Mario Itoje lifted the trophy amid a blizzard of silver foil to celebrate a British and Irish Lions 2-1 series triumph over Australia.
But defeat in horrendous Sydney weather denied the men in red a historic whitewash series win.
The Wallabies, with the series already lost 2-0, bossed the third Test as the Lions came up well short – losing 22-12.
They only made a late impact on the scoreline with a Will Stuart try at the end of a match that was halted for nearly 40 minutes in the second half due to the threat of a lightning strike with the players taking shelter in the changing rooms.
It meant the Lions failed in their bid to become the first team to win a series 3-0 since 1927 with Australia actually winning four out of the six halves of rugby in the series.
It was a disappointing night for skipper Itoje who, along with wing Tommy Freeman, failed a HIA and had to be replaced in the 27th minute.
While lock James Ryan was taken off on a stretcher after accidentally colliding with giant Will Skelton's knee.
Thankfully, Ryan recovered to join the rest of the players on the stage for the trophy presentation.
While a series win gave the Lions and their huge travelling support something to cheer, the manner of the defeat and the dreadful weather dampened celebrations.
The loss also undermined the Lions squad's belief that they could be rated the greatest ever as Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies head coach, made key calls that saw them thunder back into the series after a first Test beating in Brisbane.
The controversial last-minute Lions try to settle the second Test now takes on even greater significance with the Wallabies still adamant they were robbed of victory in Melbourne.
The Lions played for ten mins in that fractured second half with 14 men after hooker Ronan Kelleher was given a yellow card as the Wallabies, who lost fly half Tom Lynagh to a HIA, hammered at the try line in search of another score which came from replacement scrum half Tate McDermott.
A first Test try for wing Dylan Pietsch in the Wallaby jersey he designed and a Lynagh penalty had put Australia 8-0 up at half-time, and a Max Jorgensen try put the home side 15-0 ahead before Jac Morgan replied for the Lions who left themselves too much to do.
Lions head coach Andy Farrell will be favourite to take the team to New Zealand in 2029.
But in the cold light of day his decision not to put the Scotland centre partnership together for the final Test and give Scott Cummings, the impressive Scotland lock, a start will be seen as selection mistakes.
Tadhg Beirne, the tireless Ireland forward, was officially named Player of the Series, but even he could not halt the Wallaby drives that constantly put his team on the back foot.
Big Will Skelton and captain Harry Wilson were immense for the home side who appeared to win all of the important collisions.
The Wallabies also took the Lions line out apart and held their scrum well enough to give No9 Nic White the chance to deliver a trademark performance in his final Test match.
White was a constant thorn in the Lions side and varied his game well to keep his forwards on the front foot with McDermott taking over and continuing to make a real impact.
For Owen Farrell, it was a special moment as he became the only player in the squad to hold two series-winning medals.
However, there were too many average performances and the loss of Itoje, Freeman and Ryan – plus that yellow card and the disruption caused by the weather (there were two lightning strikes within a 10km radius of the sold out Accor Stadium) – made this a night of missed opportunities.
And Immediately after the final whistle, 2005 British & Irish Lion, Ben Kay, reflected on the third Test loss to the Wallabies, delivering his final player ratings of the tour.
Brace yourselves, Lions fans, over half of the starting XV received a 5/10…
Thought he was going to be a star
Tommy Freeman's electric form for England and Northampton Saints leading into the tour had fans and pundits predicting the number of hat-tricks he would score in Australia.
However, the 24-year-old faded into the background over the nine-match tour, particularly in the Test series.
Tonight summed up Freeman's tour – he was forced to leave the field of play before half-time, having suffered a blow to the head.
And Kay has been left feeling disappointed with the winger's showing over the last six weeks.
He explained: "Tommy Freeman, I’ve given 5/10 to, just couldn't really get into the game.
"It's not been his best series, I thought he was going to be one of the stars and the ball hasn't really come his way.
“But equally, he hasn't really gone looking as much as we've seen him do, particularly for Northampton."
Outshone
For Kay, Jamison Gibson-Park, widely regarded as one of the best scrum halves in the world, was thoroughly outplayed by 35-year-old Wallaby half back, Nic White.
Kay explained: "I thought Gibson-Park was really quiet.
“He got outshone but Nic White, his opposite number.
“He was superb in the first two games, but I’m only going to give him a 5/10."
Player of the Series
Torn between two Lions players who have stood up above the rest of the touring party, Kay has revealed his Player of the Series.
He said: "My player of the series, it's very difficult.
“I've narrowed it down to between Finn Russell in an attacking sense and Tom Curry in a defensive sense.
“But I think I’m going to give it to Tom Curry."
Both Curry and Russell received a 6/10 rating by Kay against Australia in the third Test.
Ben Kay's British and Irish player ratings vs Australia
15 Hugo Keenan – 6
14 Tommy Freeman – 5
13 Huw Jones – 6
12 Bundee Aki – 6
11 Blair Kinghorn – 5
10 Finn Russell – 6
9 Jamison Gibson-Park – 5
1 Andrew Porter – 5
2 Dan Sheehan -6
3 Tadhg Furlong -5
4 Maro Itoje (c) -5
5 James Ryan -5
6 Tadhg Beirne – 6
7 Tom Curry -6
8 Jack Conan – 5
Replacements:
16 Ronan Kelleher (58′ for Sheehan)
17 Ellis Genge (43′ for Porter)
18 Will Stuart (58′ for Furlong)
19 Ollie Chessum (27′ for Itoje)
20 Jac Morgan (42′ for Ryan)
21 Ben Earl (64′ for Earl)
22 Alex Mitchell (71′ for Gibson-Park)
22 Owen Farrell (37′ for Freeman)
