WE’VE POKED THE BEAR.. NOW FINISH IT OFF

Gatland warns his Lions to expect a Blacklash... but says they can overcome it to claim historic series win

LIONS boss Warren Gatland reckons his victorious team have “poked the bear” with their historic defeat of the All Blacks.

As the triumphant squad flew to Queenstown for 48 hours of rest and recuperation, he insisted bullishly that the Lions would be the stronger for the experience. “The All Blacks don’t often get the opportunity to have pressure put on them,” said Gatland (left, with the fans). “And when they do, they love it, they thrive on it. “So we know we have poked the bear. But this is the best team in the world and, for two Test matches, they haven’t stressed us. The wounded Lion from last week is still recovering as well and what we have done should make us think if we put our best foot forward and play to our ability, we are capable of winning that Test and the series.”

What the Lions did at the Cake Tin stadium was score their first win over New Zealand since the sport’s amateur days of 1993. It was the double world champions’ first home loss in 48 Tests dating back to 2009, their first game in 39 without a try. Their most loyal fans labelled their performance “lion-hearted”, given that they played an hour with 14 men following Sonny Bill Williams’ red card.

And while they did indeed boss the third quarter and open up an 18-9 lead, that only added to their shock when tries by Taulupe Faletau and