The series was locked at 1-1 after the third test ended in a 15-15 draw at Eden Park on Saturday, following a dramatic overturning of an All Blacks penalty by referee Romain Poite in the final two minutes. The world champions, however, had plenty of opportunities to seal the series, particularly during the 24-21 second test loss in Wellington when they played almost 60 minutes with a man down and again on Saturday in the series decider.
The Lions, however, had put them under immense pressure for sustained periods of the series, something they had not really experienced in the last five years. “We have got some good (lessons) from that,” Hansen said yesterday. “From a long-term perspective it put us under pressure and some adversity and we had to deal with that mentally. There are plenty of positives to come out of that.”
Some pundits in the rugby-mad country have been quick to condemn the drawn series with the New Zealand
Herald’s Chris Rattue saying Hansen’s team had gone backwards during the Lions series. “We have witnessed an epic series and an epic failure for Hansen, not because he lost — which he kind of did through a series draw — but for the way the All Blacks played,” Rattue wrote. “The All Blacks have been so bad in some areas that a World Cup re-think is inevitable, which may be no bad thing.”
Hansen, however, said that people needed to take a step back and realise how good the Lions team had been.
“We’re used to winning everything. But that’s one of the reasons this has been a great series. People get a wee sense of reality. There are other teams out there who can play rugby,” he said. “It’s pretty disrespectful to think just because we’ve drawn a series we’ve gone backwards. People have just got to stay calm and trust we know what we’re doing. We had a bump in the road against a well-coached team full of quality athletes, but you want a few road bumps, because somewhere they’re going to hit you and you need to know how to deal with them.”
Davies named Lions’ player of New Zealand tour
Wales centre Jonathan Davies has been named by his British and Irish Lions teammates as their player of the tour of New Zealand, the Lions said yesterday.
Davies played every minute of the three-test series against the All Blacks, which ended with a 15-15 draw on Saturday to ensure the series finished tied 1-1. The All Blacks won the first game 30-15 at Eden Park while the Lions won the second 24-21 in Wellington.
Tour captain Sam Warburton distributed voting cards to the players after the third test and Davies was selected as the player who had made the biggest contribution to the 10-match tour. “I’m blown away to receive this award from my peers,” Davies said. “I have loved every minute of this amazing tour, with an amazing group of players and to receive this from them is very special. To come to somewhere like New Zealand, the home of the double world champions, after such a short time together and to run them as close as we did is a huge achievement. Both teams have put in a huge effort and we have to be very proud of what we have achieved on this tour. It’s been very special for me.” The Lions left New Zealand yesterday having won five games, lost three and drawn two matches.