IT ALL ended in tears for Jonny Wilkinson as the British Lions lost narrowly in the Test series decider against Australia in Sydney.

The 22-year-old former Lord Wandsworth College captain sank to his knees and wept as the Lions just failed to last the distance for the second week running.

Nevertheless, Wilkinson (pictured) will be hailed as one of the tour heroes. His guile and bravery will make him a must for selection when the Lions travel again to New Zealand in four years.

His progress and standing in the world game will make him a cornerstone of that tour party and possibly a future Lions captain.

Saturday's third Test in Stadium Australia saw the Wallabies win 29-23 to wrap up a 2-1 series win. It is the first time they have won a series against the Lions.

Wilkinson, stretchered off a week before in Melbourne, was again a thorn in the Australian side, scoring 18 of the Lions' points.

He twice put the Lions ahead and then levelled the scores going into the final quarter.

The Lions paid for their indiscipline when Matt Burke posted his fourth and fifth penalties to edge Wilkinson in the kicking department at the end.

At the outset, a late tackle on centre Rob Henderson allowed Wilkinson to cancel out a Burke penalty.

The fly-half then converted Jason Robinson's 21st minute try to provide a 10-9 lead for the Lions.

Both kickers missed twice each before Burke added the extra points to the first of Daniel Herbert's two tries. A Lions purple patch either side of half-time saw Wilkinson slot a penalty and then he wriggled over from close range for the second tourists' try.

Wilkinson's conversion put the Lions 20-16 ahead after 42 minutes but the Wallabies started to gain the upper hand when Herbert crossed from close range for his second touchdown.

Wilkinson's 52nd minute penalty levelled the score at 23-23 but he then missed a third kick at goal for the third successive Test eight minutes later.

Two Burke penalties completed the scoring but the Lions had chances at the end, even after failing to capitalise on a man advantage when Herbert was sin-binned.

A lineout close to the home line saw man of the match Justin Harrison steal the ball from Martin Johnson. The Lions' best weapon, the driving maul, could therefore not come into play.

Wilkinson said beforehand in his national newspaper column that the match was "possibly the biggest any of us have known, against outstanding opponents."

Victorious skipper John Eales, who collected the Tom Richards Cup to go with the World Cup and the Tri-Nations Cup, said: "It's been a great series - one of the best series many rugby players have ever seen."

Lions coach Graham Henry said: "We gave it our best shot but Australia were the better side.

"They played well under pressure."