When Peter Burling said after losing yesterday's second race, it was good to see his rivals sailing so well, every sporting person knew what he meant. The harder the game, the sweeter victory can be. Back when Team New Zealand had yet to win the America's Cup, Sir Peter Blake used to say, "If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing". Yesterday's matches proved that winning this series will not be easy either. The defenders, after losing all four races last weekend, have improved their boat and it looks to be a more even contest now.
The same can be said of the Lions in this test series. The All Blacks won the first test decisively at Eden Park on Saturday night but the Lions helped make it a very good game. They ran the ball and played the fast, expansive game the All Blacks have perfected. With a little more luck the tourists would have had a healthy lead at half time. Their try launched from deep in their own half was a gem. The pace and handling skills of both teams was far above the level spectators could have expected on a wet night with a slippery ball.
It is only three weeks since the Lions arrived and they are getting better by the week. They look capable of forcing the All Blacks to lift their game to even greater heights of speed and accuracy if they are stay in front. It may a different story with French referees in control of the remaining tests but for now, fast, open free-flowing rugby looks likely to prevail. A series that threatened to be a dour battle for dominance up front has begun quite differently. The Lions brought a more positive attitude from the opening whistle on Saturday evening and the All Black forwards showed them they could not count on winning the scrums in any case.
The weekend always promised a feast of sport but the fare has been more spicy than expected. We may be feeling differently this morning if Oracle gets the jump on Emirates Team NZ but, whatever happens, the series will not be decided today and on yesterday's evidence, this series does not look like a repeat of San Francisco. The defender does not appear to have found a mysterious hydraulic turbocharger - yesterday's matches were decided by human errors and wind differences. In other words, sailing as usual.
It is coming down to a classic contest of youth versus experience, speed against guile, and the younger crew look up to the task. Burling has proved he can remain calm even when clinging to the cockpit of an upturned hull high above the water. He has taken no notice of his opponent's mind games at press conferences and he will not be listening to the high praise coming his way more recently from Sir Russell Coutts and Jimmy Spithill.
