Australia v British & Irish Lions live: score, commentary, updates

The players have been taken off the field, as there is a lightning storm in the area (Will Kelleher).

One of the ground-staff came on to tell the referee Nika Amashukeli to stop the game after 42 minutes. There will now be at least a 30 minute delay, and the game will only resume half an hour after the last strike within 10 km of the stadium.

Lightening protocol. If you’re in rows 1-19, you’ve got to clear the seats and go to the concourse… This already feels like a game from another planet (Owen Slot writes).

And now we’re on lightening protocol, which will be a one-off for everyone. How does that impact the players? How do they keep their levels? What happens when they come back? Will this help the Lions get back into the game? This game has everything – apart from a point being scored by the Lions.

All sorts of aggro

And it kicks off again, as James Ryan is knocked out badly by the knee of Will Skelton (Will Kelleher writes). First, that’s horrible for Ryan who has a long history of concussions. Secondly, Owen Farrell then comes in shouting and swearing, absolutely livid with Skelton who he thinks is going round targeting the Lions.

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A long, long stoppage now as we get a round of Sweet Caroline, which feels incredible poor taste in the circumstances.

Dan Sheehan, now the captain, with Maro Itoje off, is arguing with referee Nika Amashukeli. He is saying that Nic White is piling in to escalate every scuffle. The referee says that any more and someone is going to the bin.

Jac Morgan is on, so the Lions pack now has another reshuffle. And now we wait.

PLAY SUSPENDED!

43min James Ryan is leaving on a stretcher (well, a buggy with a stretcher on it) but now all the players are coming off as Nika Amashukeli signals that the weather is too much. The storm is here. Play has been suspended.

43min Certainly a more tame start to second half. Both teams are going to the sky and Australia have just won a penalty.

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Oh here we go. Another fight has broken out. James Ryan is laid out on the floor and doesn’t look in great condition, and out of nowhere we have more throat-grabbing. Ryan has gone low to try to stop Skelton and taken the big man’s knee to the head. He got his head on the wrong side of him and it looks nasty. As for the fight, someone must have said something. Not sure what.

Anyway, speaking of drama, Jac Morgan is ready to come on. The only Welshman left in the squad will replace Ryan, meaning Beirne will move to the second row.

Sheehan a lucky boy

42min Initial replays of that Sheehan clear-out are now doing the rounds (Owen Slot writes). It doesn’t look good. Where was the TMO? If he had stepped in, then Sheehan would have had a break from the field, the question would have just been for how long.

41min Right, we’re off again. Last half of the tour.

Rain wrecking Lions lineout

The rain has created some cracks in the Lions lineout (Stuart Barnes writes). Dan Sheehan under pressure, Lions on back foot. Freeman fails HIA and Owen Farrell on. Doubles the Lions midfield kicking options but Farrell will be tested after a rusty old year….fascinating.

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Lucky Lions and sumptuous Suaalii

Ben Kay on talkSPORT is reporting on the incident which resulted in Tom Lynagh’s exit (Owen Slot writes). He says it was a big and very borderline clear-out from Dan Sheehan. The moment has been and gone — for which the Lions may be fortunate.

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I am so impressed by Joseph Suaalii, in a game where you don’t think the backs will be influential, he has been brilliant. He’s very tidy, which is clearly very hard to be. But he’s using his physicality and step to win mini collisions and then giving the offloads to keep the movement going. His movement to create the Wallabies’ try was excellent. The Lions are 8-0 down but it looks worse than that, and in these conditions it’s going to be so hard to get it back.

Another Lions comeback?

This is carnage (Will Kelleher writes). Maro Itoje has failed his HIA, so is off. Tommy Freeman has taken a heavy blow, and was staggering around, and is off to be checked too. It looked like he got a boot to the face at the bottom of a ruck. The Lions have no real back-three cover, so Owen Farrell comes in at 12, Bundee Aki moves to 13, and Huw Jones moves to the wing, where he trained on Friday. How’s this for a test of the Lions’ character? A win here would be a brilliant achievement.

