The 10bet Lions took the All Blacks to the absolute edge in a brilliant, fast-paced, and brutal encounter, before eventually running out of steam to lose 41-35 in a match that will be talked about for a long time to come.
In a breath-taking display of passion and physical defiance, the Johannesburg-based franchise showed Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus exactly what was missing in the national team's defeat in the first test against the All Blacks. However, a late surge from the visitors ultimately denied the Lions a historic victory.
The Lions started like a house on fire, applying immense early pressure on the All Blacks' tryline. Following wave after wave of attacks, thhe hosts struck first in the fourth minute off the back of a dominant scrum. Scrumhalf Nico Steyn sniped over to score, with Chris Smith adding the conversion to make it 07-00.
Just three minutes later, the Emirates Airline Park crowd was sent into raptures when Siba Mahashe intercepted and ran a brilliant, piercing line to score a spectacular try from within his own half. Smith’s accurate boot extended the lead to a stunning 14-00.
The All Blacks struck back in the 11th minute when a defensive lapse from the Lions allowed Noah Hotham to cross for the visitors' opening try, converted by Beauden Barrett. After 15 minutes of high-octane, end-to-end rugby, New Zealand spread the ball wide to Emoni Narawa, who coasted over in the corner after seamless handling down the backline, cutting the Lions' lead to 14-12.
Showing immense composure, the Lions patiently clawed their way back into the All Blacks' red zone. Following successive waves of brutal attacking phases, Kelly Mpeku dived over in the corner. Smith maintained his perfect record from the tee to push the lead to 21-12.
The All Blacks hit back just before the break as they began to throw the ball around with trademark ambition, resulting in a team try finished by Ethan Blackadder in the corner. Despite the shifting momentum, the Lions took a 21-17 lead into halftime, underpinned by a ferocious physical defence and a bucketload of passion.
The hosts repeated their explosive start in the second half. Just a minute after the restart, Mpeku turned provider with a brilliant touchline run, feeding Erich Cronje who dived over for the Lions’ fourth try. Minutes later, the stadium erupted again when captain Francke Horn scored off the back of a powerful pushover scrum. Smith converted both to hand the Lions a commanding 35-17 lead.
With their backs against the wall, the All Blacks turned to their bench and their clinical counter-attacking game. In the 49th minute, Rieko Ioane sliced the Lions' defence to pieces for a brilliant individual try, converted by Richie Mo’unga.
Disaster struck for the hosts in the 56th minute when Ioane intercepted a sloppy Lions pass, racing 50 metres downfield to score his second. Mo’unga’s conversion dragged the All Blacks back to within four points at 35-31.
As the match lost its structure, the free-running style completely suited the visitors. In the 63rd minute, Blackadder crossed for his second try following an intricate 15-man attack, giving New Zealand the lead for the first time at 36-35.
The Lions fought valiantly to the bitter end, but sustained pressure in the dying minutes saw the All Blacks launch one final assault from a dominant scrum. The ball was spread wide into the path of Narawa, who dotted down in the corner to seal a breathless 41-35 victory for the men in black.
Scorers:
10bet Lions: Tries: Nico Steyn, Siba Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronje, Francke Horn. Conversions: Chris Smith (5).
All Blacks: Tries: Noah Hotham, Emoni Narawa (2), Ethan Blackadder (2), Rieko Ioane (2). Conversions: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga (2)
Teams:
10bet Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Boan Venter, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.
All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 11 Emoni Narawa, 10 Richi Mo’unga, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Siale Lauaki. Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Saula Ma’u, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.