By taking the fight to the team many consider the world’s best, a fearless young group again resembled the side once proudly Australia’s favourite
The 40 or so Wallabies players, squad members and staff were called by Joe Schmidt to form a circle, having just seen their hopes against the British & Irish Lions evaporate into the Melbourne night. Those who had not taken the field on this remarkable evening were dressed in suits of a sponsor: a dark jacket, dark tie and black pants. Those in gold wore an even darker mood.
The decision by the television match official to allow high contact by Jac Morgan on Carlo Tizzano in the lead-up to the Lions’ match-winning try has been widely criticised by fans, broadcasters and even coach Schmidt. It was a moment of injustice – perceived or actual – that concluded the 29-26 defeat and sank the mood of more than half of those that filled one of the world’s great sporting arenas on Saturday.
As fans began to leave, in the middle of the MCG stood the sombre Wallabies, whose gaze met Schmidt’s. “They were broken at the end of it,” the coach recounted. “You’ve got to keep resolve and you’ve got to keep going forward, and we can’t, and we won’t, wallow in self-pity.”
