History is made as the Lions convincingly beat the Aussies to win first series since 1997
The British and Irish Lions power their way in to the history books after thrashing a bemused Aussie side 16-41.
The week leading up to today's deciding match had been filled with uncertainty, debates and a whole lot of doubt. Many were criticising Gatland for dropping Lions legend Brian O'Driscoll, these critics were also not impressed by the fact that 10 Welsh players would be in the starting XV to face the Wallabies - especially since Wales had not beaten the men from Down Under in a very long time. If Gatland's men won the match today he would be seen as one of the best rugby coaches in the world, lose and his decision to drop O'Driscoll would come back to haunt him for the rest of his career. For the 40,000 Lions supporters in the ANZ stadium there was only going to be one winner - even without an Irish legend in the centre.
The men in red came out of the blocks with such force that nobody could quite believe that within less than a minute of the final test commencing the Lions were up 0-7. Was this going to be the Lions' day after all? Australian favourite, Will Genia, knocked the ball on with the first kick off of the game and from a strong scrum and a powerful run from captain, Alun Wyn Jones, Alex Corbisiero managed an impressive roll to score what would be the first of four Lions tries. This rush of power early on from the Lions put the home side on the back foot with players such as the unbreakable Richard Hibbard putting in unbelievably hard hits that saw Australian rugby legend George Smith being taken off the pitch in the first four minutes with a concussion. A penalty as a result of great commitment in the break down resulted in the Lions finding themselves 10 points up with only six minutes on the clock.
One area where the Lions really showed their strength and what gave them a decisive edge of Australia was their scrum. The scrum had been steady but not outstanding throughout the tournament but today Jones, Hibbard and Corbisiero along with the rest of the pack, dominated the set piece. This dominance resulted in the Lions finding themselves even further ahead with the score line 3-19 with 24 minutes gone. After numerous warnings from the referee, the continuous pressure in the scrum led to Australian forward, Ben Alexander being sent to the sin bin.
The Lions would have been disappointed not to capitalise on the fact that their opposition was a man down before the end of the first half and even more disappointed not to have kept the men from Oz away from the whitewash as fly half O'Connor scored under the posts to make the score 10-19 on the 41 minute mark. Now Australia were back in the game and memories of the final test against the Aussies in 2001 came flooding back in to people's minds. Were the Australians going to force themselves back in to the game by draining every last ounce of energy they had in their bodies until the bitter end as they so often do? If so, were the Lions going to be able to stop them?
As the second half began the Lions seemed to have lost the fire that burnt so brightly in their eyes for the first 40 minutes and within four minutes of the second half commencing, the Aussies were back to within 3 points as the score read 16-19.
Only a few minutes after the less than satisfying first few minutes for the Lions, Sexton reminded the supporters why the Lions are held in such high esteem with a chip over the Australian defencive line and a great pick up and offload by George North to fellow Welshman Jonathan Davies - the Lions were roaring once more. This roar reached fever pitch with 57 minutes on the clock as Leinster man, Jonathan Sexton, cruised over the line for the Lions' second try. With Halfpenny successfully converting, the score line stretched to a 13 point difference. Within the span of eleven minutes another two tries were added to Sexton's. After a fantastic sequence of side-stepping and a beautiful offload by player of the series, Leigh Halfpenny, Gogzila aka George North, thundered over the line with such grace that tomorrow his picture will inevitably be on the front and back pages of newspapers all over the world. The Lions' fourth try came just four minutes after North's and it saw Brian O'Driscoll's replacement, Jamie Roberts, showing the world why he was picked in favour of his Irish team mate as he ruthlessly smashed through the Aussie defence to finish the game in style.
Halfpenny missed the incredibly hard conversion but the man from Gorseinon displayed a performance, not only in today's test but throughout the tour, that will be remembered as one of the best full back performance seen in the history of the Lions. After a fantastic Six Nations performance and having being awarded the Player of the Series award, Halfpenny is now seen as one of, if not the, best fullback and goal kicker in the world. It looked as though there were four Halfpenny's running around the pitch as it seemed too unbelievable that one player could cover so much ground and to be involved in so much attacking and defending play. A 10/10 performance from Neil Jenkins' prodigy.
With just under ten minutes to go and with the score 16-41, the Lions coaches began to celebrate as Robert Howley and the rest of the background staff began to congratulate each other with hugs that were overflowing with joy, passion and a feeling of achievement. Gatland, a man of very few emotions, was even seen looking in total disbelief as Roberts scored the last try of the game. Water boys, physios, players and coaches began to smother the field with congratulatory hugs with many a shoulder being dampened by the tears of giant Jamie Roberts.
Delilah boomed through the stadium's speakers as players lifted the Tom Richards' Cup and thanked the tens of thousands of supporters that had travelled half way around the world for their support. O'Driscoll walked around the field with the biggest smile out of all the players, a smile that no longer showed disappointment but instead euphoria as 'Lions series winner' can now be added to his never ending list of achievements. A true rugby legend and gentleman. A big hug between himself and his 2009 centre partner, Jamie Roberts, showed the camaraderie within the team and the sportsmanship between the two friends.
Try scorer, George North, stated that it was fitting "to finish the season with a great win" but one imagines that it will be a long time before this squad of around 40 players will realise what they have achieved. They have achieved something that very few Northen hemisphere rugby players have ever achieved. Their names will go down in history as one of the greatest teams of players in rugby history. After the Lions achieved a series victory in 1997 players such as English legend Dallaglio began to develop in to some of the best players to have ever played the game. With players such as North, Halfpenny, Corbisiero, and Gray in the squad it could be assumed that these will also follow the same path and become some of the future legends of the game.
