Lions coach Warren Gatland speaks after his team's hard fought victory at the Cake Tin
The Lions are the toast of Britain and Ireland after beating the All Blacks last night in Wellington, the first time in 49 tests that New Zealand had lost at home.
"This tour started with sleeping pills and howls about a "suicidal" schedule. After the first two games the Lions were being called "pathetic" and "incompetent" by the locals. By the time the second Test approached Warren Gatland was wearing a clown's nose and the whole future of the Lions was in doubt. That can all be binned, because everyone is heading back to Auckland now to settle the argument after a crazy night in Wellington.
"Through sheer willpower and persistence - and two fine tries - the Lions cracked the long tradition of All Black impregnability on these islands. They put themselves within reach of a first series win in New Zealand since 1971. They made the enemies of the Lions 'concept' look small and mean. And they sent their travelling swarm of supporters into raptures on a cold, greasy night. And at the heart of it all was Agent Gatland, a Kiwi whose family still live in Hamilton, and have to endure plenty of rancid comment about the Lions coach on their social media feeds."
"The stone has been rolled back. The Lions have come back from the seeming dead. History has been made. The series is still alive. What a night for red-shirted heroes.
"They did not want to leave the scene of the triumph, the Lions players at one with their fans, drenched and drained but euphoric as they took well-deserved accolades on their slow lap of honour.
"History is not easily conquered but the Lions managed it, saving not just this series but also the credibility of future Lions tours. Those that oppose such trips, who seek to diminish the concept by reducing the length of the tour, should have been in Wellington."
Andy Farrell was right. Every underdog has his day. The Lions were 5-1 against.
Hope they piled in ( even if they're not allowed to!)
All Blacks mid-field back Sonny Bill Williams after his red card tackle during the 2nd test match between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
"How they are able to do it is the million-dollar question but there is no single answer to what makes New Zealand the best team in the world. A superior level of skill, honed since childhood, is key, as is the unique blend of Pacific island and Anglo-Saxon sporting cultures. So too, their bulletproof self-belief - it was not so much a surprise that Aaron Cruden looked for Rieko Ioane with an ambitious cross-field kick in New Zealand's last attack, rather that he missed. And it is that belief that makes improvements in Auckland inevitable.
"How Hansen and his coaches go about making them is less clear. It is a delicious irony of this Test series that the Lions are catching the eye with the tries they are scoring while New Zealand get the upper hand at the scrum. Similarly, New Zealand's most dangerous weapon was the debutant Ngani Laumape - a wrecking ball of a No12 continually crashing over the gainline in a manner synonymous with Warrenball. Laumape may not start on Saturday if Ryan Crotty is deemed fit enough to return but, as much as Hansen likes the Crusader, he is a bold selector, as shown with Ioane's breakthrough this series.
"Two Tests down and we are yet to see New Zealand fully spread their wings, however. It may be that on Saturday we do, or perhaps the flogging they receive at the hands of their own press means moving up another gear in terms of physicality. Either way, while it may not be clear exactly how, the Lions know what is coming."
Great test!! Well played 🦁
I'm tipping Hansen to stand by @SonnyBWilliams & so he should..
By Robert Kitson of the Guardian: Perhaps the home side would have won had Sonny Bill been spared; clearly the Lions were fortunate that Beauden Barrett, who kicked seven penalties, missed three makeable others. But given the historical context, the inclement weather and the screeching pressure on the Lions at 21-14 down with 13 minutes to play, this was as defiant a roar as any visiting side has managed in New Zealand for a while. The last occasion the All Blacks lost on one of their own paddocks was to South Africa in 2009; as well as their 47-Test unbeaten home record, this result has cost them their previous aura of invincibility. It is three years since New Zealand failed to score a try.
"It's game on, Kieran." "Perfect." "Immortality beckons, Sean." "That's what we're here for." The decider already feels like Wrestlemania.
"New Zealand will have to live with this next result for 12 years. They don't get another crack in four years. Sean Fitzpatrick always says the worst pressure he ever felt in his career was in that week between the second and third Tests in 1993.
"The backlash is already brewing. This is not simply a case of weathering the storm for the first 20 minutes; it will last for the full 80 minutes. In 1993, we went 10-0 up in the third Test but we could not live with their intensity. You could see that was a product of what had been building during the week.
"Without having seen the game, the most significant statistic would seem to be the fact that the Lions kept New Zealand tryless. The Lions' defence will be tested like never before next week. The psychology is different for both teams. It is suddenly winner takes all. That's where your big players step to the plate and deliver the type of performance that they may only produce four or five times in their career."
