The Lions are not roaring, but at least they are starting to be heard. They lost to the Blues in Auckland yesterday but they were not the dozy pussycats of last weekend.
However, this defeat, by the weakest of the five Kiwi Super Rugby franchises, provided evidence aplenty of the standards that they need to meet on this tour and how far they need to rise to do so. They are still looking up at something very daunting.
With six minutes of this game to run, Sonny Bill Williams hit a line on an offload and was clean through. And when he was finally tackled, he coughed up another cute offload for Ihaia West to pounce on and score.
The move was a piece of magic that cut the Lions in half and you get the impression that they will be on the receiving end of moments of such mouth-watering quality in every game in New Zealand. The most concerning question that arises from this game was where the Lions will find such a cutting edge of their own.
This was a defeat, but not a disaster. It was a game in which the Lions were second best, though not by far, one that they deserved to lose but could have won. Given the errors that they made and the number of penalties they conceded, they could sit in the dressing room afterwards knowing that they can beat teams of this calibre.
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When players and coaches can see the quick gains to be had, then they can be encouraged, even in defeat. And there are easy improvements to be had from yesterday’s performance.
It is not so straightforward to envisage the blossoming of their attacking game. Their best attacking work here was all done by the one-man drives of the forwards, who made yards but failed to punch real holes.
The concern is that there is no apparent system yet triggering their backs into tryscoring pursuits. Remember, you need three or four tries a game to beat the All Blacks, and at this point, it is hard to see where they might come from.
This Lions mission was hard enough anyway, but it is even harder now because they need momentum and yet they are on a losing streak. The Crusaders — the best team in New Zealand — will be expected to beat them on Saturday too. Yet Warren Gatland and his coaches must keep the squad upbeat. If belief starts to wane, the tour is doomed.
If the Lions had to be beaten, though, it was best that it happened like this. They were not desperately outclassed. There were areas in the game where they were clearly superior. Their scrum was dominant. Their ability to protect the ball was impressive, in the first half in particular. Their two English locks, Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes, were as influential as anyone on the pitch. These are all foundations on which to build.
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Other players struggled. Liam Williams came on as a substitute after 48 minutes, quickly conceded two penalties for the same offence of taking a man out in the air and was yellow-carded. Jack Nowell, meanwhile, had a real day to forget. He was drawn opposite Rieko Ioane, who is only 20 years old yet delivered the performance of a master. Ioane scored one try and had two more disallowed by the TMO, he and Williams were examples of the individual genius that the Lions must get used to facing.
Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne were unable to assert themselves in midfield. Payne went off with the same tight calf that has been hampering him recently. Dan Biggar was replaced in the first half for a head injury assessment and never came back on again. Already it looks as though there is some juggling required with the No 10 shirt next week. These are the everyday problems that Lions tours present.
In the game yesterday, the problems arose early. The Lions went a try down in the seventh minute when they were caught defending too narrowly; a long pass put Ioane through and Nowell was unable to get properly to the tackle.
Having gone behind so quickly, nerves might well have frayed. However, the Lions then started to dominate territory and possession and, four minutes later, Payne went over. The try was disallowed due to a foot out of touch, but they only had to wait until the 18th minute to score a legitimate try, when CJ Stander piled over from a driving maul at a lineout.
In this period, the Lions’ game did start to come together. Lawes, in particular, took the game to the Blues. Dan Cole and Jack McGrath won penalties at the scrum, and Leigh Halfpenny kicked the Lions into a five-point lead.
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However, calamity struck just before half-time. A Blues penalty came back off one of the uprights, the ball fell dangerously in front of the posts and Williams got to the bounce to score.
With the conversion, the Lions would have gone into half-time feeling aggrieved that they were losing. They went further behind to a penalty after the break, then Liam Williams went to the sin-bin and the gradient of their uphill task simply got steeper.
Somehow, they crawled into a lead with two Halfpenny penalties but, with six minutes to go, the Blues unleashed West to go in under the posts.
In chasing the game, the Lions had two chances and blew them both. They got their phase-play going and the forwards rumbled to within striking distance — only to concede a penalty. They then won a lineout from five yards; this was their last chance, but Rory Best’s throw went sailing over the top and that was that.
Frustration and disappointment abound. In the face of adversity, the Lions have to learn from this and get better fast.
