Andy Farrell said he is ‘unbelievably proud’ of his Lions squad despite missing out on completing a series sweep over Australia on Saturday.
The Lions were unbeaten through their first eight matches of the summer and came from behind to clinch the Australia series in the second Test, but fell to a 22-12 defeat in Sydney in their final tour outing.
While he was disappointed to fall short of a clean sweep, Farrell said the Lions have plenty to celebrate, pointing to their remarkable second Test win.
"I know we're disappointed but we should be unbelievably proud of what we achieved as a group,” he said. “Lions tours are tough, and to do what we've done last week and put the series in the bag, upon reflection after tonight, I'm sure we'll be super proud of the achievements.
"How we got the job done in that type of theatre will live with us forever. These lads have been an absolute dream to work with."
Dissecting the third Test, he admitted that the Wallabies dealt with the weather better than the tourists, who made countless handling errors as torrential rain fell throughout the match.
"The obvious thing is to say congratulations to Australia because they thoroughly deserved to win. They played the conditions better than us, and we overplayed at times and gave them that score that was difficult to claw back."
For Farrell, the end of the eight-week tour is bittersweet: "It's been the time of our lives. I know it seems a bit dramatic, but it's the truth.
"We got to create a special memory together. I'm unbelievably proud to be associated with this group.
"This has been a long time in the planning but the best eight weeks of our lives also.
"I can't wait to get into the changing rooms and say what I need to say to this group.”
