Tour rookie Henry Pollock talked up the prospect of a whitewash almost before a ball had been kicked this summer, and now the British and Irish Lions are one game away from making it happen.
It has been a tour marked by constant wins for the tourists, who have managed eight straight victories Down Under.
For Andy Farrell, the most pleasing of those successes will be the two Test wins against the Wallabies, which means the Lions head into this third Test with the series already wrapped up.
It was not always a straightforward road there. After a dominant performance in the opening Test that saw the Lions win 27-19, they were made to engineer a memorable comeback in the next meeting.
The visitors reversed an 18-point deficit and ended with a 29-26 victory, although a controversial clear-out call in the game’s final minute allowed a last-gasp Lions try to stand.
That call — labelled “clear-out gate” — has come to dominate the last Test week and only adds fuel to a thrilling final showdown.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the game?
When: Saturday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. AEST (11 a.m. BST)
Where: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Match official: Nika Amashukeli
How to watch
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and on Stan Sport in Australia. For radio, TalkSport will be providing live commentary, while BBC Radio Wales will deliver Welsh commentary.
You can also follow ESPN’s live blog, as well as extensive news and feature coverage.
Lineups and team news
2:08
Farrell: Lions’ series win ‘what dreams are made of’
Andy Farrell and captain Maro Itoje react to the British and Irish Lions’ dramatic 29-26 victory over Australia to win the series.
Note: The team lineups will appear below once they are announced this week.
Garry Ringrose has been ruled out again this weekend as he goes through the 12-day concussion protocols.
Ringrose was initially selected to play in last weekend’s second Test in Melbourne but withdrew after experiencing concussion symptoms in training.
Meanwhile, all other players who were unavailable for selection for the second Test because of injury — winger Mack Hansen (foot), lock Joe McCarthy (foot) and centre Sione Tuipulotu (hamstring) — all took part in training on Tuesday.
Saturday’s match at Stadium Australia was probably Ringrose’s last realistic chance of playing a Test for the Lions, and assistant coach Andrew Goodman said the 30-year-old was devastated.
“Garry was playing some amazing rugby through this tour, and it’s been a dream of his for so long to represent the Lions, and he’s managed to do that,” he told reporters.
“But he wanted to be a Test-match Lion, so it’s been devastating for him. Everyone knows Garry’s a great lad and a great team man.”
For the Wallabies, the hits keep on coming with veteran prop Allan Alaalatoa to miss the clash.
Alaalatoa suffered a shoulder injury in the second Test. The tighthead was replaced by Tom Robertson at halftime, with the Wallabies’ scrum struggling for much of the second half thereafter as the Lions unleashed an entirely new front-row and began to boss the set-piece.
Alaalatoa’s absence could open the door for one final hit-out for departing prop Taniela Tupou, who impressed in the First Nations-Pasifika XV’s narrow loss to the Lions in their final tour match last week.
Information from Reuters and ESPN’s Sam Bruce contributed to this report.
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