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THE CELEBRATIONS CONTINUED in Sydney on Sunday. Having toasted their series success with their families and friends in Melbourne, the Lions kicked on after the short flight north yesterday.
Monday is a day for much-needed recovery, with training and media obligations shelved. After the rain and cooler temperatures of Melbourne, the sun on the skin in Sydney has been very welcome.
It’s back to work tomorrow though, with Andy Farrell’s men determined to finish this series with a third win.
The last time the Lions enjoyed a series whitewash was back in 1927 when they won all four of their Tests in Argentina. So it truly would be a slice of history if they can complete the clean sweep at the 83,500-capacity Accor Stadium on Saturday.
It will be intriguing to see how Farrell selects for this one. “Everyone wants to play,” said out-half Finn Russell on Saturday night after the Lions had clinched the series.
Farrell is usually not one for giving out starts for sentimental reasons. He is more aware than anyone of how precious a Lions Test cap is. If someone has earned the jersey, Farrell will be reticent to hand it to someone else for the sake of giving them a chance.
Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen, who missed the second Test with foot injuries, have been hoping to return for this third clash with the Wallabies, while it’s still unclear how Garry Ringrose is recovering from the effects of his concussion. Even if those Irishmen aren’t available, Farrell has plenty of options to consider. A player as good as Josh van der Flier has yet to feature in the Tests.
But it’s clear that the Lions won’t be treating this weekend as a bit of fun before flying home. They set a target of winning the series 3-0 and Farrell will be holding them to the highest standards.
“I think if we can make it a 3-0 series, that’s amazing,” said Russell. Everyone’s going to be gunning for that. There might be changes next week to the team, I don’t know what Faz is going to do. But I think it will be a brilliant occasion for everyone playing.”
While the Lions nurse their hangovers today following all the celebrations, there are plenty of Australians still wallowing in the misery of the narrow second Test defeat.
The fallout has been bitter in some quarters. Joe Schmidt was livid about the final clearout decision that went against the Wallabies and many in the Aussie media have a similar view of Jac Morgan’s actions.
“ROBBED,” read the headline on the back page of the Sunday Telegraph, while pundits like former Wallabies centre Morgan Tirinui have been demanding an explanation from World Rugby.
Not that this stuff is limited just to the media. Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has publicly backed Schmidt’s comments about the last-gasp decision and demanded that World Rugby respond to the questions about Morgan’s clearout.
Rather sadly, this focus on a refereeing decision has dominated the discourse after a thrilling Test match, one of the best in Lions history. The Wallabies were brilliant for a large part of the game at a packed MCG but there hasn’t been much discussion of that in Australia since. Most eyes have simply been on Andrea Piardi and his refereeing team.
It took just 30 seconds of today’s Wallabies press conference with Nick Frost and Max Jorgensen for what some in Australia are calling “the incident” to come up.
When the chat moved on, the Wallabies pair underlined their determination to finish this series with a bang and make their fans proud.
“We’re keen to rip in,” said second row Frost. “It’s a massive match. You’re going out there and playing in front of your friends, family, for your nation and on top of that, playing against the Lions – it’s a massive game.”
The Wallabies are up for it, so as the Lions get back into training at the Shore School tomorrow, there is still business to get done in this series.
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