'Shocked me': Stephen Larkham tames Lions legends at 51 as Classic Wallabies claim 2-0 series bragging rights
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Stephen Larkham donned his trademark head gear and rolled back the clock to guide the Classic Wallabies to a 2-0 sweep of the British and Irish Lions Legends at North Sydney Oval on Thursday night.
A crowd of 8000 braved the cold and rain to watch some of the game's greats duke it out in a fun-filled exhibition match that got increasingly competitive in the second half.
The Lions legends had been stung by a 41-31 defeat in Melbourne last week, highlighted by Drew Mitchell's hilarious hamstring pulling, beer chugging antics.
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Drew Mitchell pulls up lame. Stan
And the fired-up tourists - with Wales greats Shane Williams and Leigh Halfpenny on board - made their intentions clear as they took a 26-12 lead into the halftime sheds.
But the Classic Wallabies, coached by versatile general manager Morgan Turinui, emerged a different team in the second half and did not concede a point.
With time up, the home team produced some desperate try-line defence to force a Lions error and seal a 31-26 triumph - gaining some revenge from Saturday's MCG heartbreak.
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Stephen Larkham of the Classic Wallabies at North Sydney Oval. Getty
ACT Brumbies coach Larkham did not play in the first Classic Wallabies game but was convinced by Turinui to strap on the boots.
"Slow start, so there was a bit of fire in the second half there," the 51-year-old playmaking great told Stan Sport.
"After we went down a few points, we certainly had a bit of passion there in the second half and some good performances. Great to win in this jersey."
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The Rugby World Cup winner flashed some of his old silky skills and said the competitive juices were impossible to switch off.
"Just the pride in the jersey, I think, you never want to lose a game of rugby and I think most of those guys came through a really good period of Australian rugby where we had fairly good success," Larkham said.
"You get that competitive spirit, your body's not as sharp as it used to be, but your mind's certainly still willing. Everyone threw themselves into the contact because they really wanted to win in that second half. I saw the game last week and that shocked me, so I wasn't really looking forward to tonight. But, yeah, it's a great feeling now."
British & Irish Legends players high five with a man in a lion suit. Getty
Classic Wallabies captain Adam Ashley-Cooper was relieved to get the victory after a less than professional leadup.
"Whatever juju Drew brought from Melbourne in terms of hamstring strains, I think was quite contagious," Ashley-Cooper said.
"I had a little bit of that. Probably wasn't on top of my prep this week, you know, a lot of social activations."
The Test centurion argued that the 2-0 series win means Saturday's Wallabies vs Lions clash at Accor Stadium will decide overall bragging rights.
The Lions lead the Wallabies 2-0 after wins in Brisbane and Melbourne.
"The boys are competitive, everyone's got a chip on their shoulder, and we wanted to win. We've evened the series now, so it's 2-2. We're going to a decider on Saturday."
