All Blacks captain Kieran Read reaches new heights against Lions

All Blacks captain Kieran Read on the charge in the first test against the Lions. Photo / Alan Gibson

All Blacks 30
Lions 15
Kieran Read, the All Blacks skipper who hasn't played any rugby in six weeks, will look back on this pulsating test against the Lions and perhaps believe that this was where he stamped his mark as a leader in every sense.

The 31-year-old, playing in his 98th test in his second year as captain, was astonishing at Eden Park tonight in what was probably his greatest test since he played the majority of the 2015 World Cup final against the Wallabies at Twickenham with a sprained ankle.

With the ball, he carried and carried. Without it, he tackled himself to a standstill, broken thumb be damned. Ask Owen Farrell, the Lions No10 who was driven back into the turf by Read in the second half and wasn't in a hurry to get up again.

But, more than any of that, it was his skill level which set him apart from his opposite Taulupe Faletau, a handy player himself, and all of his opposites in the Lions' pack. It was, really, the most obvious difference between the two sides in general.

One of Read's most crucial acts was at the back of a fast-advancing scrum when he picked up a wobbling ball and flicked up a right-handed offload to halfback Aaron Smith as he was falling.

The fast delivery allowed Smith to get on the front foot, and with a head fake and some footwork and a pass to Rieko Ioane, the left wing was over for the important try in his first test start which allowed the All Blacks some breathing room.

It was there too in Barrett's one-handed pick up in the first half and in hooker Codie Taylor's remarkable finger-tip catch of Israel Dagg's dying pass for the opening try.

The Lions did plenty well, but they didn't have that breadth of skill. From the re-start of Ioane's try, brilliantly converted by Beauden Barrett on the left, poor old George Kruis dropped a pass cold.

The Lions were in the game at the point of Ioane's first try thanks to Sean O'Brien's, one which came from Liam Williams' brilliant run from the back. It was the score of the match, O'Brien playing the loose forward's supporting role to perfection.

Up till that point, apart from Elliot Daly's near try in the opening minutes, the Lions appeared rocked by the pace and intensity and skill level the All Blacks were operating at.
It was several levels up from anything they have experienced on their tour so far, a black blitzkrieg of running into contact with hands screwed on and arms ready for the ubiquitous offload.

Crucially for the tourists, they stayed true to Warren Gatland's word of wanting to play with flair and ambition, and it got them back in the match. Courage and boldness were his two buzzwords during the week, and here they were in the flesh.

But again the All Blacks showed their clinical side in the last quarter of a test. The Lions couldn't stay with them - Ioane scoring his second try with pace and power.

So, another win for the All Blacks at Eden Park, their 39th in a row, and a massive blow to Gatland's hopes of winning the series. It's difficult to see them coming back from this. The gulf in class is that obvious.