Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as the British & Irish Lions face Australia in Test series opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Nik and Kevin are joined by a Hollywood A-lister in the latest episode of Lions: Roar and Uncut!


'We gave them too much access'


CHRIS FOY: Utterly BONKERS!
Crazy half. Utterly bonkers. The Lions were a rabble after half an hour, but once Tommy Freeman came back on and they had 15 players on the field again, they regained some shape and cohesion. Good luck to the coaches who have quarter of an hour to make sense of that, knowing that the match is in the balance and the series is on a knife-edge.


Half Time: Australia 23-17 Lions

TRY! What a game of international rugby we are witnessing!

TRY! The Lions hit back

What an incredible five minutes that was!

CHRIS FOY: This is alarming for the Lions
That last few minutes was alarming. The Lions are in a mess at the moment; chronic lack of intensity and organisation. They need leadership and a real up-lift in energy and physicality soon, or this game could get away from them in a hurry.


TRY! The Wallabies hit back!

CHRIS FOY: Harry Potter comes off the field
The risk of opting for a 6-2 bench split has just been exposed after the Wallabies were forced into an early change.
An injury to Harry Potter has led to replacement scrum-half Tate McDermott being deployed on the wing, which is far from ideal with almost an hour of this match remaining.

TRY! Dan Sheehan dives over!

The Lions have a try scrubbed!


Australia 6-0 Lions: Great start for Australia

Australia 3-0 Lions: Skelton makes an immediate impact


KICK OFF!

Joe Schmidt reveals why the Wallabies were LATE arriving at the MCG tonight
We were about 15 minutes late because you couldn’t drive very far in the traffic that is indicative of the crowd that is gathering. It’s a massive crowd, a huge venue and a massive night.
The players are conscious of that and all they can do is put their best foot forward. They have trained well during the week and, off the back of that, hopefully they will be right in the contest. We need to be a little bit sharper and smarter around the contestable parts of the game.
I feel massive pressure but I’m pragmatic enough to know we’ve worked hard during the week to get the players prepared. Now they will go out and represent their country well.'

The calm before the storm...

Revealed: The key figure behind Will Skelton's emotional Wallabies return

Nik and Kevin are joined by a Hollywood A-lister in the latest episode of Lions: Roar and Uncut!


Kurtley Beale roasts his former Australia team-mate

NIK SIMON: It's been a busy week at the MCG!
It’s been a busy week of action at the MCG. It hosted an AFL match between the Hawks and Carlton on Thursday night, with a good contingent of Lions players here to enjoy the show.
The game pulled in a crowd of more than 50,000, which is pretty impressive for a regular league match on a school night. AFL is king here.

Farrell heaps praise on Garry Ringrose

CHRIS FOY: Here comes the rain... this is bound to be an arm-wrestle contest
As forecast, rain is now coming down here at the MCG, so this is bound to turn into an arm-wrestle contest.
If it stays like this, the ball is going to spend a lot of time in the air as both teams will test each other out with an aerial barrage, as well as with heavy use of lineout drives.


What a stadium!

Your Lions team to face Australia...

CHRIS FOY: The Wallabies are running LATE!
It appears that the Wallabies arrived almost half-an-hour late after being stuck in gridlock in Melbourne. That is a major logistical lapse for the hosts and a huge surprise given how their head coach, Joe Schmidt, is renowned for being so meticulous.
He will be furious about a delay which is bound to impact on their preparations leading up to kick-off.

The Lions' WORST nightmare
Wallabies starting XV


CHRIS FOY: The Lions have taken the first victory of the match...



Can the Wallabies bounce back?
Key Updates
- Nik and Kevin are joined by a Hollywood A-lister in the latest episode of Lions: Roar and Uncut!
- 'We gave them too much access'
- CHRIS FOY: Utterly BONKERS!
- Half Time: Australia 23-17 Lions
- TRY! What a game of international rugby we are witnessing!
- TRY! The Lions hit back
- What an incredible five minutes that was!
- CHRIS FOY: This is alarming for the Lions
- TRY! The Wallabies hit back!
- CHRIS FOY: Harry Potter comes off the field
- TRY! Dan Sheehan dives over!
- Australia 6-0 Lions: Great start for Australia
- Australia 3-0 Lions: Skelton makes an immediate impact
- Joe Schmidt reveals why the Wallabies were LATE arriving at the MCG tonight
- The calm before the storm...
- Revealed: The key figure behind Will Skelton's emotional Wallabies return
- Kurtley Beale roasts his former Australia team-mate
- CHRIS FOY: There's a lot of Welsh fans in the house!
- NIK SIMON: It's been a busy week at the MCG!
- Farrell heaps praise on Garry Ringrose
- CHRIS FOY: Here comes the rain... this is bound to be an arm-wrestle contest
- What a stadium!
- Your Lions team to face Australia...
- CHRIS FOY: The Wallabies are running LATE!
- The Lions' WORST nightmare
- Wallabies starting XV
- CHRIS FOY: The Lions have taken the first victory of the match...
- Can the Wallabies bounce back?