Big Red Tide unmasks pretenders in our

New Zealand rugby took another blow to the ego as an increasingly impressive Lions team ripped the embarrassing Chiefs apart.

Overblown haka performances aside, it's been the Lions who have done the most impressive stamping, made the ground shake, since their early fumblings in the north.

Sir Graham Henry was among those who believed the Lions had accepted an itinerary from hell, but hardly anyone envisaged the flames would be singeing New Zealand rugby's reputation. chris.rattue@ nzherald.co. nz

There was also plenty of talk that the match against the Chiefs this week was a nuisance. Think again. In the great touring traditions, a pre-test performance has given the Lions impetus, with players ranging from stoic tighthead prop Dan Cole to the back three also making strong test selection statements.

Throw in that the Blues, yes the horrible Blues, have had to carry New Zealand's reputation somewhat, and this has actually been the tour of constant surprises. Hopefully the professional clubs in Europe are taking note, that they don't start umming and ahhing in their various languages and dialects about releasing players for the famous red jersey in future.

No matter what happens in the test series, coach Warren Gatland's muscular troops have already poked a big hole in a soft New Zealand rugby underbelly.

There is no doubting the quality of New Zealand rugby's top layer, both the players and Steve Hansen's coaching/selecting unit. But some players well known (think Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo'unga) and not so much (the Chiefs wannabes) have been unmasked as inept pretenders by the Big Red Tide.

The suspicion that New Zealand's prowess has been over-stated by the Australian and South African travails is being highlighted by a touring side which upped the tempo despite flying ring-ins to Hamilton.

Lions jersey devalued? Well before fulltime, it was the Chiefs jersey which had been cleverly unstitched and ironed out.

Whereas the famous Lions of 1971 showed us how to kick around the corner, the 2017 squad has been an education in how to play straight ahead.

Highly-regarded teams — Crusaders, Maori All Blacks and Chiefs — have run into a stone wall