British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland said that the three-Test series against New Zealand remains very much alive, despite the disappointment of yesterday’s defeat in the opener.
Popular wisdom had it that the Lions would have to catch the All Blacks cold yesterday if they were to have any chance of securing a first series win in New Zealand since 1971.
Gatland, though, said his team showed enough at Eden Park to give them a foundation to win the second Test in Wellington next week and return to Auckland for a decider in two weeks, even if they left a couple of opportunities on the field.
Photo: Reuters
“I thought we created some great chances, we played some lovely rugby and scored a couple of nice tries, which was hugely positive,” the New Zealander told a news conference. “It was a bit disappointing that there were a couple of golden moments, great opportunities to score, and then we just switched off for a moment.”
Gatland was less impressed with his team’s discipline, one lapse in concentration that led to the All Blacks’ first try, a couple of soft handling errors and most of all how the hosts dominated the tight-five battle.
“For me those things are all fixable,” he said. “The All Blacks haven’t played champagne rugby and thrown the ball all over the place. In fairness to them, they were very direct up front and we need to be better at combating them in those areas.”
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