This was a game sent from the rugby Gods to ignite a stale Lions series and it so nearly gave us a tantalising decider only for the British & Irish Lions to snatch victory at the death and break Wallaby hearts with the greatest comeback in their history.

It was the result that most predicted but nobody could have foreseen the manner in which it unfurled. Since the Lions landed on Australian soil, they have faced very little jeopardy but they were all at sea at points of the second Test in Melbourne.

Read more: When was the last time the British & Irish Lions won a Test series?

For so long it looked like an MCG masterclass from Joe Schmidt’s men as they stormed into an 18-point lead with Tommy Freeman in the sin-bin but the Lions roared back into contention to narrow the gap to just 23-17 at half-time.

The tide began to turn with the hugely influential Rob Valetini off at half-time and Will Skelton lasting just seven minutes longer and although Tom Lynagh kicked a penalty to make it a nine-point game, the inevitable wall of red pressure duly came.

James Lowe was far from his imperious best but he fashioned a try for Tadhg Beirne, Man of the Match in Brisbane, and Finn Russell’s fantastic touchline conversion made it a two-point game heading into the final quarter.

Both sides went hammer and tong but you could feel the pendulum swinging towards the Lions and eventually it told. Hugo Keenan got on the outside of Len Ikitau to seal the Test series and crush Aussie dreams with just a minute to go. A TMO check for Jac Morgan’s clearout on Carlo Tizzano rightly came to nothing and those in red burst into delirium, knowing it was all over.

For the first time in 28 years, the British & Irish Lions have won the first two Tests in a series but boy did they have to work for it. More history is at stake in Sydney as they bid to become the first team to pull off a clean sweep since 1927 in Argentina.

Wallabies storm into lead in British & Irish Lions Test match

It was do or die for Australia and how they came out fighting.

Rookie fly-half Tom Lynagh suddenly transformed into a seasoned international operator, kicking the Wallabies into a 6-0 lead as the Lions got on the wrong side of referee Andrea Piardi.

Andrew Porter made a ferocious start at scrum time but then wily Will Skelton got right under the Lions’ skin with a late tackle on Tadhg Furlong and some pesky push and shoving. Jack Conan looked like he’d scored but replays showed he’d dropped the ball over the line before yet more handbags, prompting Lions skipper Maro Itoje to tell Piardi that Skelton started it when the ref spoke to both captains about the behaviour.

Australia exerted plenty of pressure and opted twice to kick for the corner – a decision that was completely vindicated by James Slipper’s try and subsequent yellow card for Tommy Freeman for being offside with Italian Piardi losing patience with the tourists’ discipline.

Tom Wright’s 50:22 and Rob Valetini’s relentless ball-carrying got Australia going forward in dangerous areas once again and Jake Gordon’s show-and-go put them 18-5 up. Things got even better when cross-code convert Joseph Suaalii showed all his star power with a searing midfield step and break before sending Wright racing over to put the hosts in dreamland at 23-5 up, capitalising on their man advantage by scoring 12 points during the sin-bin.

For Schmidt’s men not to convert such an imposing lead was criminal. How Lynagh would like those two missed conversions back as four points went begging.

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