SYDNEY :The British & Irish Lions have history on their minds as they head into Saturday’s third and final clash with the Wallabies determined to sweep a test series for the first time in living memory.
No Lions team have even gone unbeaten in a test series since Willie John McBride’s Invincibles in South Africa in 1974, when a controversial draw in the fourth match denied them the sweep.
The Lions did sweep Argentina 4-0 in 1927 and also beat the Wallabies 2-0 three times in the 1950s and 1960s as part of losing tours of New Zealand, but you would need to go back to 1904 for the last 3-0 triumph on a trip solely to Australia.
For coach Andy Farrell, however, the importance of the sweep is simply that it was something the Lions had committed to achieving as a squad before heading to Australia.
“Hopefully (the tour) will be remembered for the type of rugby that we played and the way that we went about it together. That’s it,” he said after naming his team on Thursday.
“We came here wanting to win a series. We’ve achieved that, but we’ve a massive responsibility to make sure that we finish this off with something that we promised ourselves.”
In keeping with that spirit, Farrell made only minor tweaks to his team for the Stadium Australia clash, bringing Blair Kinghorn in on the wing, James Ryan into the second row and an extra forward onto the bench.
For Australia, Saturday is all about salvaging some pride after losing the second test, and the series, to a last-minute try in Melbourne last week.
The Wallabies have proved they can play by “winning” the second half of the opening test 14-10 in Brisbane and taking a 23-5 lead after half an hour of the second in Melbourne.
Coach Joe Schmidt said it had been difficult to pick the players up after the defeat but thought they should not ignore the progress they have made since he took over last year.
“My belief is that 18 months ago, no one gave us a chance of challenging the Lions,” he said.
“(But) there’s not been nearly as much between the teams as maybe people might have expected.”
Flanker Rob Valetini and two other starters from last week will miss the match because of injury but Schmidt made a choice to bring scrumhalf Nic White into the team for his last test before he retires from international rugby.
The New Zealander denied it was a sentimental selection, citing White’s kicking skills in what are expected to be wet conditions, but was certain he would get an emotional dividend from the rest of the team.
“When you make that contribution over 12 years, it’s not sentimentality, but it is a reality when someone is important to the group, the group want to support them,” he said.
