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They were fine, sublime, and the All Blacks went for the Lions’ solar plexus.
They say opposites attract, and here we were watching the brilliance of the best attack versus the ultimate defence. But surprising things can happen when you have the two best teams in the world, and the opposites showed their flip side; their unhidden beauty decided to emerge. The Lions backs showed incredible flair, and the All Blacks their tight forward dominance.
Jonathan Davies seemed to break the line with ease. The Lions counter attack was a fine art – until the end of it, where they would panic and mess it up almost every time.
The All Blacks played it tight and went to the Lions’ heart and hammered in close. It was hard to go wide with the Lions line speed so fiercely quick, so they narrowed their attack.
The All Blacks were tight in the manner they played. Once the All Blacks had the go forward through their forwards, going wide, for most of the time, didn’t eventuate as the line speed was there and fast, and the All Blacks didn’t push it. That was their game plan. They respected the Lions defence and kept it tight.
At the 43-minute mark with the score at 13-8 Jonathan Davies made a line-break from a turnover. Once through though Davies didn’t draw the man with any precision, and then five metres from the All Black goal-line Liam Williams didn’t give a pass when he should have. All tour the Lions have been unable to finish, quite shockingly so, and it happened again in this match.
(AAP Image/SNPA, David Rowland)
After the Davies break the Lions went wide to the right with an overlap but again they messed it up. The Lions then decided not to take a shot at goal and went for the lineout instead. The Lions turned over the ball from Lineout maul, and the All Blacks got out.
But the Lions came back into the All Blacks 22 immediately. The Lions were in the match here. They believed. They had the psychic energy, though only so briefly, but they didn’t have the finishing touches.
Then the All Blacks kept banging away at the Lions core. One or two off the ruck with strong runners. It was simple but innovative, and Aaron Smith was directing it. They appeared open to going wide but they played with what was in front of them; they played it tight.
Then after all the knocking, the All Blacks gave their hammer blow. Hansen’s timing was impeccable. It was the 53-minute mark and the score was still 13-8 to the All Blacks, and Hansen decided to bring on his two props Charlie Faumuina and Wyatt Crockett for the next scrum 25 metres out.
The All Blacks until then had mainly used their scrum as a solid platform. The All Blacks had the ascendancy there, one could sense it, and it was building.
(AAP Image/David Rowland)
The All Blacks again had the ascendency in this scrum. They kept the ball in this time and they kept pushing. The All Blacks got the penalty advantage but they didn’t release it and kept pushing.
The Lions went backward, and the All Blacks kept driving with Kieran Read still controlling it until the ball popped out and away went Aaron Smith with the ball who passed to Israel Dagg, then to Aaron Cruden who made a wise choice and skipped a pass out to Rieko Ioane who finished in the corner.
Then not too long later Ioane scored again. Hansen said he had sheer pace, and then Ioane showed it, and got a try most wingers would never get, and it was the pace that did it.
With a minute remaining and the score at 30-8, the camera went on Warren Gatland in the box. My first impression was he looked similar to a stray cat that had recently turned up to my house: that look of unknown certainty in the eyes. The place of hope only for to be vanquished by the coldness of reality.
A final score of 30-15 and like my stray cat after a feed Gatland had some optimism and stability in his disposition at the post-match interview. He knows the media won’t come down on him too hard because the Lions played brilliantly at times but the All Blacks were simply masterly.
It was a welcoming to Aotearoa, and Gatland, after entering the Eden cauldron must now wonder what to do.
It’s Wellington next for the second Test. The Lions will be hoping for some rain, some pedantic northern hemisphere refereeing, and some luck. But the forecast from me is a 25 point win to the All Blacks, and for the stray cat to show its face again.
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