Battling the Lions: Winning everything but the game

In view of the 1977 tour's surly, ill-tempered tenor it was perhaps appropriate that it should end at Eden Park with a fourth test, and series decider, which provided a perfect summary of some of the Lions' shortcomings.

Few international matches have been so enigmatic as this and there have been few other games where demonstrably the stronger team on the day was beaten.

Most New Zealanders scratched their heads at how the All Blacks notched a 10-9 victory. For practically the whole match, they took a frightful pounding in all forward aspects from a powerful and infinitely superior Lions pack.

But if there was any lesson from the Lions tour of 1977 it was that in international rugby it was no longer possible to rely on simply winning the battle up front.

Forward domination also had to be supplemented by effective and imaginative backplay.

And the Lions of 1977 suffered from having one of the least impressive backlines to ever tour New Zealand, a remarkable phenomenon given the excellence of Lions backs of 1950, 1959, 1971 and even 1966.

The Lions in the Eden Park test of 1977 so embarrassed the All Blacks that for some scrums the home side was reduced to fielding three-men scrums.

They also dominated the lineouts, winning 26 to the All Blacks' 14.

But while the Lions had all the ball and made most of the play they entered the final few minutes with a lead of just 9-6, having recorded just one try from halfback Doug Morgan, who also kicked a penalty and conversion.

They had missed the chance of taking an unassailable lead, particularly when Morgan missed two kickable goals, and with five minutes left they paid the price.

No 8 Lawrie Knight bolted over for the match and series-winning try, to the amazement of New Zealanders and the anger of the Lions.

They then had enough time to botch another opportunity when No 8 Willie Duggan dabbed too soon from an attacking scrum.

Needless to say, in keeping with their demeanour for most of the tour, coach John Dawes and manager George Burrell conceded the result with little grace, emphasising that the Lions had lost it, rather than the All Blacks winning on their merits.

"We lost this game, they didn't win it. We outscrummed them, we outjumped them, we won nearly everything," Burrell told a press conference.

That was true enough, but any Kiwi sympathy was qualified by the realisation that the Lions largely had perished from self-inflicted wounds.

All Blacks 10 Lawrie Knight try, Bevan Wilson 2 penalties; Lions 9 Doug Morgan try, 1 conversion, 1 penalty (Half-time Lions 9 - 3)