Gavin Hastings: Thousands of reasons the Lions must go on

The Third test was further evidence - if you needed it - that the All Blacks were just a little too good in every aspect.

I very much hope the lessons learned here will spark a change in the way we play our rugby in the Northern Hemisphere.

It struck me last night that, even trying to be impartial in your views in every respect, on this particular tour we've played such a structured game. There's very little that has been left open to instinctive play.

Contrast that with the way the All Blacks have played - with wonderful fluidity, pace, precision and power right through numbers one to 22. From that perspective it's been great. It's been a privilege to witness such superlative play.

Let's face it, the Lions are no monkeys. They're not a bunch of idiots. But there will be an awful lot of these players who will be extremely disappointed with how they have performed in New Zealand.

It's a missed opportunity for those guys. The one that got away.

They will never ever get a chance to rectify that. They will never be back in New Zealand playing for the Lions again so that's a hell of a missed opportunity. They all know it.

It's the whole thing again of too many players and too few games.

When you're playing a team that's as well prepared and as talented as the All Blacks, then unfortunately when it comes down to the pace and intensity of test match rugby we've been found wanting.

One thing, however - this mustn't signal is the death knell of Lions rugby.

Sure, questions have to be asked, but now is not the right time to ask them.

What the Lions must never be again is uncompetitive. You could almost forgive losing 3-0 if you had a chance going into the last five minutes, but that never happened. Clearly that's not good enough. You could go further and say it's not acceptable.

But the concept of the Lions has to last. You ask any Lions supporter - you ask any New Zealand supporter - and this tour has been absolutely fantastic from an off the field perspective.

There are only a very small number of players who get the opportunity to represent the Lions on the field. There are thousands upon thousands of other people who take this opportunity to to travel to the other side of the world to support the Lions.

It's for these people Lions tours must continue to exist. They would be the real losers, not the players.

A lot of the Lions players on this tour will have had very bad experiences of New Zealand, and I include the captain Brian O'Driscoll in that. I have a huge amount of sympathy for those players, but I don't think there'd be too many Lions supporters that would have had anything other than very good experiences.

You have to remember - and it's not easy when you're a player - the sheer passion and enjoyment the supporters create.

Off the field this has probably been the most successful tour ever; the Lions supporters have been wonderful ambassadors for their countries and New Zealanders have been wonderful hosts.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY