Imperious All Blacks boss opening test against Lions

New Zealand ran out 30-15 winners in the first test at Eden Park, with some thrilling rugby on display from both sides. The Lions put in their best performance of the tour so far but still came up well short of a superior All Black side. New Zealand started the strongest and showed their class early, and while the Lions fought bravely, the All Blacks always had enough to see out the win.

Kieran Read: Optimising All Blacks work-rate and skill level

                The number one ranked side in the world showed that they are still a class above any other side in the world from the kick-off. They played the early part of the game at pace and continued to show silky handling skills with offload after offload stretching and challenging the Lions’ defence. Throughout the squad players were all capable of playing at this high tempo, including players like Kieran Read who was returning from injury. The All Blacks also dominated the contact area, which was vital for them to do to create quick ball. Despite Lions putting their bodies on the line, New Zealand continually broke tackles or made ground in the tackle. It wasn’t till Itoje came on in the second half that they began to get knocked backwards in the tackle. That is an area that the Lions will need to deal with before the second test if they want to hold onto any hope of winning the series.

However, the build-up play is only any good if you can finish your chances. Here is where the two sides looked poles apart. When offered opportunity, the All Blacks continued to apply pressure and came away with points. They kept the scoreboard ticking over and from early on it was clear they would amass a big score no matter how well the Lions defended. On the flip side, the Lions had opportunities created from their dangerous backline but were unable to finish them. Often snuffed out by superb New Zealand cover defence, but too often stopped by handling errors or a lack of speed in the supporting players. This lack of finishing has been haunting the Lions throughout the tour and, most worryingly, carried on into the test matches.

It wasn’t all bad for the Lions. You could argue this was their best performance of the tour so far, maybe with the exception of the Maori game the week before. The shock of the team announcement earlier in the week perhaps hinted at a more expansive and attacking game plan for the Lions and it seemed to show. They stretched and worried the All Blacks, and fought back bravely early on to keep themselves in the game. However, there were still too many individual errors in attack and defence. Slightly switching off cost the Lions 14 points, with a mistake under the high ball and a quick tap penalty, and removing those mistakes would have created a much tighter game. The Lions will also be disappointed with the high penalty count, with a number of those coming around the breakdown, with offside at the fringes allowing New Zealand an attacking platform they don’t need to be gifted.

                It was a fairly comprehensive victory for New Zealand all being told. They were commanding, they were clinical and they were classy. Yet, at times, they were stretched and when the game tightened up after half-time, there were opportunities for the Lions to take the lead. There are clearly things to work on for the Lions, finishing chances, cutting out errors, winning the contact, but they are all fixable. Slight alterations to the starting fifteen, with Itoje & Lawes likely to bring that power in the tackle, could see the game tilt in the Lions’ favour. New Zealand were substantially the best side without a doubt. But the Lions are still improving, and don’t need to improve a lot more to be in with a shout in the second test next Saturday. It’s all to play for.

Work to do for a lacklustre Lions side in New Zealand

The British & Irish Lions eked out a 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians in the first game of their tour of New Zealand. Having only arrived in Auckland three days ago there was scarce time to prepare for the fixture, and it seemed to show. A disappointing performance with a number of individual errors and failure to finish chances let down the side, yet there were a number of bright lights in the form of the Lions debutants with Sinckler, Te’o & Moriarty.

Lions begin to purr but lack any real bite

The Lions were taken all the way by the Provincial Barbarians side who kept them honest in defence and put pressure on throughout the game. Their expansive and quick paced game epitomised what New Zealand rugby is all about. For a representative side, they also played well together as a team, something which was lacking in the Lions. However, they were let down by a few individual errors, but several of the Barbarians will be hoping that their performances will have been noticed by Super Rugby franchises. Indeed maybe the best fly-half of those on the pitch came in the form of Warren Gatland’s son, Bryn, as he bossed the invitation side.

The Lions, albeit with a bar set very high, fell well short of what was expected. There was a lack of organisation going forward, with players seeming to attack on their own and support arriving much too slowly. Much like the Barbarians, there were far too many individual errors. Most worryingly for the Lions, those errors came from key players in crucial positions as Hogg & Sexton struggled. The defence was strong in part but too many missed tackles meant that try saving tackles were needed, and, in credit, they were made when necessary. It was a side that have clearly travelled half way around the world, and are at the end of an intense club season. Indeed for some of these international players they will have only had one month off from competitive rugby last July, in the previous two years.

There was also a certain level of insight into the style of play we can expect from the Lions & Warren Gatland. As expected, it was direct. It was no surprise that big ball carriers like Moriarty, Sinckler & Te’o stood out as they suit a more direct style of play. Whereas a frustrated Watson and an absent Seymour had very limited opportunity with ball in hand. While the squad is still gelling together and adapting to one another it may be a reasonable style, however they will hope to add some magic to their attack as the tour progresses. And they will need to, as the New Zealand test side will not be at all phased by such a direct style of play.

It was not all doom and gloom for the Lions. First and foremost, they won. No matter the manner of the victory, winning was crucial for this opening game as a loss would have brought down the whole camp. With no less than 13 new Lions in the match day squad, it was vital experience for those new players and the excitement and passion in playing in the Lions jersey was most evident in these players. There were a number of individual performances, as previously mentioned, that also give reason for promise and are a likely to ignite competition for test places in the squad, which will only spur on performances throughout.

Fortunately for the Lions there are still 400 minutes of rugby to be played before the first test at Eden Park. There were both positives and negatives in individual performances for the Lions, but that was the problem, they were individual performances. There was a lack of cohesion. There aren’t any drastic changes to be made. Time is the best way forward for this Lions side. Time to gel together, understand patterns of play and work together as a team. However, as the Barbarians made clear, there won’t be any freebies on this tour, it’s time to get to work.