Erasmus, who received a two-month ban from World Rugby for a 62-minute video that was critical of Australian referee Nic Berry after the first Lions test in South Africa in 2021, said he could see both sides of the argument.

A contentious try in the last minute by Hugo Keenan capped an extraordinary comeback win for the British and Irish Lions over the Wallabies in the second test on Saturday, played in front of 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Schmidt has opted to give 22-year-old Tom Lynagh his first Wallabies start which in itself gives the first Test a wonderful story to follow. Lynagh emulates his legendary father Michael, who played in all three Tests against the Lions in 1989 and was part of Australia’s Rugby World Cup-winning team of 1991, also at fly-half.