Early Lions onslaught costs Wallabies on dark night

THERE were no late heroics - the turning point in the Wallabies' loss to the Lions came before the players had trotted into the sheds for halftime.

WE had come to expect turning points in the dying minutes. When the Lions were on tour and the trophy rested on a decider, history told us those endlessly-replayed moments - Campo's pass, Harrison's steal - unfolded in the sixth half of the series.

It was meant to happen when the tension was high and edges of seats were occupied.

Not tonight.

Tonight the turning point had come before the players had even trotted back into the sheds for halftime.

There was a full 40 minutes to play, but psychologically, hands went on the Tom Richards Cup before the first siren of the night.

The context began early. And by context, read artillery barrage on the Wallabies' hopes of victory.

The very first play of the game was disastrous, with a fumble from the kick-off leading to a Lions try in the first minute.

No good for Australia, but recoverable.

Things soon got worse, though, when George Smith was seemingly knocked cold, and referee Roman Poite decided Australia couldn't scrummage.

Given Poite is notorious for picking a weak scrum and - regardless of what unfolds - then penalising them all night, this was a bad portent for the Wallabies.

Things could ugly, and they did.

Smith returned miraculously but even the Brumbies flanker couldn't stop the carnage up front at scrum-time, which saw Poite penalise the Wallaby scrum six more times, and give the Lions 12 more points and a 19-3 lead.

The last of those penalties came with a yellow card for Ben Alexander.

By now the view seemed as grim as it was going to get for Australia.

Not so. When Israel Folau grabbed at a hamstring, and limped off, suddenly the one weapon capable of turning the game back was gone.

The Wallabies have long held a trait of being exceptionally dangerous when written off after a loss, capable of great heights when expected to bomb.

Favouritism sits far more uneasily, and the same altitude is rarely achieved when dominance is expected, particuarly after a back-slapping win like Melbourne's.

At 19-3 down, with the ref on their backs and the million-dollar star on the sideline, it at least seemed the Wallabies were back in familar territory.

The game was gone.

Now rank outsiders, the home side began to play, and build pressure.

One 27-phase Lions attack was repelled, and when Folau's replacement Jesse Mogg made a burst upfield, the Wallabies had field position.

Four kickable penalties were turned down as the Wallabies pushed for a try to get them back in the game.

In the 39th minute, it seemed like that lifeline came. A scrum win saw James O'Connor score a try to make it 19-10 at the break.

Had things turned? Was this a turning point for Australia?

That appeared to be the case when Christian Lealiifano banged over another two penalties and by the 45th minute, the Wallabies only trailed by three points.

Was the impossible about to happen?

Nuh-uh. Sorry, but despite romantic hopes, that first-half turning point wasn't in the Wallabies' favour.

The number of direct hits the Wallabies took in the first half had left them with shellshock, and the papered-over cracks were soon exposed again.

The scrum penalties kept coming, and after all the defence of the first half, gold legs tired alarmingly.

Tired legs equal poor chase lines, and the Lions - smelling blood - seized the gaps down the left side. Poor defence led to two tries, and then a third up the middle.

The game and the series was over by the 67th minute. But it was lost, never to be found again, between minutes one and 40.

There would be no second-half heroes for Australia on a dark night.