38 mins. Owen Farrell is on due to Freeman picking up an injury. He will assume the 12 position, and this pushes Aki to outside centre and Jones to the wing.
Australia v British & Irish Lions: third Test – live | Lions tour 2025
Published: 2025-08-02 11:49:24 | Views: 9
Key events
36 mins. The latest scrum sees the Lions get a nudge on for the first time and on the penalty advantage then move into the Australia half. The make their way into the 22 via some Conan graft and the driving carries commence, but Hooper gets over the ball to secure a penalty turnover.
Once again, Australia do a better job of defending their line compares to last week.
34 mins. Tom Lynagh needs an HIA and so Ben Donaldson replaces him, temporarily for now.
PENALTY! Australia 8 - 0 Lions (Tom Lynagh)
33 mins. In the midst of the unconvincing attack the Lions were penalised at the ruck. It’s bang in front and Wilson tells him to slot it.
31 mins. The Lions secure possession at the scrum and the ball the flung to Aki, but the big centre can’t hold onto it in the wet and under pressure in the tackle. Australia win the scrum of their own and as the rain intensifies once more they reach double figures in phases but are broadly going nowhere other than backward.
28 mins. A big call from the Harry Wilson as he tells Lynagh to put the ball into the corner from a very kickable for points position. The ball is won at the lineout, but the Lions tie the ball up in the maul and win a scrum. That feels like three points lost for the Wallabies.
A tricky 5m scrum exit needed from the tourists here.
26 mins. Australia move forward into the Lions 22 and as the advantage is called over the phases and carries continue. Two rucks later the ref awards another penalty to the home side as the Lions defence frantically works to repel the runners.
Nic White is doing an incredible job of leading his pack around the field, all rhythms passing and go forward.
24 mins. When the dust settles the Lions win a lineout and fire the ball to Russell who drops it forward. Another great scrum from the Aussies wins a penalty but they will play on with the advantage in the bank as the ball is out and moving.
22 mins. A full on pasty-fest has set off around the Lions 22! Nic White shoved Dan Sheehan near a ruck, which set off a bit of a wrestle and that was all the invitation Will Skelton needed to wade in, including pulling James Ryan’s scrum-cap. This set of at least three splinter rammies all about the place.
All very good fun, let’s be honest. The upshot of it is Skelton penalised for being a massive nuisance.
21 mins. The Lions try to get some go-forward via a trademark Aki carry, but he is swamped by gold defenders who hold him up, wrap the ball and win a maul scrum. This is then backed up by a big shove by the Wallabies pack winning a penalty.
18 mins. From lineout possession stolen from a Sheehan throw, Australia work the all in midfield with some decent hands in the circumstances. Right up to the point an errant pass is fumbled forward by Lynagh.
16 mins. The rain is now almost comical in its ridiculousness; like a damp net curtain draped across the screen. This leads to multiple handling errors and neither side doing a great deal for a few minutes and possessions.
13 mins. Possession is claimed at the lineout and as the phases come from the Lions, Australia drift offside. Sheehan opts for a tap and go, which is worked left but covered well by the home defenders. Gibson-Park moves the ball back towards midfield where Freeman is a little isolated and this allows Pietsch to clamp on and win a penalty for the Wallabies.
A big moment for Australia as last week they could repel nothing when the Lions entered their 22.
10 mins. The tourists have their first couple of minutes of possession that stalls a bit around the midfield. Russell has seen enough and puts a probing kick towards the right corner that Wright has to gather and take into touch.
TRY! Australia 5 - 0 Lions (Dylan Pietsch)
8 mins. Nic Wright runs to the right from the base of the scrum and sets off repeated phases of short passes and carries from the forwards, pulverising the Lions defence. Finally the ball is fed to Suaalii who does a fabulous job to hold the defence and float a pass to Pietsch. The winger goes aerial to dive and finish in the left corner.
A brilliantly worked try from Australia in the dreadful conditions.
Lynagh misses the conversion.
5 mins. A linout is won by the Lions in gold territory, but the first breakdown offers a chance for Pollard to redeem himself with some brilliant ruck work to win a turnover penalty.
