Andy Farrell, Maro Itoje hail 'fairytale' victory as British & Irish Lions clinch series win over Australia with incredible comeback in Melbourne
Updated 29/07/2025 at 15:38 GMT+1
Saturday, July 26, 2025, will go down as one of the greatest days in the history of the British & Irish Lions. Andy Farrell's side pulled off a scarcely believable comeback against Australia to take an insurmountable 2-0 series lead over The Wallabies in front of a packed crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Head coach Owen Farrell and captain Maro Itoje reflected on an incredible night.
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British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell described his side’s pulsating comeback victory over Australia as "fairytale stuff" as they clinched a series win in remarkable style.
The Lions incredibly managed to recover from 23-5 down to seal a memorable 29-26 win, which will go down as one of the all-time classic matches.
Hugo Keenan had the final decisive moment with a last-minute try, which was laced with even more drama thanks to a late television match official (TMO) check.
However, with Jac Morgan's breakdown clearout deemed within the rules of the game, The Lions' celebrations could begin.
Speaking after the match, Farrell told Sky Sports: "It’s fairytale stuff. To leave with a win like that — it means everything.
"The lads have dreamed of being Lions all their lives. To win it at the end like that, it’s a fairytale.
"It was never in doubt, was it?
"It’s amazing — the occasion, the fans all travelling out here — they all deserve this, and that grandstand finish. This is what Lions rugby is all about. I’m absolutely delighted."
It looked like it was to be a very different story at the start of the match, though, as James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright all crossed over for The Wallabies inside the opening 40 minutes.
Reflecting on that first-half performance in more detail, Farrell added: "Australia said they were going to show up — and they did.
"It was more than physical. They played some nice rugby and capitalised on our ill-discipline."
"It wasn’t great, especially in the first half. We started with back-to-back penalties and yellow cards, and it really cost us on the scoreboard.
"But we found a way back into the game, and that gave us confidence heading into the second half. And, wow - what a finish!
"When we were able to build pressure, we rolled pretty nicely. Every time we got into the 22, we came away with something. We had solid belief at half-time and knew we could win if we controlled our discipline."
Itoje: It feels a little surreal
Lions skipper Maro Itoje hailed the side’s resilience after recovering from an underwhelming first-half display to seal an amazing victory.
He added: "It feels a little surreal. The first 20 minutes, we weren't great, weren't physical enough. We managed to find a way in the second half of the first half.
"The second half, again, it wasn't perfect, but we just managed to fight, got close and big Faz [Andy Farrell] was just telling us to play big all the time, to believe in ourselves.
"I give a load of credit to the bench - all the guys that came on made a massive difference."
Itoje believes that the increasing dominance of their scrum was integral to the turnaround and revealed a poignant motivational message received by his uncle ahead of the match.
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He continued: "I think we started hitting. It sounds pretty basic, but our scrum got on top and our decision-makers - Finn [Russell], Faz [Owen Farrell], Jamo [Gibson-Park] at nine - they started playing really well.
"We just managed to stay close enough and scored in the end.
"My uncle last week sent me a message saying, 'Look, you guys aren't the Harlem Globetrotters - you need to make sure you win'. So, thank you, uncle! Luckily, we did it.
"The exciting thing - you know, and I know we've got so much more in us. Hopefully, next week we have an opportunity to actually bring it all together."
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