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The second match of the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand has been played and in front of 40,000 at Eden Park in Auckland the Blues have run out victors to secure a famous victory by 22 points to 16 in a hard fought and entertaining encounter.
Blues fans are cheering
While the Super Rugby season has been a disappointment for the Blues franchise this season up against their fellow Kiwi sides, the Blues have managed to put a smile back on the dials of the faithful, securing the first win by a New Zealand Super side over the famous tourists in difficult conditions.
While they struggled at times through the match, they hung tough for long periods, particularly on defence.
Their willingness to attack paid dividends over their opposition who retreated into their shells as the match progressed.
While the season will not be considered an overall success, this victory has perhaps provided a pass mark for the Blues in 2017, remembering their record against overseas sides is very good, with only one loss from ten played.
What may make many a fan happy was the sight of the young first five, Stephen Perofeta starting the match and while his performance was not perfect, he showed glimpses of his undoubted potential, the highlight a beautiful long ball to put Reiko Ioane on the outside and away to score the opening try of the match, and a desperate cover tackle to see the Lions centre Jared Payne into touch before scoring.
In what has been a problem area for the Blues at first five, perhaps Perofeta provides some excitement for the future.
Blues in Black
With the opportunity to play the Lions before the naming of the All Black and Maori squads, several of the Blues had the perfect opportunity to promote themselves tonight and certainly Sonny Bill Williams, Steven Luatua and Reiko Ioane came through the match with their hands held high after strong performances against their international opposition.
When one considers the injuries to the likes of Ryan Crotty, Kieran Read and Ben Smith, they were certainly timely performances.
Williams was a constant presence in the match, whether with the ball or without while Luatua’s work rate up front was outstanding, his lineout work in particular solid and appeals as the most ‘like for like’ option if Read proves to be unavailable and of course the two of them combined late in the match to set up the match-winning try to Ihaia West with their offloading game to the fore.
Ioane was a constant menace with ball in hand and his work rate was exceptional, and if not the All Blacks, should be a shoe-in for the Maori squad.
While some promoted their individual cause well, Patrick Tuipolotu has perhaps demoted himself, dropped from the match day 23 for disciplinary reasons by Coach Tana Umaga in a shock call before the match and one wonders whether this will have a flow-on effect for his All Black chances.
The Lions have improved
After the hiding the Lions took from many quarters in the fallout of their hard fought win over the Barbarians on Saturday, a different starting fifteen was selected and obviously the expectation was higher after more time together and a further few days off the plane.
While the result would suggest otherwise and the negative press will continue, for the most part it was a stronger team effort.
The Lions displayed more cohesion and their set piece and maul was a step up from their last outing and for large parts of the match they controlled proceedings fairly well.
There is plenty to build on from here for the tourists though improvements will have to be found rapidly as the unrelenting pace of this tour takes hold, the Crusaders await them in just a few days.
A disappointing aspect for the coaching team will be their discipline; especially with a Northern referee in charge and that will be one aspect of their game they will need to tighten up on, especially when one considers the Blues were far from perfect in taking their chances when presented with the referee’s good graces. Oh, and one other major problem…
Where will the Lions points come from?
The Lions’ two matches so far on tour have yielded just two tries and this will be a major issue for the Lions to rectify.
While the opinion still remains that goal kicking can prove vital at times, it is becoming more and more obvious that visiting sides to New Zealand cannot rely on kicking goals to secure them victories.
One area the Lions have disappointed in has been in their inability to find that try line and if they cannot start to break down the Kiwi defences, or are unable to either execute or unwilling to chance their arm, this tour will certainly go downhill quickly.
Wednesday’s match provides a perfect example, the Lions dominating for long periods yet it was three tries to one, goodnight.
In saying all that, there are still a number of players yet to wander out in a starting side and there are still a few matches for the Lions to get themselves in order but it is hard to see who is going to bring that often discussed X-factor to the table.
(AAP Image/David Rowland)
The Crusaders could be make or break for the Lions
After two difficult matches and after this loss, the next match for the Lions could prove make or break for this tour and it most certainly does not get any easier, facing the unbeaten side within Super Rugby, the inform Crusaders.
They will have the option of picking their strongest available line-up and another loss, particularly a heavy loss, could be a heavy blow for the tourists and one which will be incredibly difficult to recover from.
Another loss so early in the tour will see the pressure mount on this touring squad and I can only imagine further questions will be raised, not only about this tour, but the future viability of the Lions concept, the scheduling, the preparation, the list will go on.
The match this weekend may end up having more repercussions for the Lions as a whole, not just on this tour. There is no question they need to put out a strong performance on Saturday and with the game just around the corner, it will take some turnaround.
There will certainly be plenty more to chew on as the All Blacks and Maori squads are named on Thursday as we await the next match on Saturday.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.