This is very old school

There are skirmishes breaking out everywhere (Alex Lowe writes). The bottom of every ruck there are elbows and forearms on the face. There is chat. There is niggle. There are players wrestling on the floor away from play. And as the rain lashes down it all feels deliciously old school.

Half-time: Australia 8 Lions 0

Right, we can take a deep breath. That was mental.

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This is brilliant

39min Excellent, excellent examination of the spirit and character of these Lions (Owen Slot writes). Maro is off, Skelton is dominating again, Suaalii has had his best game of the series so far and the Lions are struggling in the scrum. Also, obviously, the conditions are preposterously testing. Really really good, brilliantly entertaining match.

39min Freeman went off for blood, which is weird because everywhere you look there are players wearing a crimson mask — Nic White, Andrew Porter…probably Curry as well. Yeah, it’s been that kind of first half. So alpha. So hard. Proper rugger.

38min The Lions have a scrum on halfway, wide to the left, and get the ball out early. Russell sprays it off the boot to Freeman on the right touchline. Australia thwart him but illegally and Russell wastes little time in getting the game going again, tapping the ball on the run and racing into the Aussie 22. His mates join him, and there is a big red fist banging on the gold and green door. Conan goes into contact to the left of centre and the Wallabies turn it over. Hooper is the man who has done it! More bad news for the Lions because Maro Itoje has failed his HIA. Tommy Freeman has now gone off so Owen Farrell is coming on. The Lions have a 6-2 bench remember. So Huw Jones will go out to the wing. Mad game this.

34min Ben Donaldson is on with Tom Lynagh, who just nailed the kick, forced off for a HIA.

PENALTY! Australia 8 Lions 0

34min This is so physical. There is some real chest hair on some of these hits, especially around the ruck. Australia win yet another penalty, and now it looks as if they are finally going to ask for the tee. They have had plenty of opportunities to do that. This kick is ten metres out, just to the right of centre. Tom Lynagh, who has made four of his eight kicks so far on this tour, gets a ninth. Aussies up by eight.

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This game is spicy

31min I’ve been watching through my binoculars for that last passage and man, every ruck is a spicy fight (Will Kelleher writes). Blair Kinghorn came in and wiped out Tom Lynagh with one counter ruck, Tadhg Beirne scuffled on the floor with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, and now Maro Itoje is off for a blood injury. Try to tell these sides it’s a dead rubber. The rain is making this more of an epic. I’m loving it, and all of the niggle.

Now the Lions turn over the Australians, who kicked a penalty to touch to go for the jugular, and James Ryan whips up the crowd. Up for it, alright!

Tupou looking good

Brilliant scrummaging already from Taniela Tupou, who has just stood Andrew Porter up in the scrum from the Australian tight-head side (Will Kelleher writes). This might be one of his last games in Australia, as he is moving to France to play for Racing 92, so it would be fitting if he has a great evening, having struggled so much in recent years.

29min Huge screams from the Lions as they turnover the Aussie drive wide on the left to finally end a period of Australian domination. The maul goes down, the referee’s arm goes up. The Lion at the bottom of the pile with the ball? None other than Tom Curry, of course. More useful at the breakdown than the AA.

28min We come back for that Australia penalty, and they go for the corner — surely take the three, lads? Anyway, another period of battering later and Maro Itoje is being forced off for a HIA. The Big Red Machine Ollie Chessum is on in his place. Aussie lineout on the left, five metres from the tryline.

26min The Wallabies are bang up for this — as they should be given they are 0-2. They are camped inside the Lions 22, just trying to break through this impressive Lions defence. It’s impressive until Tom Curry gives away a penalty, and we continue with the advantage. The fans are loud. White arcs the ball out to Jorgensen, who is brought down, but the Aussies are creeping closer.

23min It looks as if Dan Sheehan said something to Nic White, who saw red (in every sense) and went for a bloke much bigger than him. Then Will Skelton, who if I could pick five blokes to back me in a bar fight I would just pick him, gets involved. Then it looks like Tom Curry misses a swing of the arm. It’s a ruckus. It ends with the referee Nika Amashukeli marching Australia back ten. Rugby incident. Let the boys play.