An euphoric day, a historic day.
The week leading up to today's deciding match had been filled with uncertainty, debates and a whole lot of doubt. Many were criticising Gatland for dropping Lions legend Brian O'Driscoll, these critics were also not impressed by the fact that 10 Welsh players would be in the starting XV to face the Wallabies - especially since Wales had not beaten the men from Down Under in a very long time. If Gatland's men won the match today he would be seen as one of the best rugby coaches in the world, lose and his decision to drop O'Driscoll would come back to haunt him for the rest of his career. For the 40,000 Lions supporters in the ANZ stadium there was only going to be one winner - even without an Irish legend in the centre.
The men in red came out of the blocks with such force that nobody could quite believe that within less than a minute of the final test commencing the Lions were up 0-7. Was this going to be the Lions' day after all? Australian favourite, Will Genia, knocked the ball on with the first kick off of the game and from a strong scrum and a powerful run from captain, Alun Wyn Jones, Alex Corbisiero managed an impressive roll to score what would be the first of four Lions tries. This rush of power early on from the Lions put the home side on the back foot with players such as the unbreakable Richard Hibbard putting in unbelievably hard hits that saw Australian rugby legend George Smith being taken off the pitch in the first four minutes with a concussion. A penalty as a result of great commitment in the break down resulted in the Lions finding themselves 10 points up with only six minutes on the clock.
One area where the Lions really showed their strength and what gave them a decisive edge of Australia was their scrum. The scrum had been steady but not outstanding throughout the tournament but today Jones, Hibbard and Corbisiero along with the rest of the pack, dominated the set piece. This dominance resulted in the Lions finding themselves even further ahead with the score line 3-19 with 24 minutes gone. After numerous warnings from the referee, the continuous pressure in the scrum led to Australian forward, Ben Alexander being sent to the sin bin.
The Lions would have been disappointed not to capitalise on the fact that their opposition was a man down before the end of the first half and even more disappointed not to have kept the men from Oz away from the whitewash as fly half O'Connor scored under the posts to make the score 10-19 on the 41 minute mark. Now Australia were back in the game and memories of the final test against the Aussies in 2001 came flooding back in to people's minds. Were the Australians going to force themselves back in to the game by draining every last ounce of energy they had in their bodies until the bitter end as they so often do? If so, were the Lions going to be able to stop them?
As the second half began the Lions seemed to have lost the fire that burnt so brightly in their eyes for the first 40 minutes and within four minutes of the second half commencing, the Aussies were back to within 3 points as the score read 16-19.
Only a few minutes after the less than satisfying first few minutes for the Lions, Sexton reminded the supporters why the Lions are held in such high esteem with a chip over the Australian defencive line and a great pick up and offload by George North to fellow Welshman Jonathan Davies - the Lions were roaring once more. This roar reached fever pitch with 57 minutes on the clock as Leinster man, Jonathan Sexton, cruised over the line for the Lions' second try. With Halfpenny successfully converting, the score line stretched to a 13 point difference. Within the span of eleven minutes another two tries were added to Sexton's. After a fantastic sequence of side-stepping and a beautiful offload by player of the series, Leigh Halfpenny, Gogzila aka George North, thundered over the line with such grace that tomorrow his picture will inevitably be on the front and back pages of newspapers all over the world. The Lions' fourth try came just four minutes after North's and it saw Brian O'Driscoll's replacement, Jamie Roberts, showing the world why he was picked in favour of his Irish team mate as he ruthlessly smashed through the Aussie defence to finish the game in style.
Halfpenny missed the incredibly hard conversion but the man from Gorseinon displayed a performance, not only in today's test but throughout the tour, that will be remembered as one of the best full back performance seen in the history of the Lions. After a fantastic Six Nations performance and having being awarded the Player of the Series award, Halfpenny is now seen as one of, if not the, best fullback and goal kicker in the world. It looked as though there were four Halfpenny's running around the pitch as it seemed too unbelievable that one player could cover so much ground and to be involved in so much attacking and defending play. A 10/10 performance from Neil Jenkins' prodigy.
With just under ten minutes to go and with the score 16-41, the Lions coaches began to celebrate as Robert Howley and the rest of the background staff began to congratulate each other with hugs that were overflowing with joy, passion and a feeling of achievement. Gatland, a man of very few emotions, was even seen looking in total disbelief as Roberts scored the last try of the game. Water boys, physios, players and coaches began to smother the field with congratulatory hugs with many a shoulder being dampened by the tears of giant Jamie Roberts.
Delilah boomed through the stadium's speakers as players lifted the Tom Richards' Cup and thanked the tens of thousands of supporters that had travelled half way around the world for their support. O'Driscoll walked around the field with the biggest smile out of all the players, a smile that no longer showed disappointment but instead euphoria as 'Lions series winner' can now be added to his never ending list of achievements. A true rugby legend and gentleman. A big hug between himself and his 2009 centre partner, Jamie Roberts, showed the camaraderie within the team and the sportsmanship between the two friends.
Try scorer, George North, stated that it was fitting "to finish the season with a great win" but one imagines that it will be a long time before this squad of around 40 players will realise what they have achieved. They have achieved something that very few Northen hemisphere rugby players have ever achieved. Their names will go down in history as one of the greatest teams of players in rugby history. After the Lions achieved a series victory in 1997 players such as English legend Dallaglio began to develop in to some of the best players to have ever played the game. With players such as North, Halfpenny, Corbisiero, and Gray in the squad it could be assumed that these will also follow the same path and become some of the future legends of the game.
An euphoric day, a historic day.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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