Gatland’s men lack leadership and
Even if there was some hope in the performance, there was no solace in the result. The 2017 tourists continue to labour, continue to suffer, losing to the weakest of New Zealand’s franchises.
We wanted the Lions to roar but they croaked. Their discipline was poor, with wing Liam Williams shown the yellow card, and they lacked a cutting edge. This is a significant setback so early in the trip. Though the Lions played reasonably well for stretches, especially in the first half, they were found wanting when it mattered most at the death, stung by a late wonder try from Ihaia West.
Even then the Lions had one last and Dan Cole performed well, putting pressure on the opposition and providing a solid foundation for their own team. Scrumhalf Rhys Webb showed well on the night, eager and alert, and part of the reason for this stemmed from the confidence he has in his chance to get off the canvas, but they were not good enough to manage it, Rory Best’s line-out throw in the dying seconds flying over his man and the Auckland Blues were safe, a famous victory to their name.
The Lions head to Christchurch today, beaten, and they will need to gather themselves quickly if they are not to be bowed by the week’s end.
The Lions need their strong characters to the come to the fore now. They need direction and they need belief. The way in which they lost their way in the second half was alarming. The Blues had been boosted by a score from Sonny Bill Williams on the stroke of half-time, a dubiously awarded try, and they brought that upbeat tone to their game after the restart. The Lions drifted and allowed the game to get away from them.
There were some positive tidings. The set-piece functioned well, that last blemish notwithstanding. Hooker Ken Owens did not miss a beat all evening before giving way to Best. The scrummage was on top throughout. Maro Itoje was forceful in the line-out and round the park, while CJ Stander and Justin Tipuric figured prominently. forward pack. Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler added to the mix when they came on. The collective understanding will get only better.
Being obliging tourists is all well and good. What the Kiwis really respect, though, is a team who take it to them. Fast and edgy and unrelenting – that is how they play the game in these parts, as was shown by their match-winner, a fabulous effort that not only got the crowd to their feet but made you wonder if the Lions could produce such moments.
They had just managed to claw their way back into the lead through two penalties from Leigh Halfpenny when the Blues struck in the 73rd minute.
It had appeared an innocuous middle-of-the-field situation, but two terrific offloads transformed it from mundane to magical, first from Bristol-bound No 8 Steven Luatua and then Williams. And biding his time as this was unfolding was substitute fly-half West. He judged it perfectly, knowing that Williams would find a way to work the ball to him. A swerve, a step and a dab on the accelerator and away he went to the try line, converting the score. It was a deserved winner.
There had been far more zip and buzz about the Lions, a sense of aggression in the tackle, an appetite starting with the unbeaten Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday. The Highlanders follow, then the Maori with the Chiefs the for the fray. And even though the Lions got sucker-punched by an early Blues try, Jack Nowell getting narrow on the right flank and young fly-half Stephen Perofeta having the vision to spot the opening and to hit Rieko Ioane out wide, it did not seem to carry with it the serious overtones of last weekend. Download Shazam for free from the App Store or Google Play Store last warm-up act before the series starts back in Auckland on June 24. If the Blues proved anything, it is that the quality of opposition will ensure that the Lions arrive at the first Test battlehardened. But will they have any wins to their name?
Jared Payne went very close when trying to dive in at the corner, a try denied only by the unforgiving eye of the television match official. The Lions, though, were not to be suppressed. They lived up to their promise to play with intent and adventure, spurning an easy pot at goal for a penalty to touch in the 18th minute. They were thwarted initially but on a repeat sequence, the Lions driving maul proved too much for the Blues and Stander barrelled through.
The referee Pascal Gaüzère referred to his TMO too often for comfort, eventually ruling out another try from Ioane when it should never have gone upstairs given it was obvious that Blues prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi was offside when dislodging the ball from Dan Biggar’s grasp.
There was doubt, too, about the try that Williams scored three minutes into first-half overtime. There was a flurry of hands reaching for the ball after a penalty shot from Perofeta had thumped into the post. Nowell’s hand was in there, as was that of T J Faiane.
Williams was alert on the followup as well as long in the reach and