22min The Wallabies are showing their power game here, dominating a scrum which forces some red jerseys to pop up and give the hosts a penalty. Lynagh whacks it to the corner and now the green and gold are trying to break through the red wall with a sledgehammer. They fail to do so and the Lions make the turnover. Suddenly, three separate brawls spark into life. We love to see it! No idea at this stage who or what sparked it.

Pietsch update

And now he plays a major role, along with McReight and Exeter-bound Tom Hooper in holding up Bundee Aki in a choke tackle as the Wallabies force another turnover (Alex Lowe writes). Rue smile from Aki, who knows the Wallabies have used a classic Ireland tactic on him.

Put your foot through it!

21min Both teams keep forcing all these pretty, neat little passes at the line, like every team in the world do these days, but it is so not the night for that (Will Kelleher writes). Hoof it (cleverly) and chase, and hit, and let the other team have the ball!

Intricate plays are never going to see you win this game, in these conditions.

Pietsch having a stormer

18min Dylan Pietsch was impressive for Western Force in the opening game of this tour, pretty much the only one who took the game to the Lions way back in Perth, and he is doing the same here in Wallaby gold in the last game of this adventure — taking his try superbly and then laying a massive hit on Tommy Freeman to force the turnover as the Lions were trying to build up some momentum (Alex Lowe writes).

16min The rain, the hits, the side-steps, the high balls. This is nuts at the moment.

13min Dylan Pietsch is having a game. With tattoos on his arms and a skinhead, he looks absolutely nails, and he acted the part then when putting in a huge hit on Freeman, which leads to the turnover only five metres from the Aussie tryline. They are able to clear their lines after plenty of pressure from the Lions…then blow the lineout and the Lions come roaring back again.

Peach for Pietsch

It looked like Tommy Freeman did not quite trust Jamison Gibson-Park to make that tackle on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, but the centre also gave him the eyes, before popping to Dylan Pietsch for, well, a peach! (Will Kelleher writes).

11min Decent response from the Lions as Beirne wins a high ball just outside the Wallabies 22 on the left. The ball is worked back to Russell, who places a fine kick down the right touchline, looking for Tommy Freeman, and Wright is forced to come across and drag the ball into touch. Very advanced lineout for the Lions.

TRY! Australia 5 Lions 0

8min This is really good from Australia, who are piling the pressure on the Lions with their pick-and-go efforts. They win a penalty in the centre, so they have the advantage, and Suaalii wings it out to the left touchline where Pietsch gathers and dives over. Another fast start from the Wallabies. Tom Lynagh’s kick from way out wide misses the right-hand post, so the lead is five.

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5min The lineout comes down and Australia nick it at the ruck and win the penalty. Aus boot downfield and now it’s the Wallabies on the attack. Hugo Keenan is put under pressure on his own line and brought down by Dylan Pietsch after Tom Wright’s little nudge. Aus now have a five-metre scrum out wide on the left.

2min Gibson Park hits an early box-kick to send the ball back into Aussie territory and we’ve already got to witness two instances of Max Jorgensen (who scored the winning try against England last year at Twickenham) being fast and solid as hell. The Lions win a turnover in the middle of the field and Finn Russell boots to the corner.

1min Here we go then. The players are out. The rain is still cracking it down but we move. The final match of the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour is underway!

Faz 1-0 up in the alpha stakes

Okay, one last weather one (Will Kelleher writes). Joe Schmidt was out in the warm-up with a brolly — Andy Farrell out-alpha-ing him by just going hood up — but instead of a Rugby Australia branded one, it was one from the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay, where the Wallabies are staying!

Last minute score predictions from us in Sydney.

(An easy way to kop abuse for later…)

Slot: 30-12

Kelleher: 40-15

Lowe: 34-10

Slotty called into action

It’s so wet that they’ve drafted me in to help mop up (Owen Slot writes).

