ANALYSIS: Hugo Keenan’s Lions-winning try and the agony and thrill of sport

Sun, Jul 27, 2025, 3:45 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson

It’s 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, and Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and captain Harry Wilson are despondent after a last-minute loss.

The British & Irish Lions are on a completely different wavelength, belting out tunes and revelling in a win that will go down in history.

Get your tickets to see the Wallabies tackle the British & Irish Lions in Sydney on Saturday.

In a cruel twist, both share a wall as Schmidt and Wilson take question after question about the final moments of the match amid the noise coming from the Lions' dressing room.

Wilson is distraught, as is Schmidt, who is similarly upset after the Lions took a 29-26 victory at MCG, sealing the series for the visitors.

“It’s so painful. I’m so proud of the team and how we bounced back and played some terrific footy.” Wilson said.

"To not get the result and go into [a] series decider really hurts everyone."

Meanwhile, Hugo Keenan is one of the few men who will drink for free across all four countries after his 79th-minute winner.

The fullback gets paraded around the ground with chants of ‘Hugo’ ringing throughout the 'G.

Coach Andy Farrell and captain Maro Itoje front the media first, with the songs picking up halfway through.

It’s the classic Euro party songs that the Lions have incorporated players' names into, with "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and "Sweet Caroline" amongst others being heard.

“You see what you guys are making me miss out on,” Itoje smiles and remarks.

It goes on across both press conferences, with Down Under in the background as Wilson talks about using this feeling as motivation to avoid a clean sweep.

“Any opportunity to put on this gold jersey is really special for our group and it's a test match at home, at the stadium, so it's massive for us,” Wilson said.

“We want to get a win like we want to do every single test match. Obviously, it's not a series decider, but it's a test match for Australia, so it's massive for us.”

The one you feel for is Len Ikitau, who was one-on-one with Keenan as he finds himself sliding before being unable to stop the fullback from scoring.

Ikitau has been one of Australia’s finest servants in the 2020s and one of the most consistent centres in the world.

He’s feeling the effects of the result more than most.

“I think they got a bit of a roll on and a little line break there. It was just about scrambling. Carlo obviously got into that breakdown. Frosty got a little bit tighter, and I just didn't react quickly enough,” Ikitau said about his recollection of the final moments.

“I think we put ourselves in a position to win there. I wasn't proud of the way I played tonight. I fell off a few tackles and I'm very disappointed in that.

“I pride myself on good defence. I'm disappointed there where I fell off a few tackles. I think next week's another opportunity for us."

Whichever way the result went, it was going to be a famous victory.

For the Lions, it’s their greatest comeback victory ever on one of the biggest stages for one of their Tests, potentially ever, depending on who you ask regarding how many squeezed into Ellis Park in 1955.

The roar of the mass of travelling fans tells you what it means as the Lions’ partners and families take the field afterwards to celebrate. They go deep into the night and drag plastic chairs onto the middle of the field as the win cements the likes of Keenan, Itoje and Tadhg Beirne as Lions icons.

As for the Wallabies, the fight shown was something special, forcing them to play scrum-half Tate McDermott on the wing for 60 minutes after Harry Potter's hamstring injury in a week when a plethora of critics had written them off.

The first 30 minutes were comfortably their best of the year, and maybe under Schmidt and a couple of predecessors past.

Will Skelton played the type of game that has earned him the reputation as one of the best locks in the world, while Rob Valetini was at his brilliant best.

However, when the whistle sounded, the Wallabies found themselves in a completely flipped script from nine months earlier in Twickenham.

Unfortunately, it's a very familiar situation, echoing back to the 2022 Bledisloe Cup, held down the road at Docklands, and other prominent nightmares.

The thrill and agony of sport.

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