[19] Early in 1974, Michael Lynagh commenced studies at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, which his biographer Andrew Slack called "one of the most important and valuable journeys of his life.
[24] Upon returning from the United States of America, Lynagh made selection for St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace's rugby union First XV at 15-years-old as a flyhalf.
[44] In 1989, Lynagh won his second consecutive Brisbane club premiership with University of Queensland, defeating Souths in the grand final 34–9, in which he kicked two drop goals, one from fifty metres, and scored a try.
'[46] Following the Wallabies' 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, Queensland fullback Roger Gould decided to travel to Argentina, leaving his position vacant within the state side.
[59] Lynagh considers his second goal as one of the most memorable of his career: Queensland captain Andrew Slack later recorded in his diary that: 'We won the game 6–4 in by far the worst conditions I have experienced – I even wore gloves.
[69] In 1983, following a match Lynagh played for Queensland against Argentina (lost 28–34), in which he contributed 22 points (including a try, two conversions, and four penalties), he obtained selection for the Australian team for their upcoming two-match series against the Pumas.
[78] Simon Poidevin in For Love Not Money wrote: 'The only surprise was Lynagh's absence, given the good season he'd been having at home, his form in Fiji, and the fact that it left us light in the goalkicking department.
"[81] Simon Poidevin in For Love Not Money recorded that: 'Behind the scenes many things were happening: the most intriguing was Alan Jones' request that Michael Lynagh play fullback.
[93][90] Lynagh was selected at inside centre in his fourth consecutive tour match for Australia against Combined Services at Aldershot, in which he scored a try and kicked six conversions from eight attempts, for a personal tally of 16 points in a 44–9 victory.
[97] Following the Test, in an article published on 4 November, rugby correspondent for The Sunday Times Stephen Jones recorded that: 'His try sealed a remarkable afternoon for Lynagh.
[108] Prior to the Wallabies third Test on tour against Wales, Australian coach Alan Jones decided to remove the goal-kicking responsibilities from Michael Lynagh, and give them to Roger Gould for the game.
Peter Jenkins in Wallaby Gold: The History of Australian Test Rugby also depicted Lynagh's try: "Farr Jones helped create another try by using the short side.
Terry Smith in Path to Victory (1987) documented that: "Lynagh's second try came after Farr-Jones again escaped up the blind side from a scrum to set up a dazzling break by David Campese.
(79) Simon Poidevin in For Love Not Money (1990) documented that: Lynagh played in Australia's final Test of the 1984 Grand Slam tour, a 37–12 victory over Scotland, in which he scored 21 points from five penalty kicks and three conversions from four attempts.
[111][114] Peter Jenkins in Wallaby Gold reported that: 'It took just 58 seconds for the Australians to trigger another landslide of points, with five-eighth Michael Lynagh kicking a booming field goal for 3-nil.
[117][116] Following the single Bledisloe Cup Test of 1985, Lynagh missed Australia's upcoming two-Test series against Fiji, after deciding to undergo an arthroscope to repair torn cartilage in his knees.
[43] In 1986, Lynagh travelled to the United Kingdom for one game as part of a two-match celebration commemorating the centenary of the International Rugby Board (IRB) featuring players from around the world.
[122] However, he returned to the Australian side for the second match against Manawatu in Palmerston North, in which he kicked three successful goals from eight attempts, including the match-winning penalty in the final minute to give the Wallabies a 9–6 victory.
[125] Terry Smith in Path to Victory (1987) reported that: 'Midfield backs Michael Lynagh, Brett Papworth and Andrew Slack contributed no less than twenty-four first-up tackles.
Terry Smith in Path to Victory (1987) reported that: When the Wallabies went to Athletic Park on the Friday morning before the Test to get a feel of the ground, the goalposts rocked back and forth in the freezing wind gusts.
[9] However, Lynagh responded almost immediately six minutes into the second half, after Sella's try, with a line-break that set-up David Campese to score his world-record 25th try in his international career.
[9] Campese's world-record try set the stage for what Lynagh would later describe as one of the most surreal moments of his career: Back in 1987, we were still using a few handfuls of loose sand as a platform for the ball, as plastic tees had yet to be invented.
[153] The Wallabies held an unexpected 16-6 half-time lead, and went on to draw the All Blacks 19–19 in what was the only time in 50 consecutive games (including 23 Test matches) that New Zealand did not achieve victory.
After recovering from injury, Lynagh was a shock omission for the Wallabies' third Test against the All Blacks, with Australian selectors opting to retain Lloyd Walker in the flyhalf position.
Former Australian captain David Codey wrote in The Daily Sun on 14 July that: 'The omission of Lynagh was a mistake of the magnitude that Dwyer had made in 1982 when he selected Glen Ella ahead of Roger Gould for the Test against Scotland.
[44][156] Andrew Slack in Noddy (1995) explained that: 'He'd been playing almost non-stop for the best part of six years, he had a few niggling injuries, his form had been mildly inconsistent during 1988 and he felt stale.
In Noddy (1995) Andrew Slack documented that: "Midway through the second half, Lynagh gathered a ball from the kick-off, executed a little jink and ran right through the Scottish pack, setting in chain a seventy-metre movement.
However, with Australia leading the Lions 12–9, and with less than 15 minutes remaining in the game, one of Lynagh's penalty kicks hit the upright of a goal-post and bounced back into the field of play.
With the score tied at 3-3, Lynagh's opposite flyhalf Camberabero kicked a long-range drop goal, 10 metres inside Australian territory and on a slight angle, to give France a 6–3 lead.
[178] Five minutes into the second half, Lynagh called a move titled 'Froggy' that resulted in him offloading the ball winger Ian Williams for a try, which he converted, to give Australia a 16–12 lead.