Andy Farrell hailed a ‘fairytale’ finish to a pulsating second Test after Hugo Keenan’s dramatic late try sealed Qatar Airways Lions Men’s Series glory for the tourists in Melbourne.

Keenan crossed in the 79th minute after a sustained spell of pressure inside the Wallabies 22 as the Lions completed a stunning comeback from 23-5 down to win 29-26 in front of more than 90,000 fans.

Dan Sheehan, Tom Curry, Huw Jones and Tadhg Beirne also dotted down on a famous night which will go down in Lions folklore – as will Farrell, who has added his name to an esteemed list of Head Coaches to orchestrate series wins.

“It’s fairytale stuff,” he said. “You can say whatever you want but to these lads, it means absolutely everything.

“They have dreamed of being a Lion all their lives and the fairytale is true, getting to this point and winning it at the death like that. What a privilege.

“It’s amazing. The occasion and the fans all travelling out here, they all deserve this, they deserve a grandstand finish like that.

“This is what Lions rugby is all about, that’s why they come in their thousands. I am absolutely delighted for everyone who made the effort.”

Farrell was responsible for instilling belief into his players at the break after a rapid Australia start left the tourists on the back foot.

James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright scored within an eight-minute spell which left the green and gold contingent within the famous old venue bouncing.

But Curry and Jones started the comeback before the break, starting the momentum swing at a crucial time.

“It wasn’t great in the first half, especially how we started in comparison to last week,” Farrell said.

“Back-to-back penalties, yellow cards, it was very costly on the scoreboard.

“But we found a way to get back into the game and that gave us confidence to go and stay in the game and take the game to them in the second half.

“We felt that if we could put on some pressure and get into the 22, which we did on three or four occasions and scored every single time, we knew that was in us.”

Keenan was a fitting match-winner having overcome his own hurdles on this trip.

The Irish full-back had a calf injury on his arrival into camp and was then laid low by an illness which saw him lose, in his words, ‘five or six kilos’.

But he battled back to form and fitness and now has a moment to treasure – though perhaps it was fortunate he was out the earshot of his Head Coach when he picked up possession.

“I was screaming ‘pass it, pass it’ to Hugo but he was never going to pass it, was he?” Farrell said with a smile.

“Have a think about what he has been through and where we have got to. He’s scoring the winning try at the death, it has all been worth it. What a finish.”