Dylan Pietsch celebrated his maiden Wallabies try on the grandest stage to inspire Australia to a 22-12 Test victory over the British and Irish Lions at Sydney Accor Stadium on Saturday.

The unique rugby union series which only lands on Australian soil once every 12 years was the left winger's first and undoubtedly final opportunity to face the best players of the traditional four home nations.

But Pietsch, who was raised on Country in Leeton across the Riverina region, was also the first Indigenous man since former and current Super Rugby teammate, Kurtley Beale, to cross the line for the Wallabies.

Beale, 36, last played for Australia in 2021 until he spent the following two years forced into suspension, but later acquitted in court, over allegations of sexual assault of a woman in a Sydney pub.

After not being named in the opening two Tests of the series Pietsch earned the recall after debuting for the Wallabies two years ago against Wales.

He returned not only in the final playing squad but in the run-on side for just his sixth career Test match.

"It was awesome (to return)," Pietsch said.

"Anytime you get to play for the Wallabies is special, let alone being against the Lions, which is pretty special, too, and it's designed (with the logo) on the jersey, so it has that extra sting.

"So, it's been really cool to be here and there's been so much support here – 80,000 in what is torrential weather, waiting out the thunder and the lightning."

The Test was interrupted for more than half an hour shortly after halftime over fears of lightning strikes, forcing ground officials to postpone the clash and send players back to the dressing rooms.

Pietsch had earlier scored the first – and only – try of the rain-sodden first half after ex-Roosters NRL star, Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i, split the Lions' backline and drew the defence to open space for Pietsch to dive over in the corner and deliver Australia an initial 5-0 lead.

Pietsch joyously celebrated the try in trademark fashion by shooting an invisible arrow through a bow to the crowd.

"Being the first try in the gold (jersey), it was really special," he said.

"Particularly (because) I had my family here, but to score a try anyway for the Wallabies is really cool."

Pietsch emerged as one of the Wallabies standouts in the opening 40 minutes, including a bone-jarring hit which reminded the Lions attack the winger started his schoolboy days as a dangerous loose forward.

The Wiradjuri man knocked New Zealand-raised Bundee Aki – a 103-kilogram Samoan inside centre which qualified to play for Ireland through residency in just 2024 – backwards off his feet to repel the Lions' first genuine play towards the Wallabies line.

"We feel like we have been soft in the first couple of games of the series, and that's the area we wanted to bring into our game, and I quite like that physical kind of stuff and the tactics," Pietsch said.

"It was something we wanted to work on, and I think we did pretty well."

Pietsch's return for the first time this year amid Australia's four Tests, including the season opener of its campaign against Fiji, proved satisfying for Pietsch after Rugby Australia halted him from appearing in the First Nations/Pasifika XV tour match against the Lions at Marvel Stadium while subsequently snubbing the former backrower from selection for the second Test in Melbourne four days later.

The part-time Indigenous artist was commissioned to design Aboriginal artwork to promote the Lions' historic tour and looked unlikely to gain a Test berth until injury to his Force teammate Harry Potter a week earlier in the thrilling 29-26 Wallabies defeat secured the nod for Pietsch from coach Joe Schmidt in the series finale.

Pietsch, the 15th Indigenous Wallaby and the first since the debut of Anthony Fainga'a in 2010, has found Rugby Australia eager to utilise his cultural knowledge to design Indigenous jerseys for the Wallabies, as well as the Force and Waratahs.

The 27-year-old said it's "hard not to play well" after having a hand in placing Indigenous culture at the heart of the team.

"It was really special to see the whole process from doing the design back in 2023 and just to see how much stuff (the artwork) had to go through...so, I suppose me knowing the story pretty much in such detail always will give you an extra fizz," he said.