It was a sliding doors moment for Australian rugby – and the Wallabies got their fingers jammed. The 29-26 loss to the British and Irish Lions will go down as not only another defeat for our national team, but a massive, missed opportunity for the code in this country.
The third Test in Sydney now becomes a dead rubber when it should have been the hottest ticket in town. A series decider against the might of the Lions would have captivated the Australian sporting public. Even those who prefer their football served with a Steeden or Sherrin would have tuned in to see how the story finished.
The Wallabies’ controversial loss to the Lions in the second Test represented a massive missed opportunity for Australian rugby. Pic: Getty
The game would have attracted peak media interest in the week leading up to the game and record audiences on game night. Pubs and clubs around the country would have been packed, many of them with young adults who have never seen Australia win any major rugby silverware.
Instead, those of us who have been waiting a generation for the Wallabies to do something significant woke up on Sunday morning with that same sinking feeling. Proud of the effort but deflated all the same. Forget the controversy at the end.
Union has about 7000 laws that would take a year to explain and a lifetime to understand. Carlo Tizzano may have been taken high but it was a close-run thing that needs to be seen at normal speed, not slowed down as if we were watching Chariots of Fire.
Put it this way: If the adidas had been on the other foot and it was one of our guys who had made the hit, we’d been saying ‘play on’. Australia was up 23-5 at one stage, led for 79 minutes and still couldn’t get the job done.
There’s absolutely no way this should be cleared. It’s a non-wrap shoulder to the back of the neck at force to a legal jackler. It’s dangerous and is not only a penalty, but a yellow card. Wallabies absolutely robbed of a great victory pic.twitter.com/oUZcoEjdI0
— Frank (@GregAFC) July 27, 2025
Penalty calls rejected as Wallabies rage over contentious act
Brave and committed they may have been, but it’s still another addition to the loss column. Morgan Turinui’s post-match spray at the match officials was OTT patriotic and biased, but his passion and disappointment was understandable.
As an ex-Wallaby, he knows how demoralising this loss is for Australian rugby. Or, more to the point, what victory might have achieved.
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson’s appeals for a last-minute penalty were waved away by referee Andrea Piardi as the Lions snatched a series-clinching victory in the second Test. Pic: Getty
It may have changed the course of history for rugby in this country, especially if the Wallabies had gone on to win the series next week. Now what?
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After throwing everything physically and mentally into the second Test, a wipeout is on the cards as the upbeat Lions feast on a Wallabies team that emptied the tank. The vacant look in their eyes at fulltime said it all.
This was a once-in-a-generation chance to put a stake in the ground and they blew it. They haven’t got much more to give.
Fair play @wallabies fans are world class whingers. Their fault they blew a commanding lead not the officials
— Dave Newton 🏴🏉🏒🇮🇪 (@KipperBedwas) July 26, 2025
I’m proud of the Wallabies effort, I also believe that was not a penalty at the end of the game, a couple of commentators should be ashamed of their analysis of the decision #AUSvsLIO #Rugby #AUSvBIL #Lions #Wallabies
— Michael Skehan (@mickskehan) July 26, 2025
Martin Johnson’s right… ‘you penalise that you’d penalise every ruck..’ Bloody devastating loss though #Wallabies
— Gerard Middleton (@MiddletonGerard) July 26, 2025