What a great game. How well the Maori played and how they deserved to win. They had almost total control, I felt, from the beginning of the match to the end.
For me, you could pick any one of Leon MacDonald, Rua Tipoki and Luke McAlister as man of the
match, although Jono Gibbes played a great hand up front as well.
From a Lions perspective, while they won't be happy with the loss, I'm not sure this damages their test chances as much as might be fancied.
I hope they are not too hard on themselves as I do not think they have too much more to do to get things right. They haven't played their best side yet and there were some missed tackles, lost lineouts and poor throws - all things that can be worked on.
The big concern is the breakdown. They've struggled in this area for three games now and I thought they were outdone there by the Maori. They seemed to have two or three players there in the contact situation before the Lions did - and that told on the Lions.
Unfortunately, I don't think the problem is direction or tactical. I think it is a matter of speed. The Lions were not getting enough numbers there. I know some in the Northern Hemisphere have criticised New Zealand's ability to contest possession at the breakdown but it didn't seem like that last night, did it?
But, again, I don't think this means the Lions will lose the test series. There are three games before the first test and plenty of time to work on what is going wrong - and to fix it.
I thought Martyn Williams played well at No 7 and into a test jersey. Paul O'Connell did the same and Simon Shaw had a good first half - I think they'll want another look at him as New Zealand conditions seem to agree with him.
But I thought the Lions lost something when Andy Sheridan went off with his yellow-carding - another problem they'll have to work on - and Richard Hill had a quiet game with some uncharacteristic mistakes.
In the backs, Brian O'Driscoll is a certainty but I think every other position is open. I am still wondering why they are not playing Jonny Wilkinson. I guess we'll have to wait and see whether that ploy will work.
I think it is important that they don't get too down or too analytical. The Lions now need, more than ever, to concentrate but also to relax, work on their various problems and re-focus themselves on the test. Most importantly, they need to work on how they secure possession when they take it into the tackle and the breakdown.
After this, you'd have to say there is no way the Lions will beat the All Blacks if they don't play well. The Lions will have to play very well to beat them - and that is absolutely how it should be on a tour like this.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
What a great game. How well the Maori played and how they deserved to win. They had almost total control, I felt, from the beginning of the match to the end.
For me, you could pick any one of Leon MacDonald, Rua Tipoki and Luke McAlister as man of the
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