The British & Irish Lions arrived in Australia in 2013 chasing a first series win in 16 years.

Not since the famous 1997 series against the world champion Springboks had the tourists claimed victory.

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Their place in the history books was enshrined in Sydney with their third Test thumping, but the groundwork was laid in Brisbane.

THE TEAM

Forwards coach in 2009, Warren Gatland took on the top job four years later and surrounded himself with the likes of Graham Rowntree and Rob Howley – who were also in South Africa – while Andy Farrell came in as defence coach.

Sam Warburton was the captain for the Tour, a bold decision considering legends like Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll were also in the touring party.

Wales had just won the 2013 RBS 6 Nations with a 30-3 thumping of England in Cardiff and there was, as a result, a strong Welsh component to the squad.

Backs like George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies were to be ever-present in the Test series while Ireland’s Jonathan Sexton pulled the strings at fly-half.

Up front Tom Youngs and Richard Hibbard shared the hooker duties but Adam Jones and Alex Corbisero were the main props charged with taking on the Wallaby scrum.

In the second row O’Connell – later replaced by Geoff Parling – and Alun Wyn Jones brought the ballast while the back row was ultra competitive with the likes of Warburton, Tom Croft, Dan Lydiate and Sean O’Brien all sharing time on the flanks with Jamie Heaslip and Taulupe Faletau the two No.8s.

THE BUILD-UP

From the outset many thought they had a strong chance against Robbie Deans' Wallabies.

Their first five warm-up games had all ended in victory – including an impressive 47-17 win over the Waratahs with what looked like the bulk of Gatland's Test side in place.

But in midweek before the first Test the Lions had come undone against the Brumbies and lost some of their momentum.

Throw in some injury concerns – North was recovering from a hamstring injury sustained earlier in the tour, Jamie Roberts had already been ruled out as had two loosehead props in Cian Healy and Gethin Jenkins and the Test was tough to call.

So when Gatland named his starting XV – made up of eight Welshmen, four Irishmen and three Englishmen –Lions fans breathed a sigh of relief to see North included.

From the Wallaby point of view much of the build-up focused on Deans' inclusion of league-convert Israel Folau on the wing while James O'Connor was handed the No.10 shirt.

Also in the back line Christian Leali'ifano was given his Test debut at inside centre while up front James Horwill captained a pack that had been robbed of both George Smith and David Pocock through injury – although Michael Hooper was a pretty handy deputy on the openside.

THE MATCH

The opening stages of the Test match at a raucous Suncorp Stadium were notable only really for a couple of missed kicks at goal by James O’Connor, and the premature end to Leali’ifano’s debut through injury.

But the game burst to life soon after with Folau’s first try in Test rugby, the winger dotting down after Will Genia’s superb tap and go from inside his own half had ripped the Lions to shreds.

Halfpenny reduced arrears with what would become a familiar routine from the kicking tee and then North hit his stride.

Having fielded a poor clearance from Berrick Barnes, the youngster brushed past Pat McCable, left O’Connor for dead then rounded Barnes and beat Genia in a race for the corner and an iconic Lions try.

Halfpenny added the extras and a subsequent penalty and it looked like the Lions would go in at the break leading 13-7.

But there was twist still to come in the opening period when Folau produced another gem, stepping his way into the right corner for his second try of the night.

However, after the break Alex Cuthbert’s score off a first-phase move put the Lions back out in front at 20-12.

Still the Wallabies refused to yield however, and despite a mounting injury list it took two penalty misses in the final ten minutes from Kurtley Beale for the tourists to secure a 23-21 victory.