Lions coverage
THE 2017 Lions trained in the shadow of a mountain range called the Remarkables this week, and by becoming the first Lions side to a draw series against the All Blacks they merit that nickname.
This was a phenomenal effort by a Lions side that emptied the tanks at the end of a gruelling tour of New Zealand in which they faced down the odds, coming through an itinerary that was called suicidal by the locals, and refused to buckle despite being out-scored two tries to none by the world champions.
Just as the Lions were the sharper finishers a week ago in Wellington, that mantle passed to the All Blacks in the decider, with two Hurricanes making their first starts in the All Black jersey – centre Ngani Laumape and full-back Jordie Barrett – crossing for first-half tries. The Hurricanes-laden backline of the two Barrett brothers, Laumape, and reinstated wing Julian Savea were a more joined-up, direct attacking unit than a Lions backline which did not match them for sharp edges.
Ultimately, the Lions could not have complained if more last passes had stuck and the All Blacks had scored another couple of tries because there is no question they created many more clear-cut chances. However, what you saw again was the true grit of this Lions outfit, with captain Sam Warburton keeping the Lions in contention with his tenacity at the breakdown and streetsmart liaison with French referee Romain Poite.
This paid off in a dramatic late call when Warburton urged Poite to have a look at a replay of an offside decision given against Ken Owens. The bench hooker caught the ball in an offside position as a reflex after Kieran Read had challenged Liam Williams in the air, forcing him to knock-on from the restart – straight after a booming Owen Farrell penalty had just made it 15-15 with two minutes left.
A New Zealand win was virtually assured with the offence almost in front of the posts. However, Poite heeded advice from assistant referee, Jerome Garces, that he should consider a verdict of accidental offside – especially as Owens released the ball instantly having recognised his error.
Having reconsidered Poite judged it to be accidental – as is permissible within the laws – and awarded a scrum to New Zealand. It was the last throw of the dice for the world champions, and, despite launching one last desperate attack, the thin red line held firm for the Lions to record only the second drawn series in their history.
Nothing illustrated the character of this Lions side better than their response at a scrum which saw the Lions under siege 15 metres from their own line with five minutes remaining. The tourists had lost a scrum against the head in the first-half, and a few minutes earlier Kyle Sinckler had conceded the 67th minute penalty, kicked by Beauden Barrett, which gave the All Blacks a 15-12 lead.
In such a tight game it looked as if it might be enough for Kieran Read to celebrate his 100th All Black cap by clinching the series win, but Sinckler and his fellow forwards were not about to fold on their own put-in. Instead, they shunted the All Blacks back to win a penalty and clear their lines.
When, moments later, Wyatt Crockett infringed at a ruck, and nerveless Farrell stepped up to blast over the 47 metre leveller, you could only salute the tenacity of a Lions side that simply refused to let go of a share of the spoils. At the outset it looked as if they might be forced to. The Lions were unable to wrest the initiative in the early exchanges in this encounter as they did in Wellington, and when Warburton was whistled for playing the ball off his feet at a ruck Beauden Barrett had a chance to put New Zealand ahead. However, although the 40m penalty was headon, the fly-half missed to the delight of the horde of Lions fans behind the posts. When the Lions then went into full attacking mode from a high ball catch on the run by Elliot Daly it was New Zealand’s turn to look as if they might crack as waves of runners tested their defence. However, they were able to counterattack from their own line when a poor floated pass by Farrell was intercepted by Beauden Barrett.
Although Barrett was tackled by Liam Williams his offload sent Laumape away, and by the time Jonathan Davies ran him down and Watson intercepted his pass to Savea, the break-out was deep in the Lions 22.
New Zealand made sure they stayed there, and after inroads by Aaron Smith, Jerome Kaino and Savea, it was Beauden Barrett’s turn to run the show. The fly-half found his brother Jordie with an inch-perfect crosskick to the right wing, and as he palmed it back infield Laumape caught it on the bounce to score.
With Barrett converting
New Zealand led 7-0, and despite a Farrell penalty trimming it to 7-3, an All Black turn-over of a Lions scrum should have yielded a try. Smith’s blindside break deserved better, but Barrett was unable to hold the scrum-half’s pass as he hit the line at full tilt.
Given the run of play the Lions were fortunate to be so close on the scoreboard – and they got closer still when Farrell kicked a second penalty just after the half-hour to make it 7-6. New Zealand’s response was to score a try that was so wellexecuted it looked almost unopposed.
It started with a lineout catch and drive by Brodie Retallick, and when the ball was whipped from Smith to Beauden Barrett it was precision in motion as Laumape and Anton Leinart-Brown combined to send Jordie Barrett over. His brother could not add the extras, leaving New Zealand ahead 12-6 at the interval.
Early in the second-half Daly treated everyone to a goal-kicking tutorial when he landed a monster penalty from all of 60 metres, leaving the All Blacks only 12-9 ahead. This drew an immediate response when a sweeping New Zealand attack ended with Jordie Barrett pushing his scoring pass to Savea forward.
The Lions got a further bonus when Kaino was sent to the sin-bin for a swinging-arm to the head of Alun Wyn Jones. With New Zealand down to 14 men the Lions created a half-chance when Farrell, Ben Te’o and Watson made headway, only to get a harsh forward pass call on Watson’s reverse pass to free Williams.
However, if Farrell and co were finding it hard going ball-in-hand, the English goal-kicker was in lethal form, nailing a long-range kick for a high tackle by Retallick on Lawes just before the hour to tie it at 12-12.
What happened after that will pass into Lions folklore, as Warren Gatland’s side secured a draw – and a drawn series – which was not just honourable, but truly remarkable.