LONG READ Ben Kay: 'I think Tom Curry will go down as a Lions great and he’s only just turned 27.'

One the eve of the Third Test, there’s very much an end-of-party feel about Sydney but for readers back home, rest assured, the Lions brand is alive and kicking. Seriously, the number of Lions fans that have travelled out here is incredible. Everywhere we’ve been, there has been a sea of red. We’ve been so well received by every Australia fan and it was the same in 2017 when I was out in New Zealand. From an Australian, Kiwi or South African perspective the tour provides an eye-watering economic boost to the locals. It will sustain these unions for years to come and the amount of money it brings into cities hosting the tourists, means everyone is so welcoming when Lions fans pitch up on their doorstep. From a from a British and Irish perspective that sense of unity is intoxicating, even without the beers. It’s so good natured, and you can see people making friends for life. It’s the sort of experience that only those who have been on tour can understand. It’s a nod and a knowing wink – the best pub brag ever, a proper bucket-list thing to do. Some experiences don’t match expectations, but a Lions tour always exceeds it. Alongside the World Cup, which is a different beast, it’s the biggest event in our sport bar none, because it’s totally unique.

So, what everyone has been talking about this week? I know it’s been big story in the UK but you would not believe the fuss that’s been made about that late clearout. Honestly, it has been absolutely crazy. I know an emotional Joe Schmidt has thrown in his two penneth and Morgan Turinui went really strong on comms but it’s even made parliament with MPs making quips about it. That old cliché, there’s no such thing as bad press, rings true. With headlines screaming, ‘the Wallabies were robbed’, it’s put union back in the national conversation and that can only be a good thing. The game is struggling here because league is so dominant. You have 10 NRL teams in the Sydney area, two AFL teams and just one Waratahs professional team but this week rugby union has taken centre stage in the media narrative. Raising the sport’s profile here is hugely important with a World Cup in 2027 about to loom large.

As for the rugby, well the third Test has a plethora of sub-plots and no one quite knows how it’s going to play out. I mean, what’s going to happen at the first breakdown there’s head on head contact, particularly, if it’s a Wallaby on a Lions player and it’s a borderline decision. Deep in a referee’s psychology, surely subconsciously, they’ll be saying, ‘well, I can’t give it because of what happened in the Second Test’. That’s natural human instinct. While Andy Farrell will be thinking, ‘let’s not give them an opportunity to ping us early on, so they can right some wrongs’. The crowd will be buzzing and you wouldn’t blame the referees for a little nervousness in their first couple of breakdown decisions. When Jac Morgan comes on, you can imagine he’ll get a lively reception.

Believe me, every elite professional side preps on the ref during Test week, discussing their interpretations of the laws, and what penalties they routinely give away. They get scrutinized as much as the opposition players do. For what it’s worth, I genuinely think Andrea Piardi got the big call spot on. As I’ve previously said, there was part of me hoping the Wallabies would hold out simply because it would have set up a tinder-box week of excitement here in Sydney, with a Test Series up for grabs but I was genuinely flabbergasted by the fallout.

After being electric for half-an-hour, the Wallabies gave away those two softish tries before the break, which was the reason they lost the Test, not the clearout.

Another interesting part of the pre-match psychology is what kind of Wallaby team turn up because there’s that old maxim, ‘have they just played their final? You know, can they raise the emotional stakes again?’ It’s a little bit like France out in New Zealand earlier this summer. They turned up massively on the first weekend when they’d been questioned but they couldn’t back it up the following weekend.

Losing Rob Valentini, who was unbelievable in that first half last week, is a massive blow, although they’ve recalled the heft of Taniela Tupou. They’ll also hope Will Skelton can go longer than 40 minutes, because he made a real difference. From a neutral’s perspective, you have to question the brittle confidence of the Wallabies right now. After being electric for half-an-hour, they gave away those two softish tries before the break, which was the reason they lost the Test, not the clearout. You often see that soft underbelly with sides who haven’t quite got the grit and guile to see games through. I see it in the Premiership all the time.

Correspondingly, they could come out all guns blazing, feeling they were robbed last week. They’ll have seen and heard the Lions partying all week. The leaders in camp will be say saying, ‘we’ve got a shot of making a difference and getting that respect back’. There will be an element of desperation.

