Australia beat British & Irish Lions to set up Sydney decider

Rookie Christian Lealiifano kicked a last-gasp conversion for Australia as they leveled the series against the British & Irish Lions with a 16-15 win in Melbourne.
Trailing 15-9 with less than five minutes to go, the Wallabies put immense pressure on the Lions line and, after a few phases, Adam Ashley-Cooper dived over the try line for a vital try.
Lealiifano, who suffered a concussion last week after only 52 seconds on debut, had the opportunity to win the game for the Green and Gold and the youngster didn’t flinch to send the two teams to a mouthwatering decider in Sydney next Saturday.
The Lions’ forwards were off to a good start and, after hitting the cross-bar in his first attempt, Leigh Halfpenny put the tourists on the board from the tee.
The Wallabies soon got their hands on the ball though and Lealiifano put the hosts in front as the pack earned two penalties at the scrum.
It didn’t last long though as the Lions front eight hit straight back to see Halfpenny level the score at 6-6 just before the half-hour.
Another penalty at the scrum for the Lions gave them a three-point lead but again the Aussies replied in kind when Dan Lydiate was caught offside and Lealiifano kicked his third penalty of the half.
There was still time for one last attempt though and, from 30 metres on the right-hand side, Halfpenny gave the Lions the lead at half-time after Ben Mowen didn’t release the player in the tackle.
The first twenty minutes of the second half turned out to be very tense with Australia enjoying most of the possession but the Lions held strong in defence to keep them at bay.
The Lions management brought Richard Hibbard and Dan Cole in the front row by then and they earned a vital penalty just on half-way to see Halfpenny step up to open a six-point gap.
Captain Sam Warburton limped off the field with just under 15 minutes to go and the Wallabies finished the game on the front foot to eventually clinch it.
The Lions were handed a lifeline with a penalty just inside their half after the siren had gone but, like Kurtley Beale last week, Halfpenny didn’t have the legs.
For British & Irish Lions
Penalties: Halfpenny 5
For Australia
Try: Ashley-Cooper
Conversion: Lealiifano
Penalties: Lealiifano 3
British & Irish Lions: Leigh Halfpenny; Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll, Jonathan Davies, George North; Jonathan Sexton, Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs, Adam Jones; Alun-Wyn Jones, Geoff Parling; Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (Capt.), Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Ryan Grant, Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Sean O’Brien, Conor Murray, Owen Farrell, Alex Cuthbert.
Australia: Kurtley Beale; Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali’ifano, Joe Tomane; James O’Connor, Will Genia; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander; Kane Douglas, James Horwill (Capt.); Ben Mowen, Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu.
Replacements: Saia Fainga’a, James Slipper, Sekope Kepu, Rob Simmons, Liam Gill, Nick Phipps, Rob Horne, Jesse Mogg.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
NICK VERDIER
Read the full report, analysis and reactions in tomorrow’s edition of The Rugby Paper.