HOW THE TOUR UNFOLDED
PROVINCIAL BARBARIANS 7 LIONS 13 June 3: Toll Stadium, Whangarei
What we said ‘The Lions made all the right moves in the build-up. Yet the hearts and minds mission counts for little if they don’t strike the right chords on the field. They didn’t. It was a screeching, discordant display, a symphony of bum notes.’
Lions star Ben Te’o
BLUES 22 LIONS 16 June 7: Eden Park, Auckland
What we said ‘We wanted the Lions to roar but they croaked. Their discipline was poor, with wing Liam Williams yellow carded, and they lacked a cutting edge. This is a significant set-back.’
Lions star Courtney Lawes
CRUSADERS 3 LIONS 12 June 10: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
What we said ‘Oh we of little faith. How did we ever think the Lions would remain a ragged bunch of misfits? There was snap and drive and cleverness in all that they did as they beat the mighty Crusaders.’
Lions star Conor Murray
HIGHLANDERS 23 LIONS 22 June 13: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
What we said ‘A Lions victory would have been undeserved. There was no-one to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, no-one ripping into the Highlanders, no raging defiance. This is another dent, another set-back.’
Lions star Kyle Sinckler
MAORI ALL BLACKS 10 LIONS 32 June 17: Rotorua International Stadium
What we said ‘This was just the tonic. New Zealanders do not take much notice of the feats of opponents but this was different, this was the revered Maori All Blacks that had not just been defeated but dominated.’
Lions star Jonathan Davies
CHIEFS 6 LIONS 34 June 20: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
What we said ‘Lift-off for the Lions. The beleaguered midweek team gave the senior side the perfect springboard into the first Test against the All Blacks on Saturday with a brisk, intelligent, hightempo performance.’
Lions star Jack Nowell
ALL BLACKS 30 LIONS 15 June 24: Eden Park, Auckland
What we said ‘This was not a fairy-tale but a recurring nightmare. You compete, you contest, but you are simply blown away by the clinical execution of the opposition.’
Lions star Jonathan Davies
HURRICANES 31 LIONS 31
June 27: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
What we said ‘The force was with the Hurricanes by the end, but the Lions somehow hung on. Honours shared but a bigger battle at this self-same stadium looms.’
Lions star Iain Henderson
ALL BLACKS 21 LIONS 24 July 1: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
What we said ‘The stone has been rolled back. The Lions have come back from the seeming dead. History has been made. The series is still alive. What a night for redshirted heroes.’
Lions star Maro Itoje
ALL BLACKS 15 LIONS 15 July 8: Eden Park, Auckland
What we said ‘Brothers-in-arms, the Lions and the All Blacks simply could not be separated after a titanic battle, a match of drama and a drawn series of real heart and soul, an elemental contest that went right to the wire.’
Lions star Maro Itoje