Captain for the day Alun Wyn Jones and tour skipper Sam Warburton lifted the Tom Richards Trophy following the 41-16 win in which Jonny Sexton, George North and Jamie Roberts crossed for second half tries.Â
The three scores – added to one after just 90 seconds from England’s Alex Corbisiero, meant the Lions were clear winners with the metronomic Leigh Halfpenny kicking 21 points from the tee.
In a monumental clash at the ANZ Stadium, the Lions were totally dominant in the first half as Corbisiero and Halfpenny combined to put them 16-3 up against a shell-shocked Australia.
The Wallabies did respond though, James O’Connor’s try right on the half time whistle giving Robbie Deans’ side hope with Christian Leali’ifano converting and kicking a penalty.
Leali’ifano added two penalties at the start of the second half but after weathering the storm, the Lions ran riot in the final 20 minutes.
Here’s what some of the key men had to say after the thrilling Sydney win.
British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland: “I’ve got very mixed emotions. The last three or four days have been pretty hard. It was a tough call to leave Brian O’Driscoll out. You always doubt decisions you make, but you have to make those hard calls.
“I have taken a bit of flack. It was about the boys today and winning the series. It was an outstanding performance. We started well, came under some pressure and bounced back.”
British & Irish Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones: “It’s a pretty indescribable feeling. There was a lot of talk about selection in the week. I think we proved that despite all the talk, the northern hemisphere is doing pretty well.
“We fronted up today, I think the scoreline reflected it and we represented the four countries with pride. We wanted to win the collisions and breakdowns. It was always going to come down to that today. They came back at us in the second half and we came back pretty well.
Man of the series Leigh Halfpenny: “Everyone has contributed to this. Winning man of the series is what dreams are made of but I couldn’t have done it without the whole squad.”
Centre Jonathan Davies: “It’s been a huge roller-coaster but we clicked today and it was a great feeling. We played a game plan people were questioning in the week. But we’ve proved it was a winning game plan so well done to Warren Gatland.”
