There was much to admire in Christchurch, but Warren Gatland still has some fine-tuning to do before the first Test against the All Blacks
Still not very pretty, but mightily effective against Super Rugby’s only unbeaten team this year – and as Warren Gatland said: “We needed that, didn’t we?” He has repeatedly claimed that only the Test series matters, but while there was palpable relief on his face after the criticism that followed the Blues defeat, you get the feeling he had targeted this match as the opportunity for the Lions to announce their arrival. Certainly they had a far more cohesive gameplan – with aggressive, suffocating defence at its heart – and his side were far more composed, finishing aside. Mako Vunipola’s apparent ambivalence towards the haka summed up the Lions’ refusal to be cowed.
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