The All Black coach was not buying TV’s relentless pre-match excitement but at the end the New Zealand audience seemed to get what it was yearning forIn the moments before the action got under way Scott Quinnell, prowling the touchline, tried to sum up the emotion of the occasion. “New Zealand will never have seen this kind of thing before,” he roared. “It’s not only going to be 15, it’s not only going to be 23, there’s going to be 30,000 British and Irish Lions. Tonight – tonight – our Lions – our Lions– will roar. The Lions are here for victory. And I believe, you should believe too: this is going to be epic!” Related: New Zealand and Rieko...
The Lions full-back’s moment of brilliance hurt the All Blacks but profligacy from sustained pressure cost Warren Gatland’s side dearlyThe Lions started the first Test in a great gushing rush of rugby, as if the referee’s first whistle had been the signal to pop the cork on a bottle they had been saving since they arrived in New Zealand three weeks ago. The All Black line broke open in front of Jonathan Davies, who slipped past Sam Whitelock and sprinted into New Zealand’s 22. He passed to Conor Murray, hard on his heels. Murray was brought down by Aaron Smith’s lunging tap tackle, but the ball made its way to Elliot Daly on the left wing. Daly sped for the...
Time will tell if Beauden Barrett can cast a Dan Carter-like spell for New Zealand but the first Test intriguingly pits his versatile fly-half style against Owen FarrellIn 2005 I was in and around the New Zealand squad and I was on the bench for the third Lions Test – they decided to give Dan Carter the night off. He probably deserved it after blowing away everyone in Wellington with a performance that left me thinking: “Bloody hell, how am I going to get past him and into the team?” Related: Lions’ pride and potential could produce New Zealand series for the ages | Robert Kitson Related: Lions carry hope against history in their lunatic endeavour to beat the All Blacks...
The tourists are under no illusions about their task against the world’s No1 side but there is belief within a team who are arguably the strongest Lions since 2001 and buoyed by encouraging warm-up winsIt may sound counterintuitive but, before the first Test, the British & Irish Lions should be drawing inspiration from a bunch of New Zealanders in Bermuda. For those not tuned into this year’s America’s Cup, New Zealand’s yachtsmen have slogged through numerous tough knockout contests to face the defending champions and hosts Oracle Team USA in the final. And the latest? It is never over until the plump mermaid sings but the fancied Americans are a clear second, reduced to playing catch-up by their battle-hardened visitors....
The head coach is rolling the dice with key personnel decisions, but starting Leigh Halfpenny and Maro Itoje on the bench are gambles that may backfireConsidering the form in which he finished the season – not to mention how he performed in New Zealand last summer – Liam Williams’s selection is hardly a huge surprise but it still came somewhat out of the blue seeing as he played all 80 minutes against the Chiefs. He has a running threat not posed by Leigh Halfpenny but still, the 2013 player of the series can count himself unlucky. Halfpenny has been rock solid so far – even if Gatland has repeatedly said he needs more than that from his back three to...