A look inside the sheds after the All Blacks loss to the Lions in Wellington
The All Blacks have released behind-the-scenes footage of their dressing room following the second Test defeat by the British and Irish Lions which leaves the series in the balance.
Steve Hansen's men suffered a first loss on home soil in 47 Test matches, dating back to a 2009 reverseto South Africa in Hamilton, and the All Blacks' social media team have revealed the dressing room reaction at the Westpac Stadium.
Upon returning to the sanctuary of the changing rooms, Kieran Read commiserates with his players before removing any of his muddied kit, while Hansen does the same during the clip.
Read is seen walking around the dressing room to each bowed team-mate to offer words of encouragement following a dramatic 24-21 loss to Warren Gatland's side in Wellington.
The three-match Test series has its deciding encounter at Eden Park in Auckland next Saturday, but the mood in the New Zealand camp moments after the narrow loss was clearly melancholic given the hosts were in control for long periods despite being down to 14 men.
Steve Hansen also went around the room to shake hands with his men. Photo / YouTube - All Blacks
During a short video lasting one minute and 32 seconds entitled "In The Sheds", Read said: "It was a tough Test match for a number of reasons. Conditions made it a fairly intense battle up front and territory became the order of the day.
"The boys put in a heck of a lot of effort, and for the majority of the game we felt in control. When you're down to 14 men, if you don't quite get things right, they can hurt you as they're a quality side. That's what happened.
"[The sending off] is something you have to adapt to, and I thought we did that really well. It's not why we lost the game, we had our chances and we didn't quite take them.
"We weren't good enough. We were just off I reckon, and it hurts in close Test matches. I guess in some ways it's a great challenge, so we'll look forward to next week.
"The boys will be hurting and that's exactly what we feel like when we lose a Test match so we'll turn around as quickly as we can, obviously look at the things we can do better, and the things we did well and try to keep building on those.
"The Lions series is now on the line, so we'll look forward to next week."
