The British and Irish Lions had already done enough to assure their legacy before their dream of a 3-0 series triumph was washed away in a maelstrom of lightning, rain and defiant Australians on Saturday night.
Lions Test series triumphs are rare, and this year’s squad, captained by Maro Itoje and coached by Andy Farrell, are to take their rightful place alongside the esteemed post-war tourists of 1971, 1974, 1989, 1997 and 2013.
“I know we’re disappointed, but we should be unbelievably proud of what we achieved as a group,” Farrell said after the 22-12 defeat. “Lions tours are tough and ... upon reflection after tonight, I’m sure we’ll be super proud of the achievements.”
Photo: AFP
“How we got the job done in that type of theater will live with us forever. These lads have been an absolute dream to work with. It’s been the time of our lives,” he added.
Had the Lions reproduced their dominance of the first hour of the Brisbane opener and final 50 minutes in Melbourne to take a third Test win in Sydney, it might only have diminished their achievement in taking out the series.
Starting with Ben Youngs last year, there have been plenty of voices suggesting that Australian rugby has fallen so far that the country no longer deserves the honor of the Lions visit every 12 years.
Those voices were noticeably absent from the Lions camp during a series where the two teams were separated by only a single point over the three Tests.
Lions coach Farrell is convinced his old friend and mentor Joe Schmidt is building something special in Australia.
“Come the 2027 World Cup, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 percent,” Farrell said last week.
SQUAD COHESION
Farrell might have been formed as a player in rugby league, but the Englishman has shown over the past eight weeks that few understand the spirit and dynamics of the Lions better.
In Itoje, he chose a captain who was an automatic selection in the Test team, and there was never a hint of the sort of squad divisions that have plagued previous tours once it became clear which players were first choice.
“It hasn’t felt like there’s been any separation in the group whatsoever,” New Zealander Andrew Goodman, one of Farrell’s assistant coaches, said this week.
“A big part of his philosophy as a coach is to make sure everyone’s all-in all the time in terms of what we do on the field and off the field,” he said. “He’s a great man motivator.”
Itoje said Farrell’s attention to detail had surprised him, and he thought the way the tour had been organized ensured the players formed genuine bonds with each other.
“If we won every game and we absolutely hated one another in some ways. Yes, that’s what you’re going for, because it’s a Test series win, but I think life is more than that,” the England lock said.
That squad cohesion was vital because it quickly became clear that Farrell, on sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach, was going to rely on a Test team with a distinctly Irish tinge.
LIONS CLASS
That was most controversial in his back row selections, where the likes of Wales captain Jac Morgan and English youngster Henry Pollock missed out, and the trio of Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan and Tom Curry started all three Tests.
His selection paid off with Beirne named Player of the Series, and the energy and power of all three ensured the Lions were often dominant and never overwhelmed by the Wallabies.
Farrell’s halfback combination of scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell was also locked in and paid huge dividends, with the Scottish flyhalf rivaling Beirne for individual series honors.
TOUR PROGRESS
The tour began with an understrength Lions side losing to an understrength Argentina in Dublin, but once the Lions arrived in Australia, they oozed class in all areas of the park.
Six wins in six tour matches followed with only the inaugural First and Pasifika XV coming close to claiming a famous upset in Melbourne.
About 450,000 souls, many of them red-clad traveling fans, packed into stadiums around the country to watch the nine games and prove the spirit of the Lions was alive and kicking after the COVID-19-impacted 2021 tour had played out to empty stands.
The Lions would be back on the road in 2029, and it would be a huge surprise if Farrell was not asked to repeat his coaching alchemy against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
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