he has now missed both the first and second Tests due to the head injury.

The 30-year-old suffered a concussion injury during the Lions’ victory against the Brumbies on July 9, and had returned to feature during the Tourists’ match against First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne.

He played 16 minutes during that game, but was forced to rule himself out of tonight’s clash against the Wallabies.

Now, Owen Farrell has spoken out to praise the Irishman for his ‘selfless’ act.

‘It’s head-related again,’ Farrell said.

‘It was literally as I was walking off the field, he came to me, and once it’s mentioned, that’s that.

‘There was no incident. He was feeling good, well in advance of Tuesday, and fit and ready to play.

‘No incident through the game at all, nothing yesterday and nothing this morning at all, but with these types of things, players are getting very good at telling the truth of how they feel, so it was a no-brainer to make the change straight away.’

Farrell was asked if this was an ‘unbelievably selfless act’, replying: ‘It is actually.

‘I thought exactly [that] the minute he mentioned it because it’s tough to do. It’s very easy to keep it to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very big of him and the right thing to do, 100 per cent. For the team as well, not just for Garry.’

As forecast, rain is now coming down here at the MCG, so this is bound to turn into an arm-wrestle contest.

If it stays like this, the ball is going to spend a lot of time in the air as both teams will test each other out with an aerial barrage, as well as with heavy use of lineout drives.

This is some stadium. Approximately 95,000 fans are expected to enter the MCG tonight to watch the Lions take on the Wallabies.

And Lions skipper Maro Itoje has warned his team to expect a ferocious Australia side, as they look to bounce back from last week’s defeat.

Earlier in the week, the second-row insisted his side were ‘not playing a pub team’.

‘The Wallabies are a proper team, I played them last year in the autumn and we lost to them when we were supposed to win.

‘They are a team that can punish you if you don’t approach the game properly.’

Kick-off is just 20 minutes away!

Andy Farrell has opted to make some big changes to his side ahead of the second Test.

Bundee Aki, Ollie Chessum and Andrew Porter have all come into the starting line-up for tonight’s second Test, with Sione Tuipulotu, Joe McCarthy and Ellis Genge all making way.

Genge will remain in the matchday squad as a replacement, with Owen Farrell also being called up as a replacement.

Huw Jones and Aki will start as Farrell’s centre partnership after Garry Ringrose ruled himself out after suffering concussion symptoms.

Menawhile, Blair Kinghorn returns to the replacements alongside James Ryan and Jac Morgan.

‘We have put ourselves in a good position after the first Test, but we know there will be a massive reaction from this Wallaby team,’ Lions boss Andy Farrell said ahead of the match.

‘Everyone saw the quality they have in Brisbane and we know we will have to be a lot better than we were last week.

‘The opportunity to play in front of 100,000 supporters at the MCG, one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, is what makes Lions tours unique and special.

‘We know our Lions supporters will get behind the team on Saturday and create a fantastic atmosphere.’

It appears that the Wallabies arrived almost half-an-hour late after being stuck in gridlock in Melbourne. That is a major logistical lapse for the hosts and a huge surprise given how their head coach, Joe Schmidt, is renowned for being so meticulous.

He will be furious about a delay which is bound to impact on their preparations leading up to kick-off.

So, the big news today is that Australia are set to have several big stars returning to action.

Joe Schmidt has made three changes to his squad following last week’s defeat, with flanker Rob Valetini coming in at blindside flanker in place of Nick Champion de Crespigny.

Meanwhile, David Porecki, who was unavailable for the opening game of the Test series due to a concussion injury, returns to play hooker in place of Matt Faessler.

The big news, though, is that towering second-row star Will Skelton has recovered from a calf injury and will start at No 5 for today’s match.

The 33-year-old second row stands at 6ft 8in and weighs around 23st. And the La Rochelle forward’s physicality combined with his brilliance at the break down will make him a huge threat to the Lions on Saturday evening.

‘He is a fantastic player and a talisman for any side he plays in. He adds a sense of dynamism, size and power to the team,’ Lions skipper Maro Itoje said, speaking on the Aussie lock-forward.

‘Due to the size of him and his strengths, Will presents different challenges to your traditional lock.’

Mail Sport’s Chris Foy has been doing the analysis and here’s why the tourists should be terrified of the giant second-row.

What would a win mean today for Joe Schmidt and his side?

‘I would never be outcome-focused,’ the Australia coach said.

‘But this would be special and it would be special for this group. I think it would accelerate a little bit of their growth as well in terms of gaining confidence.’

Here’s the full Wallabies squad to take on the Lions at the MCG…

Here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Lions have won the toss and will bat first. Only joking – the Lions will kick off.

Finn Russell first out on the pitch to start practising his shots at goal while seagulls swirl around the upper reaches of this vast stadium.

There is an electric atmosphere in Melbourne tonight as the British and Irish Lions and the Wallabies are set to clash at the Melbourne Cricket Club.

Andy Farrell’s side took a 1-0 lead in the series following their 27-19 victory against the hosts at the Suncorp Stadium Last week.

The Lions were dominant in the opening 20 minutes of the match, and perhaps that is where the game was won. Scotland star Sione Tuipulotu and English flanker Tom Curry both crossed over in the first half, while Max Jorgensen pulled a score back for the Wallabies.

Despite the statement win in the opening game of the series, there was plenty for the Lions to work on coming into this second Test, with the Wallabies set to welcome back several big hitters for this match.

And Australia boss Joe Schmidt believes his side are taking plenty of confidence from last week’s defeat into tonight’s match.

‘The squad has recovered well after a very physical first Test and the week’s preparation here in Melbourne has allowed us a bit more time together,’ Schmidt said.

‘We took some confidence from the second half last week, but we know we’ll need to improve further against a Lions team that will bring plenty of fire to the contest on Saturday night.’

Kick-off is less than an hour away, so stay with us as we’ll be bringing you all the latest news, commentary and analysis from the second Test.