Australia head coach Joe Schmidt was furious with the decision to award Hugo Keenan's last-gasp try in Saturday's defeat to the British and Irish Lions, saying it did not tally with a push for increased player safety.

The Lions backed up last week's 27-19 success in Brisbane with a dramatic 29-26 triumph in Melbourne, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

But they had to earn their first series victory since 2013 – which also came against Australia – the hard way.

The Wallabies led from the fourth minute to the 80th minute, building a 24-5 advantage by the 31st minute only for the Lions to score two tries late in the first half.

The hosts then defended bravely in front of a crowd of 90,307 – the largest ever for a Lions test – before Keenan went over at the last.

The winning try was not without controversy, though, as Jac Morgan's breakdown clearance against Harry Wilson was cleared by a TMO review, with the hosts arguing Morgan's contact was high.

Schmidt could not believe that decision went against his team, saying: "I think everyone can make their own decision on that. You just have to read the law and listen to the description from the referee, and then what is the vision?

"Two players are described as arriving at the same time – just watch the footage. A player dives off his feet, is clearly beaten to possession of the ball, and makes neck contact…

"It's a tough one to take. Officials are human. Players make errors. Match officials make errors."

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Schmidt argued the decision was inconsistent with attempts to make the game safer, also saying the Wallabies would be able to draw limited motivation from it, with only pride at stake in the third Test in Sydney.

"Our perspective is, we felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they are talking about," he said.

"You cannot hit someone above the level of the shoulders, and there is no bind with the left arm and the hand is on the ground. 

"That is what we've seen, and we've watched a number of replays from different angles. It is what it is. We just have to accept it.

"I don't know if we'll see it as motivation. You can't get more motivated than the players showed tonight.

"I thought we demonstrated a high level of skill and physical commitment."