Lions hope to restore the pride

Their narrowest winning margin in an opening tour match in New Zealand in 113 years – that was the result in Whangarei on Saturday night.

It was hardly surprising given the 11-hour time difference and 20 hours of jet lag which the British and Irish Lions carried into Toll Stadium.

A passionate and determined opposition didn’t help matters either Welcome to New Zealand! This is a nation which lives and breathes rugby so there are no surprises that every game will be a challenge. But for all the lethargy, errors, and caution showed by the match day twenty-three that night, this opening fizzer is no true indication of this Lions team, and the series ahead.

The matches don’t get any easier, but don’t read too much into the 13-7 result against the New Zealand Barbarians. With another five matches before the Test opener at Eden Park, there is plenty more rugby to be played to get a true understanding of the dynamics of this British and Irish Lions squad.

Next up are the Blues at Eden Park, and with only Super Rugby sides rather than provincial sides on this tour, the home team will be hoping to mirror the exploits of their franchise member Auckland in this fixture.

Auckland has the best provincial record of any New Zealand team with six wins from their thirteen previous matches against the Lions dating back to 1888.

They have won two of the past three meetings, with a narrow one point win back in 1983 and a five-point victory in 1993. Regardless of the result, this has been a tight tussle for the visiting Lions, with six of the seven matches dating back to 1959 decided by a converted try or less.

(AAP Image/Ross Setford)

It has been 24 years since Zinzan Brooke captained Auckland to victory against the Lions, and Blues captain James Parsons will be hoping to emulate the legendary back-rowers achievements on Wednesday night.

For Parsons, it was a tour match rather than a Super Rugby match which began his captaincy career at the Blues, leading the team out against France in a mid-week fixture at North Harbour Stadium in 2013.

George Moala and Ofa Tu’ungafasi, who have been named to play in this match, also featured that night for the Blues as Les Bleus gave them a rugby master class in a 38-15 defeat.

No doubt Parsons will be eager to give the Lions a more thorough examination at Eden Park. With eight All Blacks in the starting XV this time around, he will have the arsenal to take the game to the visitors.

Lions coach Warren Gatland has rung in the changes naming a completely new starting team from three days ago, and handing the captaincy duties to Welsh hooker Ken Owens. He will become the first Welshman to skipper the Lions against an Auckland team at Eden Park since Phil Bennett in 1977.

In a nice nod to history, Greig Laidlaw has been named in the reserves 24 years after his uncle Roy also took his place on the bench against Auckland in the Lions 1983 tour match.

Gatland has also called in three players with Super Rugby experience – CJ Stander who played one season with the Bulls in 2012, James Haskell who also spent that year with the Highlanders, and former Blues centre Jared Payne who also played against his former club after spells with the Chiefs (2007) and Crusaders (2009-10) before heading to Europe.

Payne helped the Blues to a Semi-Final finish in 2011 and will no doubt be fired up to take the game to his former club mates in his first Lions caps.

For coach Tana Umaga, he will be looking to continue his good run against the Lions. In 2005 he became just the third All Black captain after Andy Dalton in 1983 and Sir Brian Lochore in 1966 to lead New Zealand to a series clean sweep against the Lions.

While it has been a much improved Blues team this season, the New Zealand conference has once again been the toughest Super Rugby to play in, and despite earning more competition points that the Africa 1 and Australian Conference leaders, they will miss out on the Finals series once again.

A victory against the British and Irish Lions would be a highly prized result for a team who are once again frustrated by a domestic competition’s failed ranking system. For the Lions however, this is a chance to silence the critics, and continue to build momentum towards a Test series that doesn’t come any harder in world rugby.