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Tour further cements Lions as our most anticipated rugby rivals
And so ends the best June series New Zealand has seen. Regret and frustration, with themselves and the poor officiating, will long linger for the All Blacks. Satisfaction is the prevailing emotion for the Lions. Funny how a drawn series, the first since 1955, evokes such contrasting views.
The comedown will be sharp as we re-enter the shambles that is Super Rugby. Before then, pause for a moment to savour an event that, once every 12 years, continues to captivate these shores. New Zealand embraces the Lions more than anyone.
This memorable past six weeks has filled stadiums — 342,000 attending the 10 matches — and New Zealand Rugby’s coffers. So, too, hearts and minds. Along the way, it gave avid New Zealand rugby followers a refreshing level of competition not seen in recent memory. This was a real test series.
Off the pitch, Lions fans brought an atmosphere and enthusiasm Kiwis will probably never match. Singing and chanting is just not our style. Not like this, anyway. Their collective passion and consumption make these tours what they are. Thankfully for the 20,000 tourists and us, with the odd adjustment, the Lions’ future is now safe. Tours are likely to be shortened by two games but, when the Lions return, they can expect to again be greeted with open arms.
“If you were South Africa, you’d be pretty excited about a tour in four years,” Warren Gatland said.
Gatland made mistakes, but on the pitch the Lions came together better than most predicted. Blending four nations into one is always a huge ask. This was, indeed, a quality squad which produced a quality test team.
They showed resolve, character, touches of flair and after five wins, three losses and two draws, they leave with respect. They were fortunate to share the honours. That they led for three minutes of the entire series probably best sums up where overall dominance lay.
The Lions’ rush defence caused all opponents problems. It is a tactic Kiwi players are not used to on such a regular basis. The Lions succeeded by closing down time and space, though the elephant at every ground was how they got away with flouting the offside rules. And there was also some cynical play.
Referee Romain Poite should be sanctioned for his late howler that overshadowed the decider. How he deviated so far from his initial, correct instincts is beyond belief. The reality is he bottled it on the big stage, but the All Blacks should have taken him out of the game well before the finish.
Steve Hansen’s men blew four tries at Eden Park and made 12 errors in the first 28 minutes alone. During that opening period, it seemed inconceivable the Lions would survive.
The All Blacks missed goal kicks and opportunities galore. Such a lack of execution must be balanced against those absent. Take Ben Smith, Dane Coles, Ryan Crotty and Sonny Bill Williams, along with Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo, out of any team and they would struggle.
Still, the All Blacks hold themselves to exemplary standards and they did not reach those in this series. The previous week in Wellington, it was a red card and the failure to attack more that cost them. What will grate the most is they know they were the superior team but must instead settle for sharing the spoils, and banking the performances of Jordie Barrett, a special talent, and Ngani Laumape.
Yet history will only remember the result. As Kieran Read and Sam Warburton jointly held the trophy, it was difficult not to feel for the former. In his 100th test, he deserved more.
If there is an ounce of good that can be squeezed from such an anticlimactic conclusion, it could be a healthy dose of reality for some sections of All Blacks fans.
The Lions had a helping hand from the officials but they also proved nothing is impossible, and hinted nothing lasts forever. The wait for them to return starts now.