'We showed them': NSW captain takes aim at media after gutsy loss to Lions

The British and Irish Lions are 3-0 in Australia after beating the NSW Waratahs 21-10 in Sydney on Saturday night.

But the scrap at Allianz Stadium was by far their toughest contest of the tour so far, after they piled 50 points on both the Western Force and Queensland Reds.

Stan Sport commentator Sean Maloney described it as a "stunning turnaround" from the Waratahs, who finished eighth of 11 teams in Super Rugby Pacific.

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And NSW captain Hugh Sinclair was claiming a victory of sorts after playing his final game as a professional.

"Super proud. The Aussie media had a crack at us, thinking we were going to get beat by 90 or 50 or 60 and we showed them," Sinclair told Stan Sport's Matt Burke.

"I wouldn't mind a bit of positivity from a bit of them for the next couple of weeks, would be nice. We showed up, the boys showed up."

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Scotland centre Huw Jones scored two tries for the Lions while impressive England halfback Alex Mitchell nabbed the match-sealing third.

Winger Darby Lancaster and hooker Ethan Dobbins scored the Waratahs tries.

"The Waratahs won't win but they'll celebrate like they have," Maloney said.

"They have won back plenty of fans in Sydney."

Sinclair expanded on his media commentary in the press conference after the match.

His grumbles stemmed mainly from a preview article penned by a South African journalist with the headline: 'Even more grievous than the 96-19': Why the Tahs could be set to cop a record-breaking thumping from the Lions.

"It just gets you fired up and it would be nice to get a bit of positivity around Aussie rugby," Sinclair said.

"I know we've been struggling a bit but we had a crack tonight. They're just 23 blokes as well, so why can't we put a bit of pressure on and make a game of it.

"Hopefully the Test series is a cracker."

The Lions clapped Sinclair off the pitch with a classy guard of honour and the 32-year-old stalwart swapped jerseys with Lions skipper Tadhg Beirne.

The Lions' next fixture is against the Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday while the Wallabies take on Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday.

Lions 21 (Huw Jones 2, Alex Mitchell tries; Fin Smith 3 conversions) Waratahs 10 (Darby Lancaster, Ethan Dobbins tries). HT: 14-5