Sam Cane lifts his game to a new level

Sam Cane, centre, celebrates Rieko Ioane's second try in Saturday's test match. Photo/Greg Bowker

You know you have reached Reporoa on the drive from Rotorua when you see a large sign in a farmer's paddock saying this is "Sam Cane Country".

No surprises the locals are proud of their most famous son, and rightly so. The sentiment is shared throughout the Bay of Plenty, where Cane played rep rugby at every level through to the Steamers as well as NZ Secondary Schools, NZ Under-20s, Chiefs and the All Blacks.

But in other parts of New Zealand there has not been quite the same agreement that Cane is the chosen one to replace Richie McCaw.

Canterbury folk have long pushed for Matt Todd, while in Wellington the drums have been beating loudly for Ardie Savea to wear the coveted No 7 jersey in the All Blacks.

All that is history after Cane played the game of his life in one of the great test matches between the All Blacks and British and Irish Lions on Saturday.

The final scoreline of 30-15 to the All Blacks does not tell the full story of how tough the battle was or how closely the teams were matched.

In the opening exchanges, where the hits are at their hardest and intensity is at maximum velocity, it was Cane who took the ball up, charging into the red line and setting up quick ruck ball.

When the Lions had the ball they were cut down by Cane and Jerome Kaino who were both outstanding over the ball, either stopping Lions ball coming out or cleaning up possession for the All Blacks.

Cane was rightly rewarded with the Player of the Match award. Leading by example has always been a big part of his makeup and it was good to see him handed the captaincy when inspirational skipper Kieran Read left the field with five minutes to play.

Speculation had been mounting in certain quarters - not for the first time from Cantabrian Justin Marshall on television commentary - that Sam Whitelock was destined to captain the All Blacks after Read finishes up.

Wrong. Cane is the designated captain in waiting. He led the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 against Namibia and last year against Italy.

The great McCaw took some time to convince the public he was the obvious choice as flanker and captain. Cane has 41 tests under his belt since making his debut aged 20 in 2002. He has now made the jersey his own.

Saturday's first test showed just how good this Lions team is. They created the best chances and played the most open running rugby yet were punished for their errors by a ruthless All Blacks team.

In the opening 10 minutes of both halves the Lions blew gilt-edged opportunities to score, which with less panic and more rugby smarts they would have taken.

Not since the 2011 Rugby World Cup have the All Blacks been pushed so hard at home. Rather than being dispirited by the loss, the Lions will be more confident they can win in Wellington this Saturday.

The second test should be another classic for the ages.