Read has vital role in mighty encounter

It’s test No 98 for All Blacks captain Kieran Read and perhaps the most important of his career.

It’s his chance, albeit on his return from a broken thumb which has kept him out of the game for six weeks, to make his mark in the post- Richie McCaw era in a test which ranks in importance somewhere near a World Cup final.

The Lions need to win this one to have a realistic chance of winning the series. It’s difficult to see them losing and then coming back and winning two on the trot in Wellington and back in Auckland, so Warren Gatland’s men must be prepared to throw the metaphorical kitchen sink at it, and that’s something Read and his men have been preparing for.

Read’s leadership in the wake of the All Blacks’ defeat by Ireland in Chicago last November was pretty important in terms of bouncing back from that shock to win in Dublin against the same opposition, but the onus really will be on a 31- year- old originally from down the road in Papakura to lead well and to play well, too.

Asked yesterday where this test compared with the others under his belt, Read said: “To be honest, this is probably the most important right now for me. It’s a massive one, this series has been built as being pretty big and I think we’ve got to that point where both teams are raring to go.

“I can’t wait for the challenge. The whole history of the Lions isn’t lost on us as All Blacks. We love the opportunity.”

Read, who said he has not worried about his thumb all week, knows what the Lions will bring; big, physical men intending to smash the All Blacks in