Seize the chance to make history
NOW the really hard work begins! The Lions have earned themselves a chance to make history, but it goes without saying that it is going take another level altogether to beat a wounded All Black team at Eden Park with a Test series at stake. They can make that step.
The Lions were at their very best yesterday when they started to play with tempo and trust their running and handling ability. It takes a huge amount of selfbelief but they are beginning to realise that New Zealand are actually at their least comfortable when you play at the pace — or even higher — at which they usually prefer to operate.
We also saw that with the Lions try in the first Test and a couple of the Lions long-distance attacks which didn’t quite come to fruition.
The Sexton/Farrell pairing doesn’t come without risk and you could see New Zealand wanted to exploit it by sending the their big runners down that channel, but the Lions just about coped, often placing Sean O’Brien there to help out. But the rewards are there to see and as this Lions team improves game on game they could prove even more devastating. I would make just one change to the starting XV. Alun Wyn Jones put in a fine shift yesterday but it is time for the Lions to go for the jugular and start with Courtney Lawes alongside Maro Itoje. Lawes made the predicted impact when he came off the bench and, like Itoje, is a great athlete. I want to see that England combo taking it to Retallick and Whitelock for the full 80 because, make no mistake, New Zealand will look to produce something special on Saturday and they are two of their talismanic players.
Finally it almost goes without saying that the Lions must cut down on the penalties, with 10 of the 13 conceded yesterday within kicking range. They were lucky Beauden Barrett endured one of his iffy days with the boot but it probably won’t happen two games in a row.
It’s a mental as well as a technical thing, they must dial into what is required. Northern hemisphere players know next week’s referee, Romain Poite, very well indeed, he refs a huge number of our big names. The Lions must make that knowledge of what he allows — and what he doesn’t — work for them.