Tom Lynagh finds a very good touch and as the ball comes left it’s drilled towards the corner by a Wright grubber that forces Keenan to carry it touch in-goal. The Wallabies have a 5m attacking scrum platform as the torrential rain falls.
The officials for this third test, by the way:
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Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
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Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Andrea Piardi (Italy)
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TMO (Television Match Official): Marius Jonker (South Africa)
2 mins. Billy Pollard is back in the Aussie side at hooker and his first action of the match is to chuck his lineout throw in the Lions half to James Ryan. The ball is cleared by Russell and a couple of phases later Skelton is penalised for hands in the ruck.
Kick Off!
The match is underway after Nic White boots it deep into Lions territory.
The teams are out, slightly behind schedule, we await the Australia anthem and then a ball will be kicked to commence proceedings.
“Even if you feel a repeat of last week’s epic is less likely, I still hope Australia come out with the same power and spirit this game.” ventures Guy Hornsby. “There’s a lot been talked about the ‘easy’ nature of a potential 3-0 but hubris is always lurking, and both sides will want to take that to heart. I suspect it’ll be close until the benches empty, but as a Lions fan, I still want a great, close game. There’s no joy in a thumping away win when you love the wider game.”
Final words are being delivered in the changing rooms by the coaches as players zip up their tracksuit tops and prepare to head out into the damp night. The obligatory hype man is on the mic in the stadium and it won’t be long until we’re underway.
Euan Clark emails from, I presume, Sydney.
“Weather has been like this for the past three days. Few minutes of torrential rain, ten mins of drizzle then clear for about 30 mins, so expect two or three periods of soaking over the game.”
As we head closer to kick off, the heavens have opened and it is absolutely HONKING it down in Sydney. This will place even greater importance on the kicking game from the half-backs and the returning Nic White in particular will be earning his corn.
Pre match reading
How important is the whitewash to Lions fans? And for Australians, is a win today essential to the journey of this squad with the Rugby Championship incoming? All this and more can be shared with me on the email.
Teams
Joe Schmidt is without last week’s difference maker Rob Valetini at flank and prop Allan Alaalatoa, who are replaced by Tom Hooper and Taniela Tupou. In the backs, Nic White returns at scrum-half for his farewell test appearace, while Dylan Pietsch replaces the injured Harry Potter on the wing.
The Lions have had a late worry over Tommy Freeman’s fitness, but as of writing he’s still in the line-up. Blair Kinghorn replaces James Lowe on the wing and James Ryan starts in the second row ahead of Ollie Chessum. Andy Farrell has decided on a 6-2 bench, with Ben Earl returning to the squad.
Australia
Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Lynagh, Nic White, James Slipper, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson.
Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
British & Irish Lions
Hugo Keenan, Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Blair Kinghorn, Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell.
Preamble
The West Wing’s Toby Ziegler once stated: “They’ll like us when we win!” In the show, this was a questionable justification for yet another US war, but the sentiment probably sits well with the Lions head coach.
It is oft repeated that Andy Farrell is a winner and this has broadly been true of his career (if you discount Ireland progressing beyond the quarter finals of a World Cup; but you can’t expect one man – however impressive – to solve that particular historical psychodrama). With the series is already won hopes were raised of something resembling a banter team selection for Lions in this cherry-on-the-top third test. To expect this is to misunderstand Farrell and his history.
His 13 years as a player at Wigan delivered 15 trophies in their continued domination of rugby league from the 1980s. Key to this domination was the culture of his hometown club. Rugby league was never a fully professional sport, with players working to supplement the modest income from the game and Wigan was the first team to change that. Wigan made the move to full professionalism in the middle of Thatcher’s decade and ushered the period of their boot relentlessly stamping on the face of the sport for the best part of two decades. No one else had the money, the desire or the sheer bloody-mindedness to pull it off.
Was it fair? Debatable. Was it fun for anyone else? I can speak from personal experience as a non-Wiganer it absolutely was not. Was it successful? Hell, yeah!
This unyielding approach arrives in Sydney in a few hours, because they’ll like us when we win.
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