Rieko Ioane scored two second-half tries as world champions the All Blacks stamped their authority with a 30-15 victory in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions yesterday.
Both tries were off the back of demolition work by a powerful New Zealand pack.
The All Blacks outscored the Lions three tries to two to maintain their 24-year unbeaten record at Eden Park.
Photo: AP
After a fevered build-up to the game, the All Blacks made their mark early on with a penalty and Codie Taylor’s converted try to lead 10-0, and they were ahead 13-8 at halftime.
However, they were struggling to build on that lead in the second half before Ioane, selected ahead of prolific try-scorer Julian Savea, exploded into action.
“It was a bloody tough Test match. Certainly that first half had everything — both teams throwing the ball around, two bloody good sides,” All Blacks captain Kieran Read said. “That’s one [win]. We’ll go back to the drawing board on Monday. Nothing’s been earned yet so we will work harder next week.”
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The Lions scored a running try for the ages through Sean O’Brien in the first half, but captain Peter O’Mahony was left to rue a number of missed chances.
“We’ve plenty to play for, we’ve got to regroup now and move on to Wellington,” O’Mahony said, referring to the venue for the second Test. “We were playing some good rugby and it paid off, and [O’Brien’s] was a great try, but I think we left a couple out there.”
“I think we’ve got to be harder on ourselves to finish off opportunities we create,” he said.
Photo: AP
Twelve years since the Lions were beaten 3-0 on their previous visit to New Zealand, the game turned on a brutal scrum by the All Blacks.
It led to Ioane’s first try and the second came when the All Blacks forwards secured turnover ball.
T.J. Perenara, taking a leaf from the playbook of his Lions opposite scrumhalf Conor Murray, put in a box-kick that Ioane gathered and raced away to score.
As expected, the Test was a collision of two distinct styles — enterprising running and audacious offloads, against box-kicks and close-quarter charges — but with a twist.
The All Blacks countered the renowned Lions’ defensive line speed by employing the visitors’ tactics of direct crash-and-bash up the middle.
Murray’s clever box-kicks, which caused the All Blacks much discomfort in the opening 30 minutes, faded as the Lions pack started to wilt.
The convincing victory kept alive the All Blacks’ phenomenal record, with 47 victories in a row on home soil since 2009 and no defeats at Eden Park since 1994.
However, it was a brutal encounter. The All Blacks lost fullback Ben Smith (concussion) and outside center Ryan Crotty (hamstring) in the first 30 minutes.
Rhys Webb scored the Lions’ second try on fulltime.
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