Lions' Victory Slips Through Johnson's Fingers

14 July 2001, Third Test, Sydney

It was the last play, a normally prosaic line-out, that became the symbol of a dramatic, ultimately doomed, rugby tour.

When the British and Irish Lions toured Australia in 2001, for a three-Test series, the core of the team was English and at their head was the giant Martin Johnson. Coach Graham Henry may have alienated a number of the players but throughout, on and off the field, Johnson held the touring party together by willpower and sheer physical presence.

His team responded by storming to victory in the first Test, in Brisbane, 29-13. They dominated the second Test in Melbourne until half-time, then slumped to a record defeat. Now, so battered and bruised that they could barely train, they were in Sydney. A win would redeem all that had gone before.

Again, an early Lions lead was overhauled. As the game entered its closing moments, they trailed 29-23. A converted try would still win them the match and the series. As the clock ticked down, the Lions had one final line-out, one last chance to attack from a position close to the Australia line.

Johnson, the talisman and the victorious captain in South Africa four years earlier, called the throw to himself. But he was beaten to the ball by his opposite number, Justin Harrison, who had taunted the Lions throughout the tour. Johnson would take revenge against Harrison in the 2003 World Cup final, but just for a moment at the end of an epic night the great man saw glory slip through his fingers.