Weather update in Sydney

I promise we won’t write every post about the weather, but it is so hilariously bad here tonight (Will Kelleher writes).

We’ve now got a nice/horrible “Sea of White” section (because they’ve all got plastic ponchos on) in the uncovered seats.

A bloke has just come past and squeegeed our window too — much to Alex’s delight! He may have to come back in a moment as it’s all rain-flecked again already.

The teams are heading in! I thought this might be 40-15 to the Lions tonight, but 9-6 might have to do it.

A love letter to Nic White

At 35, Nic White will earn his 73rd cap for Australia in what is likely his final Test when the Wallabies face the Lions in Sydney. A tenacious and tactical scrum half, White has been a mainstay of the national side for over a decade. Domestically, he won a Super Rugby AU title with the Brumbies and enjoyed a successful stint with the Exeter Chiefs, helping them to back-to-back Premiership finals and playing an enormous part in their historic Double-winning campaign — he left before the Premiership and Champions Cup triumphs due to the Covid pandemic.

This week, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt described him as “the ultimate competitor” and “a great man to have in a squad,” praising his professionalism and team-first mentality. Captain Harry Wilson echoed the sentiment, calling White “fierce” and “the ultimate team man” who is deeply respected in the group.

And then there’s the moustache—undeniably iconic. So much so, teammates sported fake ones at training in tribute. Nic White leaves the Test arena as a warrior, leader, and cult figure.

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How Tadhg Furlong became Lions rock

Tadhg Furlong was close to tears as he walked around the Melbourne Cricket Ground last Saturday night, savouring a 29-26 victory over Australia, a Test series win at the third time of asking and a love affair with the British & Irish Lions that was drawing to a close. Time spares no man; not even one of the greatest players of his generation (Alex Lowe writes).

“It is a little bit emotional,” the Ireland prop said. “The Lions has played a massive part in my career. It has shaped the way I play the game and think about the game. I know this Lions tour will be me closing the book on the Lions. I don’t want it to end. It is a special thing to be a Lion.”

Furlong, 32, was a rising star with fewer than 20 caps under his belt when he was picked for the 2017 tour to New Zealand. He had signalled his quality the previous autumn with breakthrough performances as Ireland defeated the All Blacks in Chicago, stood tall in a ferocious rematch at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and then defeated Australia.

● Read more: Three tours, nine Test starts in row: how Tadhg Furlong became Lions rock

I knew on 2017 tour Maro was special

It is so easy to overlook the true extent of what Maro Itoje has achieved in his rugby career (Sam Warburton writes). Everyone knows that he has been, along with Owen Farrell, at the centre of Saracens’ and England’s success for more than a decade, but delve a bit deeper and his CV is extraordinary.

I thought I’d take a look at the highlights. He has won the Premiership five times, the Champions Cup three times, the Under-20 World Cup with England and three Six Nations titles, including a grand slam. He has also finished runner-up and third at the World Cup, on three occasions he has been nominated for world player of the year, he was World Rugby’s breakthrough player of the year in 2016, he has been in World Rugby’s “dream team of the year”, he was player of the series in the British & Irish Lions’ tour to South Africa in 2021, and has passed 100 Test caps on this tour. Now, he is a Lions’ series-winning captain, with the chance of making further history on Saturday if they complete a 3-0 clean sweep against Australia.

● Read more: I knew on 2017 tour Maro Itoje was special — now he’s a rugby icon

Get ready to crank your neck

Clearly it’s going to be a day for kicking . . . you know those penalties that Finn Russell was nailing into the far corners last week — he’s just been out on the field practising them metronomically (Owen Slot writes). Kicks to corners, 50-22s and up-and-unders — he’s been going through the whole repertoire of everything we’re going to see later.

Lines having to be repainted

It is so wet here that the yellow lines have washed off, so the referees have asked them to repaint them!

The ground staff are now out there going over everything again (Will Kelleher writes). It’s monsoon style.

