This Super Rugby final was always going to be difficult for a Lions team who effectively threw away their chance to host it by sending a weakened team to Buenos Aires for their final round-robin match.
They faced abysmal weather in Wellington and there's no way they would be used to that. At their Ellis Park home in Johannesburg, the match-up between these two teams could have been different. They are used to dry, fine conditions, and for them to have to travel across the Indian Ocean to wet and windy Wellington meant the final was a foregone conclusion. Yes, they have played well in New Zealand this season, but round-robin play is very different to a final.
Three weeks in a row, the weather played its part for the hosts. Three weeks ago against the Sharks, there were, perhaps appropriately, near hurricane conditions. Against the Chiefs, the conditions were difficult, though not quite as bad. On Saturday, they were just atrocious. You only needed a brief look at the post-match presentations on television to see the players' teeth chattering. It was windy, wet and freezing cold, and that was never going to suit the Lions.
The Hurricanes adapted to the conditions brilliantly. They have been excellent in all their playoff matches this season, combining a brilliant game plan with the ability to make the most of their opportunities. But I concur with others who have commented about their defence - that's how Chris Boyd and Co won their title. They frustrated the Lions into kicking the ball away because they ran out of ideas about how to breach a defence which hasn't conceded a try since the first half of their last round-robin match.
The Lions have been dangerous all year, but looked inept during the final. You'd be scratching your head trying to recall their line breaks and this year, their attack has been all about breaking the line and building points.
