Lions Tour 2017: Lions lose to Highlanders - What the UK media say

Highlanders celebrate their win during the match against The British and Irish Lions. Photo / Brett Phibbs

How the Great British media reacted to the British and Irish Lions' 23-22 defeat to the Highlanders on Tuesday night.

Telegraph writer Mick Cleary said "A Lions victory would have been undeserved".

"There was no-one to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, no-one ripping into the Highlanders, no raging defiance. This is another dent, another set-back and once again the Lions will have to dig deep," Cleary wrote.

"The win-loss ledger does not make for cheery reading with two defeats in four matches, a drain on morale. There were worrying signs of fault lines in the scrummage, a recurring issue too with discipline. The scrum has been a concern throughout and needs to be remedied, Banks' winner coming from a penalty conceded when the Highlanders smashed into the Lions and reduced them to a heap on the floor. It was a symbolic moment. Up in Auckland where they are preparing to face Samoa, the All Blacks will have taken note," he added.

The Guardian's rugby writer Robert Kitson wrote the Lions were lucky the Highlanders weren't at full strength and said the Australian referee didn't suit the Lions compared to having a Frenchman in charge in Saturday's win over the Crusaders.

"They did not play with either sufficient control or accuracy on a chilly evening inside the Highlanders' enclosed igloo of a stadium and were lucky the quicksilver Ben and Aaron Smith were not involved. Their two liveliest players, Courtney Lawes and Rhys Webb, had to go off injured and Jared Payne at full-back continues to look like a player operating below optimum fitness," Kitson wrote.

"If they enjoyed a bit of refereeing fortune in Christchurch last Saturday, they were less fortunate here as Angus Gardner gave two second-half scrum penalties against Dan Cole at crucial junctures which went a long way towards shaping the game.

"The second, kicked by the replacement Marty Banks with six minutes left, was not open to debate but the Lions felt the first was a clear error," Kitson said.

Chris Foy of the Daily Mail said the Lions midweek side just couldn't match the attacking process of the Highlanders.

"The hosts were without several of their top players but they stunned their illustrious visitors with the ferocity of their defensive effort and attacking flair which the Lions simply couldn't contain," Foy wrote.

"While many of the [Lions ]players on duty are unlikely to feature in the Test series, the whole squad desperately need to build confidence with positive results and instead, morale will have taken another knock.

"One positive aspect of the match for Gatland and his assistants was that captain Sam Warburton lasted 68 minutes - on his second appearance of the tour - and scored a try for good measure," Foy said.

Writing for the BBC former Lions and England wing Ugo Monye said the tourists with be frustrated but it these defeats won't matter if they can pull off a series win over the All Blacks.

"It was a more cohesive Lions performance - there were not too many standout players but it was a good team performance," Monye wrote.

"Frustrations will be the loss, obviously. This tour is all about winning, but ultimately it is a tour that will be defined by the Test series itself.

"However, the amount of individual errors in defence is a concern - there were far too many missed tackles, which prevented the type of continuous pressure with line-speed the Lions produced against the Crusaders."