Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
It was the result neither team particularly wanted, but the one that perhaps they both deserved after a wildly fluctuating and entertaining night’s rugby at the Westpac Stadium. As such a scoreline indicates, no one could dispute that both teams certainly came to play in what was a belter of a game.
The 80 minutes-plus never stopped flowing, but it ebbed continuously, keeping a throbbing, near-full house of 38,690 utterly absorbed.
Regrets, each will have a few. The Lions led by 16 at half-time and 14 by the hour mark – around which point it was but for a foot on the touchline by George North that they would have been a further try ahead.
Yet, in truth, their leads never felt entirely secure, such was the potency of the Super Rugby champions when they built up a head of steam. The Hurricanes will also rue coughing up an intercept try and another seven-pointer off their failure to deal with a high ball, but having coming back they had the momentum to win it.
By the same token therefore, the Lions showed their pride by then regaining the initiative and were the ones pushing for a win, all the more so as once more all but two of their starting XV again had to do the full 80 minute shift.
Alas, one of those forced off was Robbie Henshaw, who looked as if he suffered a tour-ending injury to his right shoulder.
In their hour of most need, after the Hurricanes had reduced the Lions' 23-7 lead to a score with a post-interval 10-point salvo, it was Iain Henderson who, more than anybody, grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with a barnstorming spell of rugby.
After an undistinguished first outing against the Barbarians, this was the high point of his best performance of four fine ones in a row. The low point came when clearing out Jordie Barrett at a ruck, lifting him and driving him into the ground. After recourse to the TMO, George Ayoub, Romain Poite was encouraged to award a yellow card. It was probably a fair call, although Henderson was a little unlucky in that Jonathan Joseph had lifted Barrett slightly as well.
Henderson made 13 carries for a remarkable 48 minutes in his 70 minutes on the pitch, compared to ten carries for 14 metres, but significantly it was Lawes who was withdrawn early, suggesting he, rather than Henderson, has been earmarked for the second test matchday 23 at the same venue in four days’ time.
CJ Stander put in another sterling shift, with 16 carries, while Warren Gatland will surely be pleased to see how often George North and Jack Nowell were involved, and had so many touches on the ball, with North perhaps benefitting from his move to centre for the last hour after Henshaw’s departure as Warren Gatland again eschewed using his late call-ups off the bench. North and Nowell may have given him food for thought, and it would be no surprise to see at least one of them in next Saturday’s 23.
A few hours before the game the Lions announced that Jared Payne, who had been selected on the bench, had reported with a headache earlier in the day and had been stood down as a precaution. He was replaced by Leigh Halfpenny, whose presence in the test 23 could be vulnerable.
On a cold but dry and still night, both sides went wide from the kick-off. The youngest of the three All Blacks siblings in the remarkable Barrett clan – Jordie – fumbled, as then did Greig Laidlaw at the base.
The first scrum saw the Lions shunted off their own ball, but the Hurricanes were penalised for scrumming at an angle. This sparked the game’s first bout of handbags, which in turn prompted a rendition of the Beatles’ ‘All You Need Is Love’ over the PA system. The constant playing of songs, loudly, at virtually every single break in play may be de rigeur hereabouts, but it began to grate. They clearly don’t know how to generate their own atmosphere.
The Hurricanes quickly conceded another couple of penalties, for a high tackle by Barrett on Nowell after a good counter, and for offside, but after Tipuric was launched around the tail from Henderson’s take, the latter was held up in a choke tackle for a turnover.
The Hurricanes upped the ante, Vince Aso and Barrett combining to release Julien Savea, and they began to stress and stretch the Lions briefly with their high tempo recycling. Whereupon Tommy Seymour made a good read in defence, pushing up on Otere Black to force a loose pass, and Laidlaw picked it off inside the Lions 22. He was hounded down inside the Hurricanes' half but popped the ball off the deck for Seymour to gather without breaking stride and score under the posts.
Alas, as Biggar kicked the conversion, Henshaw departed from the game and clearly in some pain clutching his right shoulder.
Biggar then chipped into space for Jonathan Joseph to gather, and when he was tackled in the air by Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Biggar landed a huge penalty for a 13-0 lead.
Ngani Laumape sparked the 'Canes into life with a huge bust up the middle - the home side's only line break of the first-half. A remorseless series of patient, pick-and-drives by the Hurricanes' rumblers ensued before Callum Gibbins plunged for the line. Barrett converted.
Game on, though it never really felt that it wasn’t. The Hurricanes went through a couple phases from the kick-off before exiting with a kick, whereupon loosehead prop Ben May blocked Laidlaw off the ball. Biggar made it 16-7, and another gift soon followed.
When Biggar gathered a long clearance by Barrett, he returned the ball with even more hang time. Halfpenny set off in chase and leapt to contest the ball with Nehe Milner-Skudder and force it ricochet from the All Blacks World Cup-winning winger. The ball bounced kindly for Henderson, of all people, who had not alone followed the ball but transferred deftly and quickly to give the supporting North to score untouched under the posts.
Twice with the 40 minutes up, the Hurricanes opted to go to the corner, but after the first lineout was defended illegally, the Lions packed worked in tandem to stifle and even drive the maul back, with Best getting through to force a turnover.
And so Poite signalled the end of the half, leaving the two packs to sort out another post-whistle disagreement between themselves. It was turning into a Top 14 game, with scuffles breaking out everywhere. The Lions returned to the dressing-room with a somewhat opportunist 23-7 lead, having taken all the chances gifted to them.
