The unique British & Irish Lions challenge standing between Andy Farrell and history in Australia
Sailing through Sydney Harbour and out into the Pacific Ocean at this time of year, one might well catch a glimpse of a gentle giant or two making their passage up the east coast of Australia. Each year, an estimated 40,000 or more humpback whales make the long journey up from their feeding grounds near the Antarctic landmass to the warmer waters of Queensland to breed and calve. It is one of natureโs great journeys and, supposedly, quite the sight โ though a few whale watchers this week have been left disappointed with the massive mammals keeping their heads under water and out of the gathering storms that have battered the Sydney shores.
This weekend, another great mass migration will come to an end. It is tough to place an exact figure on the volume of the sea of red that has again filled the city streets, given the existing British and Irish influence in Sydney, but the travelling fans have come in the hope of history and an expectation that their side will finish the Test series in the right way. More than two months after they first came together at a hotel in Richmond, it is certain that when the British and Irish Lions finally disassemble on Sunday, they will do so with a series won โ but the goal for this team, set out by Andy Farrell in those embryonic days, has always been 3-0.
โI never think you should shy away from shooting for the stars because you might end up on the moon,โ head coach Farrell explained with his squad having made no secret of their ambition. โThatโs pretty good as well.
โThatโs the quality that weโre chasing. I donโt think you should shy away from challenging each other, and if you donโt get there, then hopefully itโs somewhere near.
โIt sets the mentality in my mind of what delivering means, and youโve always got a level to aim at.โ
A defeat to Argentina in Dublin is something of a bugbear given it takes emulating the โInvinciblesโ of 1974 off the table, but there are plenty of historians within and beyond the squad cooing eagerly over the prospect of a whitewash. Even Willie John McBrideโs glorious vintage did not manage that, a draw in the fourth match of that South Africa series taking a slight shine off a trip upon which the Lions won every other game.
Indeed, one must delve deeper into the annals to retrieve the last clean sweep. The 1927 adventure in Argentina is a relic of a bygone age โ it was the first time the side yet to be known as the Pumas sported the now-familiar blue and white hoops, while visiting captain David MacMyn wrote in his travel diary of practising daily on the long sea voyage down to South America.
โWe were all imbued with the desire to play as it should be played, and there was no laziness in our preparation on board the ship,โ MacMyn wrote. โWe train hard. Every morning we had practice of scrum, backs, physical training of all kinds and swimming before lunch. At night we had many conversations in front of the blackboard and we made all kinds of plans. And so, the hard training and the free exchange of ideas stimulated us for the exhausting days that we had ahead.โ
Perhaps the Scottish forward and Farrell would have found themselves kindred spirits. There is much in MacMynโs diary that would chime with the words and deeds of the Lions head coach on this trip, from a balance of fun and fierce work ethic to a wish to play the game in the right way. On Thursday, Farrell spoke with pride of not just the results his team have achieved but the ambitious manner in which they have achieved them; it hasnโt always clicked on this tour, yet you could never accuse the tourists of playing with too cautious a streak.
The theme of this week has been โone last pushโ, with Farrell strapping up weary and wounded warriors to go again in a familiar-looking team. The presence of two covering replacements for the back row, plus the versatile Ollie Chessum, is in part a nod to the heavy workloads shouldered by Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan, three of the Lionsโ best in the Tests.
Much has been made of the unique challenge Farrell faces in getting his side up for this game with the series won โ a task Ian McGeechan did not succeed in on the 1997 tour โ but this has equally been a tricky week for his counterpart Joe Schmidt. The Australia head coach has run the full gamut of emotions in a search for the whys and wherefores of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in Melbourne, from deep introspection to (perhaps understandable) frustration and fury at the bounces of the ball and 50/50 decisions that did not fall the Wallabiesโ way.
โIt was an incredibly deflated group,โ Schmidt muttered morosely. โTuesday was tough, actually, to get them up off the canvas, and on Thursday there was a little bit of an upswing, and weโve just got to keep that momentum. Hopefully they can be sharp and then springboard their way into the Test match.โ
The veteran coach found himself forced to defend the selection of Nic White, who will start at scrum-half in his final international appearance, dismissing accusations that it was a selection made for anything other than rugby reasons. โIโm not a sentimentalist,โ Schmidt stressed. โItโs a Test match and you pick people who are capable of playing that Test match, and we believe that Nic is.โ The experienced nineโs kicking game in anticipated squalls will be handy, while his competitive spirit is undoubted and perhaps necessary in lifting the Australia squad.
It is about this time on any tour when one begins to ponder the nebulous concept of legacies, a look to the future and past simultaneously, to imagine how this series and these sides will come to be remembered in time. The MCG humdinger, a sporting spectacle to rival any, has ensured that even a damp squib in the final Test will not necessarily leave this affair lagging far behind recent tours. The Wallabies, too, proved a few people wrong; let us hope this can be a step in the right direction towards a genuine title tilt at a home World Cup in 2027. Another strong showing would see the belief from the Australian public grow.
But for these Lions, who have talked of wanting to be remembered as one of the best in history? A 2-1 win over a middling opponent would not probably do that, but a whitewash achieved in some style would greatly enhance their reputation. Like most sides in this modern age, plenty has been sacrificed on the altar of high performance during this tour; now is the time to provide a lasting memory of a truly great British and Irish Lions team.
