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14 mins. The Lions finally have some ball and territory with Gibson-Park having a dart around the fringes of the scrum. He\u2019s very close to breaking through before he\u2019s dropped and when the ball is recycled it is fumbled by Furlong. But no matter as there was an advantage being played against Australia.<\/p>\n
From the lineout Bundee Aki takes massive carry to within inches of the line but Conan fumbles the next possession over the line to deny a try. Australia were offside again and the Lions will be coming hard again soon.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>PENALTY! Australia 6 – 0 Lions (Tom Lynagh)<\/p>\n 10 mins. Solid possession from the lineout leads to another quality set of phases for the home team. The Lions are pinged at the breakdown and Lynagh takes the opportunity from 30 metres out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 mins. More good organisation and options from the home team with Jake Gordon putting a kick up to test Lowe. The winger takes and pops a fancy but pointless offload behind his back to Gibson-Park who is swarmed by gold and bundled into touch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 mins. Russell booms a kick long and into touch on the Aus 5m line. But in another demonstration of the improvement from last week, Porecki finds his jumper in the lineout under pressure and the ball is cleared.<\/p>\n Three from three on lineouts so far for the Wallabies, what a turnaround in a week.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>PENALTY! Australia 3 – 0 Lions (Tom Lynagh)<\/p>\n 4 mins. Australia win another lineout, this time over the top for Valetini to have a rumble. They get the phases moving, with the alignment and timing hugely improved from the first test, and the pace and organisation forces the Lions defence offside.<\/p>\n Lynagh calls for the tee and puts the home side in front.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 mins. The receiving of the kick 0ff is bit of a mess and results in Lions hand slapping the ball into touch just outside the Aus 22. A clever short lineout has Skelton and Porecki rumbling forward before Gordon boots the ball away. Possession is traded a couple of times before Itoje is penalised for not releasing the tackler.<\/p>\n It\u2019s very early, but this is already a 157% better start than last week for the Wallabies.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kick Off!<\/p>\n Finn Russell sends the ball high and we\u2019re underway as the rain starts to fall once more<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The teams are in the tunnel, Maro Itoje taking the hand of a young mascot lad who has one of the best mullets in christendom, an absolute stunner. They fan out onto the field before regrouping for the pre-match formalities and anthem.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s wet underfoot after some heavy showers and we can\u2019t rule out more rain as the match progresses. Andy Farrell had a right mardy on after the Waratahs game due to the pitch being moist; the Lions fans will hope he\u2019s figured out how to get a team from northern Europe to play in the rain.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.59 EDT<\/p>\n The MCG is plunged into darkness as we await the lights and fire show that will welcome the teams. Not long now\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The officials for this match:<\/p>\n Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)<\/p>\n Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Ben O\u2019Keeffe (New Zealand)<\/p>\n Television Match Official (TMO): Eric Gauzins (France<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGoing with you and radio coverage today.\u201d says Gerry Keavney. \u201cAn Aus win is needed to keep general public interest for the week ahead. Rugby as a whole needs Australia to be strong again. On the other side the Lions could be heavily criticised for not winning the series given how poor the Wallabies are. An all star side shouldn\u2019t really be beating a test team easily. Let\u2019s see how today goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I had a feeling that Paul Smith\u2019s email earlier may generate some responses, and here is one from Simon McMahon.<\/p>\n \u201cMorning Lee. I can assure Paul Smith that the British and Irish Lions was definitely not one of the reasons that Scotland voted no to independence in 2014. Try the full weight of the British establishment and media actively campaigning against it, spreading fear and misinformation once they realised that it was a live possibility, and you\u2019re getting closer to the mark. But that\u2019s an argument for another time. Come on the Lions.\u201d<\/p>\n I have to day, I did not think when I logged on earlier that the pre-match chat would end up on Scottish independence. Kick off is twenty minutes away.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Maro Itoje is clear there remains a difficult task ahead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Paul Smith weighs in on the Lions romance argument via email<\/p>\n \u201cOne benefit of the Lions I\u2019ve never heard mentioned is their effect in keeping the Six Nations civilised. The fact that Fin Russell in a Scotland jersey is an irritating little man is tempered by the fact that when he is in a Lion\u2019s jersey he becomes our confident, reassuring genius. The fact that today\u2019s team is Ireland heavy is irrelevant to this Englishman. And that won\u2019t be forgotten come February. Probably one of the reasons Scotland voted \u2018No\u2019 in their referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Garry Ringrose withdrew himself from selection for this match after feeling some continued effects of his concussion after training on Thursday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pre-match reading<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s much to ponder and reflect on as we head towards kick-off at the MCG so why not let me know what\u2019s on your mind on the email<\/a>?<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams<\/p>\n Joe Schmidt has reinforced the Wallabies pack with the return of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, plus David Porecki starting at hooker. The backline is unchanged from last week, which is a little surprising given how absolutely terrible Jake Gordon was at scrum-half.<\/p>\n For the British & Irish Lions, Andy Farrell makes three changes with Bundee Aki, Ollie Chessum, and Andrew Porter brought into the starting XV, replacing Sione Tuipulotu (injured), Joe McCarthy (injured), and Ellis Genge (benched). Owen Farrell is a test Lions once more, albeit on the bench, where he is joined by other changes: Jac Morgan, Blair Kinghorn, and James Ryan.<\/p>\n Australia Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson<\/p>\n British & Irish Lions Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, James Ryan, Jac Morgan, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell, Blair Kinghorn<\/p>\n
Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter, Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c)<\/p>\n
Hugo Keenan, Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje (c), Ollie Chessum, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan<\/p>\n