Within a minute of the restart though, the Hurricanes struck devastatingly. From Barrett’s leaping take, Shields ploughed through Cole, and with front foot ball their gifted backline showed their cutting edge with a lovely move off the training ground. The outside backs drifted and Aso put Savea through the midfield gap with an inside pass by Aso. Savea ran on and passed wide to Laumape, who burst through Biggar’s tackle to score by the flag.
Biggar was knocked prone, managed to sit up and was patted on his head by a retreating Hurricanes player - a dislikeable trait within the New Zealand Super Rugby teams even when they play each other - prompting another fight.
Barrett landed the touchline conversion, before finally, after North was pinged for offside, another bout of pushing and shoving prompted Poite to belatedly bring in both captains. Barrett kicked the penalty to make it a one-score game.
The Lions needed something, and a big bust by Henderson putt them on the front foot. A high tackle and side entry earned Tahuriorangi a yellow card and enabled Biggar to make it 26-17.
Cue Henderson again. First he followed up his own charge down. A few phases later he took a tip pass from Best to slide and was driven over the line, but Shields managed to manoeuvre himself sufficiently under the ball to prevent the try being awarded.
Henderson by now looked the form lock in the party, and certainly on the night, but in a pointed nod toward Saturday’s second test, it was Courtney Lawes who was saved any more exertions to be replaced by George Kruis. If only it had been Henderson.
Undeterred, the Lions worked one of their most patient and clinical finishes of the tour. Stander turned poor scrum ball into go-forward with a good carry, slipping out of the first tackle. A few phases later, they went wide, Biggar passing on to Joseph, whose skip pass reached Nowell and Halfpenny was the link for Seymour to score in the corner.
After another good carry by Stander, North should have scored but it was rightly ruled out for putting a foot on the touchline.
Just at the point it looked as if the Lions were going to close out the game, Henderson was yellow carded. It also meant a reverse penalty, which the Hurricanes kicked up the line. This time Tahuriorangi, back from his own yellow, launched Laumape up the middle and the home side reverted to the pick-and-drive tactics before Barrett saw the space out wide to put Wes Goosen over. Barrett converted.
Within two minutes another penalty up the line led to more charges at the heart of the wilting Lions defence, before Fifita plunged over American Football style and Barrett drew the sides level.
Back came the Canes again after Halfpenny, of all people, fumbled a high ball under no pressure, through 21 punishing phases. But Sam Lousi knocked on a metre short of the line when Stander put his body literally on the line. Furthermore, Poite and his TMO went back a couple of rucks and penalised Laumape for a neck roll.
Henderson returned with the scores still level, but the Lions lead having been wiped out in his absence. That said, the Lions regrouped and dug deep. They went through the phases with one last attack, the Hurricanes careful not to push up offside or not roll away. But Biggar was left plaintively waving his arms in the pocket, just outside the 10 metre line, having twice called for the ball and not been given it, whereupon Nowell attacked wide.
Even then, the Hurricanes felt compelled to attack off the ensuing scrum outside their 22, only for Biggar to channel his anger into a poach at the breakdown. This time though, when given his chance, he slightly mishit his 45 metre drop goal attempt.
Milner-Skudder desperately tried to keep the ball infield, but it escaped his clutches to fall over the dead ball line. No-one on the pitch wanted a draw but, contrastingly, everyone off it rose in one to give the teams a standing ovation.
Scoring sequence: 10 mins Biggar pen 0-3; 18 mins Seymour try, Biggar con 0-10; 24 mins Biggar pen 0-13; 29 mins Gibbins try, Barrett con 7-13; 32 mins Biggar oen 7-16; 37 mins North try, Biggar con 7-23; (half-time 7-23); 41 mins Laumpape try, Barrett con 14-23; 49 mins Barrett pen 17-23; 52 mins Biggar pen 17-26; 56 mins Seymour try 17-31; 67 mins Goosen try, Barrett con 24-31; 70 mins Fifita try, Barrett con 31-31.
HURRICANES: Jordie Barrett, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Vince Aso, Ngani Laumape, Julian Savea, Otere Black, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi; Ben May, Ricky Riccitelli, Jeff To'omaga-Allen, Mark Abbott, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Callum Gibbins, Brad Shields (capt).
Replacements: Chris Eves for May, Reed Prinsep for Shields (both 57 mins), Leni Apisai for Riccitelli, Wes Goosen for Black (both 62 mins), Kemara Hauiti-Parapara for Tahuriorangi, Cory Jane for Savea (both 69 mins). Not used: Mike Kainga, James Blackwell.
Sinbinned: To’omaga-Allen (52-62 mins).
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, England); Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, England), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster, Ireland), George North (Northampton Saints, Wales); Dan Biggar (Ospreys, Wales), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester, Scotland); Joe Marler (Harlequins, England), Rory Best (Ulster, Ireland, capt), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, England), Iain Henderson (Ulster, Ireland), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England), James Haskell (Wasps, England), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, Wales), CJ Stander (Munster, Ireland).
Replacements: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon, France) for Henshaw (18 mins), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) for Biggar (42-45 mins), George Kruis (Saracens, England) for Lawes (54 mins).
Not used: Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues, Wales), Allan Dell (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs, Wales), Cory Hill (Newport Gwent Dragons, Wales), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales).
Sinbinned: Henderson (65-75 mins).
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