Pitchside seats? You’re getting soggy

I didn’t realise that so much of the stadium was uncovered (Owen Slot writes). The rain is coming in and out, in waves (almost literally). There will be a lot of very wet punters here.

I know we British like to go on about the rain, but . . .

. . . it’s fair enough in this instance, isn’t it?

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SKY SPORTS

Australia rest Tizzano after abuse

Joe Schmidt has left Carlo Tizzano out of his Australia team to face the British & Irish Lions, saying that Jac Morgan’s controversial clear-out in the second Test registered a force of 54G.

The Australia head coach also said that his back-row forward had suffered online abuse since the Morgan incident, in the lead-up to Hugo Keenan’s match-winning try, so he felt it right to leave him out for the third Test in Sydney. Schmidt clarified that Tizzano is not concussed and has not undergone, let alone failed, a head-injury assessment.

Rugby players now wear instrumented mouth guards with gyroscopes in them, which measure the impacts of tackles. A hit of more than 70G and and 4,000 radians per second squared of acceleration and rotation triggers an alert with the match-day doctors and the player then has to be checked for a head injury.

● Read more: Australia rest Carlo Tizzano after abuse over controversial clear-out

Freeman’s fit, Pollock’s pints, and now a Pierre poem

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Soaked in Sydney

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Seismic threat looms large over Lions’ shot at history

Sydney has been the epicentre of the rugby world this week (Alex Lowe writes). Senior executives from across the global game are in town. You would call them “suits” but some are wearing British & Irish Lions hoodies. Hotel lobbies and breakfast rooms are abuzz with conversation and one of the main topics is R360, the proposed new global franchise competition.

R360 representatives, including Mike Tindall, are also in Sydney, working towards their target of signing pre-contract agreements with 200 major players by September. Kalyn Ponga and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck are among the NRL stars on their shopping list, as well as the biggest names in rugby union. All of this is taking place before the third Test between the Lions and Australia; a new concept butting up against the old.

● Read more: Seismic threat of R360 rebel league looms large over Lions’ shot at history

Team news: Australia v Lions

Before we get started, let’s take a look at the teams. Or, at least, given the rumours around the fitness of players in both camps, we were told prior to today. Special shoutout to Alex Mitchell, who has been picked by Andy Farrell in every single Lions 23 this year. The man who looks like a badly-drawn Gary Neville is 10-0. Cracking stuff. And he’s fresh, having not come off the bench against First Nations & Pasifika or the second Test.

Australia XV 15 Tom Wright; 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph‑Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch; 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Nic White; 1 James Slipper, 2 David Porecki, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Nick Frost, 5 Will Skelton; 6 Tom Hooper, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (c).

Replacements 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Andrew Kellaway.

Lions XV 15 Hugo Keenan; 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Blair Kinghorn; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson‑Park; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 James Ryan; 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Jack Conan. Replacements 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Owen Farrell.

Freeman fit to play — other Lions given green light to be hungover

It’s an utterly miserable night in Sydney — actually it has been like this since Wednesday (Will Kelleher writes). It’s barely stopped raining all day and all night, but off we go to the ground, slightly ruing not wearing a hooded coat!

The news is that Tommy Freeman has been passed fit to play. We had heard he had a back injury, and the Lions said he missed training because his GPS unit flagged he had overtrained on this trip. However, he is fine enough to make the starting line-up it seems.

No need then to call up someone like Mack Hansen or Jamie Osborne who according to Henry Pollock’s Instagram were out drinking last night. Just as well, eh?

Welcome to the third Test

Well here we are then. A tour that started in Dublin on June 20, properly started on June 28 in Perth and then really kicked into gear on July 19 in Brisbane comes to an end today. The Lions have wrapped up the series. They have already won. It’s 2-0 to the northern Hemisphere knights of fire and fury. However, we are not done yet. It has been 98 years since the Lions won a clean sweep. The Wallabies, who showed heart too late in the first Test and then had it broken last weekend, will do all they can to ensure there is no whitewash (or redwash?). What will happen? Stick with us for the latest news and analysis from our brave boys on the ground at the SCG.

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