A 79th minute try to Hugo Keenan has broken the hearts of Australian fans as the British & Irish Lions defeat the Wallabies 29-26.
Keenan dived over with 23 seconds to go in the game after a valiant fight from the Wallabies nearly levelled the series, leading for the majority of the game.
Get your tickets to see the Wallabies tackle the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne on Saturday.
The Irish fullback glided through the cover defence after the Lions marched into the 22.
The hosts’ calls for a high cleanout on Carlo Tizzano in the build up were waved away as the Lions clinch the series ahead of next Saturday’s finale in Sydney.
The 90,307 in attendance was a Lions record in Australia, with a large chunk of Lions fans fawning over Keenan after a remarkable comeback win.
The Wallabies started with a team full of intent as the injection of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton made a massive impact in a remarkable first 30 minutes.
They capitalised on some early ill-discipline from the Lions as Tom Lynagh quickly built a 6-0 lead after ten minutes.
Needing a response, the Lions were poised and kept the pressure on, with a desperate try-saver from James Slipper on Jack Conan stopping the Irish battering ram.
They couldn’t stop hooker Dan Sheehan, though, with the hooker continuing his impressive tour with the opening try of the game.
The loss of Harry Potter was costly for a Wallabies side that went in with only two back replacements, forcing Tate McDermott on the wing for 60 minutes.
This failed to deter the Wallabies, who were relentless with their carries and produced a stunning first half display.
It forced the Lions to infringe and when James Slipper barged over for the response, it led to Tommy Freeman going to the bin.
With all the running, a 50-22 from Tom Wright only accelerated their momentum, with Jake Gordon spying the space around the ruck and sprinting over the line.
Then up stepped Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, with the Wallabies' marquee man beating three defenders and putting Wright over for a sudden 23-5 lead.
Tom Curry stemmed the flow of gold points as the Lions marched back down the field for a nicely worked try, starting the comeback.
When Huw Jones crashed over three minutes before the break, the momentum had completely flipped as the Lions trailed by just six at half-time.
The hosts were able to control territory to start the second half, with Lynagh’s third penalty of the night proving some breathing room on the scoreboard.
But that was quickly eased as flanker Tadhg Beirne capitalised on some powerful Budee Aki breaks to score in the corner.
This set up a titanic tussle as the Wallabies tried to hold out the Lions, with the visitors’ scrum taking over the game.
They stopped a Lions chance on the 22 to force the knock-on with five minutes to go.
But they couldn’t stop one final burst as Keenan wrote himself into Lions folklore with a famous try.
British & Irish Lions 29 (Sheehan, Curry, Jones, Beirne, Keenan tries; Russell 2 cons) def Wallabies 26 (Slipper, Gordon, Wright tries; Lynagh con; Lynagh 3 pens)
