By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
The scoreboard says 41–35 to the All Blacks. It may have even be closer than that.
For much of the night at Ellis Park, the Lions looked like the team more likely to win. They came out with intent, matched the All Blacks physically and, for long periods, controlled the scrum and the tempo of the game.
At half-time, the Lions led 21–17. Then, after extending that advantage to 35–17 early in the second half, they were suddenly staring at an All Blacks comeback.
They never stopped fighting.
Siba Mahashe, who was named Player of the Match, summed up the Lions’ approach perfectly: “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We were told to go out and express ourselves and have fun”. He added that “We had to fight fire with fire and match their tempo.”
That is exactly what they did.
The Lions played with freedom and belief. Their five tries came from different parts of the game , power, speed, pressure and opportunism. Captain Francke Horn summed it up afterwards: “It was a big game for us and we wanted to test ourselves.” And they certainly did.
For the All Blacks, this was less about a perfect performance and more about how they responded when the game started slipping away.
Rieko Ioane scored twice in six minutes. Ethan Blackadder added his second. Emoni Narawa finished the job in the closing stages.
The numbers tell part of the story. New Zealand made 15 line breaks to the Lions’ four and carried the ball 150 times to 78. But they also conceded 35 points and spent long periods under serious pressure.
Captain Patrick Tuipulotu acknowledged that afterwards: “The Lions really brought it to us. It was a very tough game for us, but credit to a good Lions team.”
There was another storyline running through the match. Richie Mo’unga was back in the No. 10 jersey for the first time in three years. His return was about more than rugby. Before the match, he spoke about watching Test rugby from Japan and realising how much he missed being in that environment. “There’s no better feeling than being in the arena,” he said.
He got his chance, and although this was not a flawless All Blacks performance, the 32-year-old looked composed and involved. More importantly, he showed why depth and competition for places matter as New Zealand head towards another Test against the Springboks.
Blackadder, Ioane and Narawa all put their hands up, and are in line for a test spot in one of the remaining three tests.
The Lions, meanwhile, can take something significant from the night. They pushed one of the world’s best sides to the limit and led them by 18 points. They just could not finish the job.
Perhaps that is the clearest lesson from Ellis Park: talent can win you a game, but composure, belief and the ability to respond under pressure can rescue one.
New Zealand drew first blood in the first Test of the series with a 33-16 win over the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday, after beating the Stormers (38-21), Sharks (54-0) and Vodacom Bulls (50-19) over the last 18 days in South Africa and will now head to Cape Town for another titanic match.
LIONS – Tries: Nico Steyn, Siba Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronjé, 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).