Lions coach Graham Henry has admitted the tourists had been falling apart at the seams by the time they reached Sydney for the series-deciding Test. He claimed: "We had a patched-up side out there and they probably gave more than 100 percent. Scott Quinnell didn't train all week, Neil Back only had one day's practice, while Jonny Wilkinson didn't start training until Wednesday. Despite all that, the guys showed great resilience and personal pride."
The tourists lost nine players through injuries even before their remarkable first Test triumph in Brisbane two weeks ago. But Henry still felt, like his captain Martin Johnson, they had lost the series when they failed to take their chances in the 35-14 second Test defeat in Melbourne when Jonny Wilkinson's loose pass let in Joe Roff for the first of his two devastating tries.
And he admitted Australia had destroyed their ability to dominate territorially at the line out in Sydney. Speaking to BBC Radio, Henry continued: "Because the Australians are so good at competing against our ball, it destroyed our game. We tried to change the line out from the second Test but it didn't work."
Bob Dwyer, Australia's 1991 World Cup-winning coach, said there had been nothing between the two sides put out by two great coaches. He insisted: "God somehow makes sure that in international rugby nobody wins all the time. We have to accept whatever the scoreboard says. It's fair to say neither team was defeated in this series."
The next Lions tour is to New Zealand in 2005.
Filed by Shane Murray
