Richard Loe: Sir Clive the magician had nothing up his sleeve

The All Blacks monstered the Lions in just about all phases of the game and in just about every way. The only surprise for me was how pronounced their superiority was and how precise they were.

It proved something to all those who said the Lions were keeping something up their sleeves.

They were - their arms. And not much else.

The lineouts were the biggest surprise - Chris Jack and Ali Williams had a field day against a lineout which was supposed to monster us. The scrum was also not the force it was supposed to be - and, once the set-pieces were lost to them, they didn't have a hope of matching the All Black forwards. Our pack is just too mobile and too skilled for them. They tried hard at the breakdown but they were forced to commit too many peoiple to the rucks and mauls.

Time and again, you saw their forwards charging into the breakdown and they'd all flop around the ball. But they were being opposed by only two or three All Black forwards each time and, once the Lions forwards were on the ground, they were out of the game. Add that to an immense display by Richie McCaw and you can see how badly the Lions were outplayed where it mattered.

Once the All Blacks got ahead, they tightened up their defensive lines and played very smart. They squeezed the Lions defensively -- ironic, really, because the Lions were supposed to squeeze us, but we ended up squeezing them.

It was interesting to see the Lions run it at the beginning of the game when we all expected them to kick - but that didn't last long, either. I think it was Jerry Collins who came in and put a big hit on one of the Lions and that was pretty much the end of that. The All Blacks shut the door on them, pretty comfortably, too.

I said to someone during the game: "How many red shirts would you pick in black shirts?" The answer was none.

Ryan Jones played well when he came on and I suppose Martin Corry battled on.

But I thought Jones was about the only one who had any real get up and go about him.

That suggests that Sir Clive Woodward didn't get his selection right. The Jonny Wilkinson and Stephen Jones pairing did not fire and other selections, like Jason Robinson, just seemed out of form.

Hooker Shane Byrne was selected for his throwing but spent half the game chucking it to the All Blacks - although I should say that both hookers had their problems.

It was a surprise that Woodward didn't select Steve Thompson for this test and even more of a surprise afterwards.

I don't know how the Lions will come back. I'd say Ryan Jones will come in for Hill and Gavin Henson will come in for O'Driscoll, and there may be adjustments up front. But will it be enough?

- HERALD ON SUNDAY