Big cats are put to the sword

All Blacks 38 Lions 19

It felt a bit like we were watching a skilled but easily distracted vet making hard work of putting down a loveable family pet last night.

The Lions have been with us for so long now that it's hard to remember life without them. There was even a sense of pride watching them put some half decent passages of football together.

But ultimately, as much as we have come to enjoy having these big cats curled up all cosy in front of our fires, they simply had to be destroyed last night.

The All Blacks managed that - but were far from clinical in their execution technique.

There was the odd flash of magic, namely from Tana Umaga, from short bursts of continuity and a scrum that could keep the heat on all night. But the curve slipped someway down from last week's electrifying high.

That was largely understandable. This was a dead rubber, after all.

With the series won, the mental intensity was always going to be down. And with the greatest respect to those who started in black, the loss of Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw was always going to knock at least ten percent off the All Black effort at Eden Park.

Then there was the interference run by referee Jonathan Kaplan. The South African is the sort of official who has to let you know he is out there. He likes to make the game about him - which was a real shame, as both teams showed they had come to play rugby.

Kaplan, on the other hand, had come to blow his whistle, stamp his authority and apply the rules in the most pedantic manner.

This IRB farce that coaches can't have a serve as officials needs to be chucked into the same bin as Alastair Campbell's dropped goals.

Kaplan had a stinker. It's not the first he's had, either.

No one advocates foul play but, last time we all checked, rugby was a contact sport.

But we should not fail to pay full credit to the Lions. They got stuck in for the full 80 and, for the first time since those opening 15 minutes in Rotorua, they actually found some wits. Not that it did them much good, as they hadn't actually progressed beyond the advantage line by the time the ball reached thetouch line.

Still, baby steps. And, who knows, by the time they come back in 2017 they might have learned how to go wide and forward at the same time. They also managed to get some momentum with the driving maul and made us wonder why on earth they waited until the third test to use it so effectively.

It may have been because for the first time on tour Paul O'Connell played somewhere near his potential and presented his side with a lot of quality possession from the lineout.

Every single soul in the stands wearing red must have pondered what might have been if O'Connell had delivered the same high notes in Christchurch.

They must also have nudged their neighbour with the same sense of foreboding when Conrad Smith scored the All Blacks opening try.

There really didn't seem much on when Smith took Jerry Collins' pass. As he took stock, Smith held the ball in front of him which was enough to persuade Mark Cueto to back off which left Smith one-on-one with Geordan Murphy. The Irishman seemed a thoroughly decent chap, the sort of young man who would help an old lady across the road or provide an opposing All Black centre with directions to the try line. He will have been mortified, though, that he left his arm out slightly too long and got the faintest touch on Smith, which slowed him just a fraction.

The Lions' generosity didn't end there. A couple of minutes later, Dwayne Peel fumbled a kick from McAlister and Williams pounced on the loose ball to score.

The big bloke wasn't anywhere near as chuffed as McAlister, who realised that he should have kept the ball in hand.

It wasn't just them, either. McAlister kicked a lot of ball last night. Some of his kicks were clever and well executed. Others weren't.

The kicking was overdone, especially when Umaga was so effective whenever he charged on to some well-timed short passes. Umaga ended the series with four tries, but more significantly, he was the most influential player on either side. He has grown into the captaincy.

Scorers: All Blacks C.Smith, A.Williams, T. Umaga (2), R.Gear tries; L. McAlister 5 cons, pen; Lions D. O'Callaghan tries; S. Jones 4 pens, con).