As for the Lions psychology, look at Liverpool winning the Premier League. After they’d won the trophy, they couldn’t stop their intensity levels dropping off. I’ve seen quite a few of the players this week and I’ve asked them how they are. To a man they’ve said, ‘we had an amazing weekend, but it’s back to hard graft now.’ You get the feeling they’re floating on air, but that sense of completion is hard to shake. Equally, they’ve gone on record as saying they want to win the Series 3-0 so will be under pressure to back it up their words. You might find that without that pressure, more familiarity, they can unleash the best attacking version of themselves turns and tear it up. If that happens, watch out Wallabies. The imponderables bubbling away sets the tour denouement up perfectly.

As the tour comes to an end, I have to pick out a few players I feel deserve a special mention. Two players, Tadhg Furlong and Maro Itoje, have truly joined the pantheon of greats by making nine Lions Test starts.

Tactically, I do wonder whether the Wallabies will change their defensive structure. They’ve been so passive in the wide channels and the Lions are hoovering up easy metres. There has to be pragmatism to say that modus operandi hasn’t worked against the Lions. I think they should fly up in the outside channels. The worry, of course, is Finn [Russell] might pick them off by going over the top, but he’s been given so much time to hurt them. It’s clearly a big call because they’ve got the Springboks in a fortnight and starting to meddle with the defence may unsettle the players.

As the tour comes to an end, I have to pick out a few players I feel deserve a special mention. Two players, Tadhg Furlong and Maro Itoje, have truly joined the pantheon of greats by making nine Lions Test starts.

I remember being asked 18 months or so ago, ‘who is the first name on your team-sheet? I went for the big Leinsterman. However, six weeks before the tour, I thought, ‘Oh cripes, I’ve cocked up here, he’s not going to make it’. Thankfully he did and he’s been a rock star. Obviously his set-piece, carrying and tackling have been top notch, but it’s the little things that set him apart, like his appreciation of space. Take a look at Sione’s [Tuipulotu) try. It started with his delightful pull-back pass. Most forwards would have taken it on and reset. Not Tadhg. There’s a maturity to his play and he fully deserves all the plaudits coming his way.

As for Maro, he always seems to be able to reach a level of performance that few peers can reach. I know he got grief early on last weekend for whingeing and starting that fracas with Will Skelton, but he had a point and I actually quite liked the niggle. There was a time when many in the game thought he might be a bit quiet for a leadership role. He was more of a one-dimensional, ‘follow me into battle and I’ll lead by example type’ but he’s been increasingly more assertive. Do I think Maro is the greatest Lions captain ever? No, I don’t, but do I think he’s one of the greatest Lions of the modern era? Absolutely. Think about him in New Zealand, South Africa and now Australia, he’s always been one of the standout players. He’s also got a chance of leading them back to New Zealand for a fourth tour. He’ll only be 34.

For me, Finn Russell is currently the best fly-half in the world. Of the recent generation of elite Northern Hemisphere No 10s, he’s finally taken his place on Mount Rushmore, alongside Johnny Sexton, Owen Farrell and Dan Biggar.

Then there’s Finn. For me, he is currently the best fly-half in the world. Of the recent generation of elite Northern Hemisphere No 10s, he’s finally taken his place on Mount Rushmore, alongside Johnny Sexton, Owen Farrell and Dan Biggar. It’s taken him a while to get there because of how he’s been pigeonholed as this mercurial talent, rather than a general who plays the percentages but he’s the complete 10. He’s had an amazing platform at Bath all season and I love his relaxed vibe. He just breezily comes up with the clutch moments. That audacious kick-off into the corner last weekend was wild. His brain is so quick and the best thing is he can execute what he sees. Maybe the focus shifting from defence to attack has helped him, although he’s a bloody brave defender.

Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne also deserve a shout out, with Curry, in particular, putting in some incredible plays. That tackle he made on Joseph Sua’ali’i was Series defining and sums up what he’s all about. The huge engine, that bone-shuddering physicality. I think he will go down as a Lions great and he’s only just turned 27. I think many would have assumed Jac Morgan and Henry Pollock would have usurped him on this tour, but if his body holds out, you’re looking at another seven or eight years and he will only get better because of what’s behind him in an England shirt. He’s got Pollock, his brother, Ben Earl, Guy Pepper and Ted Hill snapping at his heels.

To sum up, it’s been an epic tour, with one final chapter yet to be written and I genuinely can’t call how it will end.