BATTERED AND BRUISED

Tourists are crushed by brute force of ruthless All Blacks

IT WAS in the 55th minute of yesterday’s thunderous first Test that the British and Irish Lions saw the writing on the wall at Eden Park. When their scrum was demolished by the New Zealand pack, there was no way back.

Not only did that act of physical dominance from the hosts lead to their second try, which curtailed a fightback by the visitors, it also symbolised what went wrong for Warren Gatland’s side in an ominous series opener. They showed brilliance and cavalier ambition and skills from the heavens but that was not enough. Put bluntly, they were beaten up.

The Lions came a distant second in the physicality contest. In defiance of all the tired stereotypes, the tourists showcased their pace and flair but the All Blacks beat them emphatically by adopting a routeone approach executed with clinical precision, using supreme skills.

When they arrive in Wellington today, Gatland and his assistants will step up the post-mortem into how they were outmanoeuvred by a team running hard in straight lines.

This was not an occasion illuminated by trademark Kiwi sorcery. Instead, the Lions were the ones who waved a magic wand, with Liam Williams starting and Sean O’Brien finishing a long-range try before half-time which has gone straight into folklore.

But the All Blacks’ long era of pre-eminence has been founded on strategic nous, as well as regular evidence that they simply have better players than anybody else.

So, having spent weeks trying to goad the Lions into engaging in a fast-and-loose duel, Steve Hansen sent his side out to be direct. They drove hard in narrow channels with sufficient force to keep crossing the gainline and negating the rush defence which the tourists had previously used as such a formidable weapon.

It was all about power and primal intensity, plus a few bells and whistles. New Zealand captain Kieran Read was magnificent on his return from an eight-week injury lay-off. Once the scrum drive in the 55th minute had splintered the visiting pack, the No8’s pass off the ground needed to be seen in a replay to be believed. The Lions were utterly unable to handle this amalgamation of channelled aggression and dexterity.

Lock Brodie Retallick epitomised the potent formula for success. He kept taking the ball right through the heart of the Lions defence but also handling it with care and class. The same could be said for Codie Taylor when the hooker picked a low pass from Israel Dagg off his toes to score the All Blacks’ first try, in the 18th minute.

That strike in the right corner put the home side 10-0 up and was yet another example of how they take virtually every scoring chance. The Lions made line-breaks with heartening regularity but they were left to rue their inability to capitalise on precious openings.

It started almost at once. Elliot Daly was denied in the second minute, when he twisted past Dagg but could not quite touch down in the left corner. Later, either side of half-time, when the visitors were scorching the earth with their long-range raids, another try was there for the taking but Ben Te’o cut back inside and slipped over, rather than releasing team-mates with space to run into.

When it all clicked, in the 36th minute, the outcome was a wondrous spectacle. Williams lit the fuse with an audacious break out of his own 22, Jonathan Davies provided the link, Daly shaped to go inside then raced down the left and returned the ball to Davies. He swerved and surged towards the line and when he was stopped, O’Brien was up in support and on hand to crash over.

It was a try for the pantheon but it was not enough. After the symbolic scrum laid the platform for Rieko Ioane to touch down on his first start for New Zealand, he claimed another when Williams misjudged a box-kick by TJ Perenara and the wing pounced to leave Daly choking on his vapour trail.

That was it; the game was up with 10 minutes to go and Rhys Webb’s well-taken try at the end merely served to disguise the magnitude of the hosts’ control and dominance.

While the Lions’ party line was that more clinical finishing could have made the outcome very different, the harsh truth was that they were soundly beaten.

So where to from here? A week in the capital city will be spent working out what changes are needed for the do-or-die second Test.

Gatland and Co will no doubt focus on adding clout to the Lions pack but there is always a sense that the All Blacks are one step ahead and it would be no surprise if they set out to play with tempo and width to run the tourists off their feet.

Maro Itoje made a major impact off the bench and it is surely inevitable that the England lock will start in Wellington, ahead of Alun Wyn Jones, who was seemingly all at sea after an early heavy collision. George Kruis was not at his best either but the England lock is unlikely to lose his place as he orchestrates the line-out, which was superb again.

If the coaches were prepared to gamble, they could, or should, consider deploying both Itoje and Courtney Lawes in the starting XV — one at lock and the other at blindside flanker.

Peter O’Mahony led the side from that position yesterday but his early removal suggests he may struggle to make the cut next weekend.

What Gatland must address is the issue of squad morale. So much store was set on winning the first Test but now British and Irish hopes are hanging by a thread.

They have been pushed towards the precipice and it will take an almighty collective effort to prevent a long, painful fall next Saturday. SCORERS; All Blacks: Tries — Taylor, Ioane (2); Conversion — Barrett (3); Penalties — Barrett (3). LIONS: Tries — O’Brien, Webb; Conversion — Farrell; Penalty — Farrell.