Gavin Hastings: Loss of Lawrence a worry but Hill steadied the ship

The Lions lost their way when Lawrence Dallaglio went off. That is not something that augurs well for the rest of the tour if the loss of a senior player damages them that much but, again, Lawrence is a significant figure for them.

I must say, too, I thought Martin Corry steadied the ship and did a lot of good things when he came on. He was involved in a lot of their driving play and tightness which eventually settled matters.

I think about four or five of the Lions would be happy with their game and about 10 of them disappointed.

In the backs, Josh Lewsey and Brian O'Driscoll were first class and I think Lewsey deserved the man-of-the-match award that was made by the British TV commentators. He's a class player and I think he might have already sewn up the test spot at fullback on that display.

Gavin Henson didn't do much wrong but he didn't do anything outstanding either. Dwayne Peel played well without being the test halfback yet and Mark Cueto was another who looked OK but didn't get much of a chance, although he took a good try.

Ronan O'Gara was very disappointing. I don't think he will be the test flyhalf by any stretch of the imagination. He did well in implementing the game plan in the second half - and kicked well to the corners - but he has too many weaknesses in his all-round game.

However, Tom Shanklin might. He's a big boy and he ran and tried hard. He could potentially put himself in the frame for the tests if he keeps this up.

Up front, I think the Lions would have to be disappointed. The Bay took it to them and it was a workout they obviously needed. I thought the Bay really set the standard for playing the Lions. They were a brave and committed side.

The Lions, on the other hand, looked superb for that first 20 minutes but lost their composure and shape after Dallaglio went off. Richard Hill was outstanding, as usual, and O'Connell did well at the lineout. But I didn't think they grabbed hold of the game as they did in the opening quarter and they lost their way a bit.

Having said that, they'll be all the better for that.

The front row were not particularly commanding and the scrum noticeably improved when Steve Thompson came on as he is much more of a scrummaging hooker than Gordon Bulloch.

The worrying thing, as I said at the outset, is how they got rattled after Dallaglio's injury. They got it back by playing it much, much tighter in the second half and that's a good sign - although you wonder how much they are showing their game plan to the All Blacks when they do that.

When they were playing the ball in that first quarter, they looked poised and comfortable on the ball. That's what they will be seeking to rediscover in their next match.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY