Rugby's down the gurgler, but at least the country's lovely

The general consensus from Lions fans last night was that the tour was a write-off, but at least the country was beautiful.

Several of the 2500 fans at the Barmy Army headquarters at the Viaduct Harbour took small consolation from the Lions win last night over Auckland.

Irishman Robbie Turtle, did not even expect his team to win, much to the distaste of his confident, wide-grinning mates, who revelled in the victory.

But Gareth Hayward, who arrived from England two weeks ago, didn't seem to mind that the game fell short of expectations.

"New Zealand is fantastic, amazing. Shame the rugby is not as good."

The venue, at full capacity of 6000 for the second test, was about 40 per cent full last night. But event manager Tony Stevenson was expecting a "massive" send-off for the finale this weekend, before it closes on Sunday night.

Welshman Shane Pearce thought head coach Sir Clive Woodward would have to resort to alternative tactics to pull off a victory in the third test this Saturday.

"The All Blacks are too tough for us. We need a German at fullback with heavy machine guns," he said while correcting his balance in fits of laughter.

But he had another message: "New Zealand is a beautiful country to visit. I'd recommend it to anyone."

After the match the bars on Dominion Rd did a roaring trade, all dragging long queues outside. The road was full of fans in red carrying the national flags of home unions, predominantly Ireland. Traffic moved slowly as fans meandered out of Eden Park.

Lions fans milling around outside the popular Clare Inn Irish Pub felt New Zealand fans could learn a thing or two from Lions fans about humility.

Welshman Lyndon Williams, who said he was a third cousin of Welsh great JPR Williams, was not too complimentary of New Zealand fans. He said they had no grace.

"Every time I speak to a New Zealand fan, they say 'you're crap, Wales is crap, the Lions are crap. You should all be coal miners. Why don't you go back where you came from?."'

He said he had found the tour uninspiring rugby-wise and was surprised by how subdued the crowd at the Auckland match was.

Neil Callaghan and Maeve Nash from County Cork, Ireland, each draped in an Irish flag, were happy to hear the final whistle so they could get back to serious business of drinking.

Mr Callaghan, 26, said: "It was all a bit low key, but a win is a win and now we can get back to the party.

"Our team may not be that great, but their supporters travel well."