In a game of two yellow cards for All Blacks Tana Umaga and Jerry Collins, the Lions once again took the lead before being overrun by the rampant All Blacks. A minute’s silence was perfectly observed by the crowd, but once the anthems had been blasted out, the action was furious. Just as they had in Wellington, the Lions began on the front foot with a driving line out that took them 25 metres before the All Blacks were penalised by referee Jonathan Kaplan. Stephen Jones stepped forward to break the deadlock from 20 metres.
The Lions continued to dominate and had Donncha O’Callaghan spotted a three-man overlap on his right, the Lions would have been in for their first try. Instead, he put his head down and lost the opportunity. Still, Tana Umaga was yellow carded for killing the ball at the ensuing ruck and Jones stepped forward to double the tourists’ advantage.
However, their joy was short lived. The All Blacks broke left after an initial drive from Sione Lauaki and after Jerry Collins had put Conrad Smith into space, the Wellington centre stepped inside Geordan Murphy to score. Four minutes later, Dwayne Peel fumbled a crossfield kick from Luke McCallister behind his own line and Ali Williams pounced on the loose ball to score. McCallister, once again, converted.
Jones’s third penalty reduced the arrears, but when Ryan Jones questioned Kaplan’s decision at a scrum on 19 minutes, the South African official penalised the Lions 10 metres and McCallister duly converted. The points were coming thick and fast and when Byron Kelleher was caught not releasing on the floor, Jones added his fourth to bring the Lions back within five.
A spell of decent pressure from the tourists ended in a disappointing knock on by Jones, but their collective effort was such that the All Blacks were far from comfortable as the rain poured down on Eden Park. The disappointment for the Lions was that despite some excellent kicking from hand, they were unable to cause any real problems at the line out and subsequently relinquished the ball whenever it left the boot.
However, after pinching possession on 32 minutes, Jones was again handed the chance to kick for goal when the All Blacks were had up for offiside at a ruck. This time Jones struck and upright and the hosts were able to clear their lines. Two minutes before half time, the All Blacks were even further ahead when McCallister broke a tackle 15 metres out and fed his captain Umaga who swept over for his side’s third try of the night. Boasting a 12 point lead at the interval, the All Blacks were quickly on the front foot and seeking for a decisive fourth try.
It came after seven minutes – Umaga again on the mark after replacement scrum half Justin Marshall had put him in at the posts. A fifth try, on 53 minutes, from Siviteni Sivivatu, was disallowed for an earlier high tackle from Jerry Collins on Jones which earned the Wellington Hurricane’s flanker a deserved yellow card.
Lewis Moody was denied a try when he was held up over the line on 56 minutes, but after three further penalties which Jones kicked to touch, the England flanker was driven over for a try that Jones improved. Tempers were becoming a little frayed as the contest neared its conclusion and both captains were reminded about their side’s behaviour.
Some sublime handling from the All Blacks nine minutes from time might have brought a fifth try but the Lions, who were certainly fronting up to the challenge, held firm and cleared their lines. The biggest cheer from the healthy Welsh contigent in the crowd came when, four minutes from time, Martyn Williams ended his wait to get a Lions cap. However, by then the match and the series had long gone and the All Blacks simply wound matters up with a last minute try from Rico Gear after Will Greenwood threw him an interception pass.
