New Zealand 21 – 24 Lions

An ecstatic and nervous finish saw the Lions snatch a famous victory to tie the test series. Despite being a man down following Sonny Bill Williams’ red card, Beauden Barrett kept the pressure on the visitors by punishing their ill-discipline to put them 9 points clear by 58′. And whilst it looked like the Lions couldn’t capitalise on their one man advantage, Faletau went over on the 60 minute mark. Nine minutes later, Murray sniped from close to snatch a try and the Lions were drawing. The Lions had to wait until the 78th minute before the All Black discipline buckled first, with Owen Farrell calmly slotting the deciding penalty. It was a fantastic win, but lost by the All Blacks, not won by the Lions. That’s not just some journalistic tosh. The Lions simply capitalised on the SBW’s dismissal, and Barrett’s less than accurate kicking saw the All Blacks miss out on 9 points. Did the Lions’ performance deserve to win? Probably not, but this gives them a huge boost going into the test decider.

Backs

Liam Williams – 7.5
Solid and consistent performance from possibly the best fullback in the Northern Hemisphere. Wet conditions made the aerial battle enthralling and his chasing added an extra slice of nuisance to the All Black backline. Took a huge hit to the hip to put Faletau in for his try.

Anthony Watson – 7
Passed his HIA after SBW’s ‘tackle’, and looked lively on the ball. Targeted by the All Black defence which is testament to his threat in loose play. Overall, a good showing.

Jonathan Davies – 7.5
Another player who seemed quiet but was actually drawing a lot of attention from the All Black defence. Very few mistakes and opted to release the wingers with kicks this time around. Carried well and produced a great offload early on.

Owen Farrell – 8
Kicked brilliantly throughout and particularly to convert Murray’s try and the winning penalty. In terms of playmaking with Sexton, distribution never really seemed to threaten a clean break but got them over the gainline each time. Great pass to find Williams in space to put Faletau in.

Elliot Daly – 7
Tackled and defended his wing well, particularly against Naholo. Kicking left something to be desired. Solid enough.

Jonathan Sexton – 7
Sexton put a few good plays together with Farrell, wrapping around in that trademark style of his. Wasn’t always that effective and easily read, but he functioned as intermediary between Murray, Farrell and Davies so he can be happy.

Conor Murray- 8.5
Excellent performance from the Munsterman. Seemed to take a leaf out of Rhys Webb’s book to snipe in from close. For me, that try is how you play against the All Blacks. Sexton passed the ball to Jamie George who broke the line because the defence wasn’t expecting it to go to him and did not mark accordingly. George made good ground and instead of waiting, Murray took advantage of the All Black scramble to go over. In both breaks, the Lions did the thoroughly un-Northern Hemisphere thing of doing the unexpected. Box kicking not the best.

Pack

Mako Vunipola – 5
Conceded far too many penalties and went off for a reckless clearout on Barrett’s head. Poor performance. Should probably start on the bench next week.

Jamie George – 7
Great from the England hooker. Lineout was good for the most part and he carried well, particularly the break shortly before Murray’s try.

Tadhg Furlong – 7
Scrum held up well and he’s a guaranteed safe carrier to set up position.

Alun Wyn Jones – 7
Put in a huge hit on Owen Franks early on as well as dogged work in defence and the breakdown. Was that a performance to silence his critics?

Maro Itoje – 7
The New Zealand Herald awarded Itoje a 4/10… Not his best performance but he was again a nuisance in maul and ruck. AWJ and Itoje are looking like a dynamic pairing at locks; something of a ‘buddy cop’ film. Collected well on most restarts.

Sam Warburton – 7.5
Performed a critical behind-the-scenes role for the Lions in slowing down All Black breakdown ball. A brilliant technical display from the captain, if not highly visible.

Sean O’Brien – 8
A strong carrier in the loose, as well as a crash ball option in the 10-12 channel. A good partner for Warburton, and a menace for Barrett and Smith.

Toby Faletau – 7
A strong carry to run over Israel Dagg for his try. Good carrying and picking up off the base of the scrum, but seemed short of his usual intensity.

Replacements

Ken Owens – N/A

Jack McGrath – 6
Solid in all aspects of his game. Nothing special but nothing poor. Should he start ahead of Vunipola? Replaced Vunipola 66′

Kyle Sinckler – 6.5
Another visible performance and a morale boost. Replaced Furlong 62’

Courtney Lawes – 7
Strong impact from Lawes, carrying well and putting in big hits. Lawes, Itoje, Kruis and Launchbury is a fearsome selection dilemma for the upcoming 6N. Replaced Alun Wyn Jones 59′

CJ Stander – N/A

Rhys Webb – N/A

Ben Te’o – N/A

Jack Nowell – N/A
Briefly replaced Watson for HIA 26′

Worthy mentions

Nothing worthy about this, but this game was full of foul play. Sonny Bill can have no qualms over his red card for his high, no-arms shoulder charge on Watson. He can’t even use the excuse that Watson fell into him. Was it malicious? SBW has certainly had a tumultuous past but it didn’t appear to be motivated, only stupid. Mako Vunipola’s sin bin was the same, clearing out Barrett who, I think, made a meal of it after Vunipola caught Jerome Garces’ attention and warning following a late tackle on the number 10 moments before. Vunipola was right to walk. Having said that, Garces ordered the players to continue play after Codie Taylor charged down Farrell and bundled into him on the 49th minute. Not straight at the lineout was again an issue. The Lions were penalised early on, and more crooked throws from both sides followed. In both these situations, consistency is key. On the whole Garces had a good game, particularly dealing well with a lippy TJ Pernara and Kieran Read querying the tackle on Sinckler.

Last thoughts and collated results
Overall team rating – 7.08
First XV rating – 7.20

Individual nation ratings

Scotland player rating – N/A
England player rating – 6.81
Wales player rating – 7.30
Ireland player rating – 7.30

A good showing all round but Vunipola let’s down the English contingent. This was a good performance from the Lions, and the above 7 rating demonstrates that. Was that the superb performance needed to haul down the mighty All Blacks? Without raining on the Lions’ parade, it raises the question of whether they can beat a full All Black side next week. The pack showed positive signs, keeping the likes of Rettalick and an error-strewn Read quiet. Laumape, who will probably replace SBW, looked good and Farrell and Sexton need to work on their defensive coordination. To win next week, the Lions need to clamp down on their discipline, retain their defensive structure and hope that one of the loose plays or Sexton-Farrell coordinated attacks lead to some points.

By Dave Beach