Warren Gatland had admitted the All Blacks caught the Lions on the blindside as New Zealand comfortably won the First Test 30-15 in Auckland.
The Lions coach confessed the tourists were expecting a flashing blade, but were unprepared for the heavy bludgeon which came beforehand.
The All Blacks matched and then overwhelmed the Lions pack as the team who were meant to be strangled by Gatland’s men instead put their hands around the tourists’ throats.
Two tries from Rieko Ioane after an early score from Codie Taylor set the All Blacks on their way to an emphatic victory at Eden Park, giving the Lions plenty of food for thought.
The visitors were certainly in contention at half-time, when they trailed only 13-8 after a sensational end-to-end move rounded off by Sean O’Brien, but allowed the contest to slip away after the break.
Gatland said: “They didn’t come out and play champagne rugby.
“They were very direct coming really hard off nine and credit to them. They dominated us in that area. We were looking to get the upper hand up front and in fairness to them they got it today.
“We’ve got no excuses about the result because they deserved to win.
“But there are things we can work on particularly hard this week and definitely improve on taking the chances and being more accurate at the breakdown.”
Gatland’s counterpart Steve Hansen paid credit to the Lions for their role in an absorbing contest.
“I thought we won the battle up front in the tight five which was colossal from both sides,” he said.
“The Lions played really, really well. The first try they scored should go down as one of the best tries scored in Test rugby. They’ll be proud of that and will look to do more of it.”
All Blacks captain Kieran Read added: ‘It was a hell of a Test match. We certainly got tested in that first half especially and just after half-time when our defence probably won us the game.
‘It was two skillful teams working really hard for each other. It was a tough Test match and we had to work hard for that.’
The tourists now head to Wellington to face the Hurricanes on Tuesday, which is followed by Saturday’s second Test. Reputations are on the line.
The All Blacks lineout was far from perfect but they delivered one empathic scrum and shut down the Lions’ vaunted rolling maul. What’s more, Steve Hansen’s men bossed the breakdown and found success going up the guts on several occasions.
The direct approach from the All Blacks appeared to take Gatland by surprise. So much of the Lions’ suffocating success against the Crusaders and New Zealand Maori earlier on this tour came from their forward pack’s set piece dominance, but that could not be replicated against the All Blacks.
“They were very good up-front. They did a good job shutting down our line speed,” Gatland said. “They came very hard off nine which got them some front-foot ball and they were very aggressive at the breakdown. We need to learn from that and make sure we’re better in those areas.
“It was disappointing. We’ve had some success off our driven lineout and we didn’t do that. The All Blacks sacked us pretty effectively to negate that so we’ll need to tactically look at that.
“From a set piece point of view there needs to be improvement there.
“They were very direct in the way they played. They didn’t throw the ball around a lot. In fairness to them they were physical up-front and you’ve got to give them credit for that. We’ve got to be much more physical against the All Blacks next week.”
The Lions made no secret of their quest to establish their credentials as the world’s best pack and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen admitted he was often baffled at New Zealand’s perceived weaknesses in that area.
“Since Adam was a cowboy if your tight five do the job everyone else can play,” Hansen said. “Tonight’s test was always going to be won in the tight five and I think we won that battle but that doesn’t a guarantee we’ll win it next week. We have to front up and make sure we prepare properly. We’ve got some quality people there.
“We’ve got to be extremely proud of what they did. You don’t become the best side in the world unless you have a very good tight five. I always find it amusing when people tell us they’re going to beat us up in the tight five. We’re not just a team that can play flashy rugby. We can play down and dirty rugby – in the most respectful way.”
Gatland lamented some “soft” penalties and being on the wrong side of Jaco Peyper, conceding 11 infringements to the All Blacks’ six. But after scoring one stunning 80 metre breakout try to Sean O’Brien and blowing several others, Gatland refused to write off the prospect of an upset in the capital.
“We created some great chances and played some lovely rugby and scored a couple of nice tries. It was hugely disappointing there were a couple of golden opportunities that we could have taken and then we switched off. You finish those chances and it changes the whole mindset and momentum of the game.”
