Matt Dawson column: ‘Lions need series whitewash to be celebrated for decades’

The British and Irish Lions have achieved something truly special by winning a Test series – but for this squad to be properly celebrated for decades to come, they need to whitewash the Wallabies.

How good are they, compared to the series-winning teams of 1989, 1997 and 2013?

It’s hard to judge given the opposition. Australia have had a tough few years. Part of me would love to have seen the Lions taken to the edge in three high-intensity Test matches in New Zealand or South Africa.

But you can only beat what is in front of you, and while Australia didn’t turn up in Brisbane, they did in Melbourne and showed they can be a very decent Wallaby side.

Is that the level Australia are at now? Or was it a spike in performance born out of desperation? We’ll find out a lot more about them this weekend and through the rest of their international season.

A couple of hours after full time on Saturday, the Lions players gathered in the centre of the pitch to reflect on what they had achieved in the sporting mecca that is the MCG.

Sitting there would have been the proper stuff of dreams for those players and I would like to think during the course of that night – even if at 4am – they spoke about how they can take themselves to a Lions status that hasn’t been done in a century.

The last time the Lions won all their Test matches on a tour was 1927 in Argentina. That’s almost a century worth of history. They are putting themselves in a position to be remembered for many years to come.

It reminds me a bit of when the European Ryder Cup team won in Italy in 2023 and all 12 of the victorious players were sitting at a press conference after regaining the trophy.

Yes, it was great to win at home, but winning at home has been done a lot before. So it was telling Rory McIlroy quickly turned his attention to Bethpage, New York, and a chance to really cement their legacy later this year.

On a similar note, I hope the Lions players have been saying to each other at the start of this week: “We could be a proper legendary side if we win 3-0.”