A last-gasp try from Hugo Keenan earned the British & Irish Lions a thrilling comeback victory over Australia that sealed the three-Test series with a match still to play.
It was a very different Australia from the first Test when they had gone down 27-19 in Brisbane after finding themselves 17-5 at the break.
This time, it was the home side who dominated from the start in front of 90,307 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against a sloppy Lions, with the Wallabies establishing a 23-5 lead thanks to tries from James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright.
But Andy Farrell's side produced the response needed with Tom Curry and Huw Jones going over before the break, reducing the deficit to six points.
A Tadhg Beirne try in the second half left the Lions just two points behind before Keenan's big moment in the 80th minute when he rode a tackle to claim the decisive try.
The finish was unbearably tense as match officials checked the score to see if there had been a dangerous clearout by Jac Morgan earlier in the move before clearing the Wales captain of any wrong doing.
The Irish full-back was injured at the start of the tour and then missed out on his Lions debut after taking ill.
“I was screaming pass it, pass it,” said coach Farrell on match-winner Keenan. “After what he has been through, it was all worth it. To score at the death of a Lions Test.
“These players have dreamt of playing for the Lions. It was a fairy tale. We want to win every game but we will take a breath after that one.”
They remain unbeaten after eight tour games in Australia with only the final dead rubber Test in Sydney next weekend standing between them and a whitewash.
Lions captain Maro Itoje – a colossus for the tourists – added: Big Faz [Andy] was telling us to play big and be bigger all the time and believe in ourselves. I give credit to the bench they came on and made the difference.
“It's amazing as I always say it's not about me, it's about all those on the pitch and those Lions fans in the stands.”
After a shaky start that saw Australia take a 6-0 advantage – courtesy of two fine penalties taken in style by Tom Lynagh – Lions hit back in the simplest of fashions in the 17th minute when Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan tapped and powered over the line.
But that joy was short-lived as a spell of home pressure ended with veteran prop James Slipper squeezing his way over restoring their six-point lead, with Tommy Freeman being sent to the sin-bin because of poor Lions discipline.
And it was to prove costly as things quickly went from bad to worse for the tourists as Australia took complete control of the Test courtesy of quick-fire tries from scrum-half Gordon – scything through the Lions defence – and full-back Wright to establish a 23-5 lead just past the half-hour mark.
The latter try saw Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii power through before feeding Wright who raced clear to touch down, celebrating with his arms outstretched in front of ecstatic MCG home fans.
But the game seemingly hurtling away from them, the Lions responded with two tries of their own in the space of four minutes. First, Jamison Gibson-Park combined with Jack Conan, to set up Curry for a one-on-one which he finished confidently in the corner.
Then Scottish centre Jones powered over before international teammate Russell added the extras as a breathless first half ended with Australia holding a 23-17 lead.
The points may have dried up after the break but the tension remained consistently high. After Lynagh took the lead back up to nine with a penalty, Curry then produced a try-saving tackle to deny Suaalii who would have put Australia into another commanding position.
And Curry's efforts were swiftly rewarded when Ireland's Beirne surged through three Wallabie tackles to score, following fine work by James Lowe, with Finn Russell converting from out wide, bringing the Lions to within two points.
Then, with seconds left on the clock, Keenan would go over to break Australian hearts and earn the Lions a series victory with the final Test in Sydney still to play.
It is the first time since 1997 that the Lions have wrapped up a Test series with a game to spare, and not since 1966 have they managed the feat against Australia.
“I suppose you don't think about scoring the winner, especially with my try-scoring record,” said Keenan. “It was of the back of countless phases, it will be one I saviour forever.”
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Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
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OPENING FIXTURES
Saturday September 12
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Fulham v Arsenal
Liverpool v Leeds United
Tottenham v Everton
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Newcastle
Monday September 14
Brighton v Chelsea
Sheffield United v Wolves
To be rescheduled
Burnley v Manchester United
Manchester City v Aston Villa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
Mobile phone packages comparison
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
