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The Wallabies have pulled off a miraculous second Test escape act to break British and Irish Lions hearts at Etihad Stadium and keep coach Robbie Deans in his job following a 16-15 victory.
Lions fans were poised to celebrate the end of a 16-year drought leading with radar boot Leigh Halfpenny lining up a match-winning 50m penalty attempt on fulltime but the Welsh fullback dramatically left it short.
It handed Australia an epic win and sends the nerve-wracking series into a decider at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium next Saturday night.
Highlighting the closeness between the two sides, it’s the second straight week a missed penalty at the death has cost the result.
Halfpenny had kicked five from six before then and had put the Lions into a 15-9 lead with 18 minutes left of the brutal encounter in front of a ground record crowd of 56,775.
Australia had appeared to pull the game out of the fire when James O’Connor, who again endured a mixed display at No.10, put Adam Ashley-Cooper over for the only try of the match with five minutes left.
Christian Lealiifano, who finished with four from four with the boot, coolly stepped up and slotted the angled conversion for the one-point lead.
The Wallabies had probed hard throughout but largely failed to get the ball to superstar winger Israel Folau, before he lit up the match in the final 15 minutes.
It was one of Folau’s bursts into the Lions 22 which laid the platform for Ashley-Cooper’s pivotal try.
Adam Ashley-Cooper breaks the line for the Wallabies in their 15-14 win over the Lions. (Image: Tim Anger Photography)
While Folau was again the most dangerous player on the ground, halfback Will Genia overcame knee soreness to be a justified man of the match.
Wallabies skipper James Horwill, whose availability for the decider is in doubt due to an IRB appeal, was among the best forwards on the field but may have rued a gutsy call for a scrum instead of a penalty with nine minutes left.
Instead of edging to within three points, a Folau spill let the tourists off the hook.
But Ashley-Cooper’s try was a crucial saviour for Deans as the ramifications for a loss would certainly have been dire.
The first hour was dominated by a fluctuating scrum battle which led to five penalty goals.
Lealiifano’s first two penalty goals came from scrum infringements by Lions prop Mako Vunipola while Wallabies props Benn Robinson and Ben Alexander were also pinged by referee Craig Joubert for two three-pointers to Halfpenny.
The Wallabies had thrown everything at the must-win match and looked the more dangerous attacking team but the Lions’ defensive pressure and breakdown improvement frustrated them into error.
The Lions led 12-9 at halftime as little separated the two sides in a game of nip and tuck with the lead changing hands four times.
A relieved Deans backed Horwill’s late calls to pack scrums near the Lions line instead of going for penalty goals, and said he was screaming for the same decision in the coaches’ box.
“I’m very proud; it doesn’t get any bigger than that,” said Deans.
“They knew the context, they knew that if they weren’t successful in scoring, not just a penalty but a try and converting, that the series would be done.”
Horwill felt the Wallabies pushed too many passes and weren’t patient enough in attack, while he also lamented a lack of composure in the final two minutes as they turned the ball over in attack before giving away the late ruck penalty.
But he praised their character to dig deep for the match-winning try.
“These are intense, big battles and comes down to tiny moments and we saw that tonight,” Horwill said.
Wallabies skipper James Horwill was crucial in their one-point win. (Tim Anger Photography)
Lions coach Warren Gatland was well pleased with his side’s breakdown work, labelling captain and flanker Sam Warburton “brilliant” before he was sidelined with a worrying hamstring strain in the 67th minute.
It leaves major doubts over both skippers for the third Test as Horwill fronts an IRB appeals hearing over his clearance on his rucking charge on Monday night.
Warburton said he’d do all he could to recover in time.
“It’s going to go down to the wire in the third Test as well,” the Welsh flanker said.
“The players will be disappointed for a while but we’ll wake up tomorrow still with a chance to win the Test series.
“It’s still the dream situation.”
Gatland shielded Halfpenny, who also hit the crossbar with a 45m attempt in the opening minutes, from any blame.
“He just didn’t strike that one well enough,” he said. “He’s disappointed with himself but he still kicked very well.”
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