The Lions went from abject to mediocre in the space of seven days. Daniel Carter went from world class to out of this world.
It was a better effort from the Lions. Maybe they were even quite good. But, and here's what will stick in Clive Woodward's craw this morning,
quite good isn't enough against the All Blacks.
It's nowhere near good enough to take on a side that looks ready to move rugby to a new level. The All Blacks managed to rip apart the "best prepared Lions side in history" without ever reproducing the set-piece excellence of last Saturday. A little uncertainty crept into their lineout. The scrum was solid without ever unleashing panic in the visitors' ranks. The loss of Carl Hayman was an obvious factor in both set pieces.
It was probably inevitable that the dominance of last week was not going to be repeated. The Lions had to be more competitive in both areas.
But the All Blacks were always in control because they produced excellence in patches. Richie McCaw kept the supply of possession plentiful, Byron Kelleher kept whipping bullets away and Daniel Carter and Tana Umaga always had enough flair, vision and running power to score when the chances came.
Carter, in particular, ran with the confidence and agility of a man who knows that he is rugby's new king. When Jonny Wilkinson left the field in the second half, he did so with a nod to Carter, as if to acknowledge the New Zealander's ascension to the Englishman's vacant throne.
Carter's second try, which put the game out of reach of the Lions, was quite marvellous to watch. He ran so well, most in the stadium were sure it was in fact Rico Gear who had blasted past Williams, chipped over Josh Lewsey and then dived on the loose ball.
It was heartbreaking stuff for the Lions. They put their heart and soul into this contest and scrapped manfully for the ball. But when all you have is graft, you can't compete.
Their inadequacies, so glaring from the opening tour game in Rotorua, made last night an exercise in damage limitation. They must have watched the ball zip from one black jersey to the next with a sense of awe.
Their challenge is to go back to Blighty and rip up the manual they have been working on.
For the good of world rugby these guys have to move on. Get to grips with explosive rugby that requires pace, vision and skill.
If there was a defining image from last night, a single act that epitomised the gulf in class, it was Richie McCaw's obliteration of Shane Williams early in the second half.
Williams has been the pick of the Lions backs all tour. To see him so categorically destroyed sunk every red heart in the stadium.
And they had a long way to sink as they were all uplifted by a rousing start that gave them more to cheer about in two minutes than they got in 80 last week.
As dramatic openings go, it was up there with the All Blacks' semifinal clash with England at the 1995 World Cup. The Lions, presumably having invested no passion in the first test, came out with two large helpings of the stuff.
With their dander up they were able to pass themselves off as a decent side. They were even able to pass and catch, which was effectively all skipper Gareth Thomas needed to do when he found himself first receiver outside the All Black 22.
He looked up, saw that the Marie Celeste was better manned than the All Black fringe defence and set the cruise control to canter as he made his way under the sticks.
The bother with these modern gadgets is that you need to keep on top of them all the time. Thomas forgot to nudge off his cruise control and a few minutes later was effortlessly robbed by Aaron Mauger. Tana Umaga gathered the loose ball, fed Dan Carter and the first five brushed past Gavin Henson and Jason Robinson, whose attempted tackles would have looked soft in Wednesday's netball test. Henson had an ordinary game. Touted as a saviour, he was more of a savoury.
Umaga gladly took the final off-load to score a try that, while possibly one of his easiest, will sit as one of his most satisfying given the week he had endured.
New Zealand 48
(T. Umaga, S. Sivivatu, D. Carter (2), R. McCaw tries; D. Carter 4 cons, 5 pens.)
Lions 18
(G. Thomas, S. Easterby tries; J. Wilkinson con, 2 pens).
The Lions went from abject to mediocre in the space of seven days. Daniel Carter went from world class to out of this world.
It was a better effort from the Lions. Maybe they were even quite good. But, and here's what will stick in Clive Woodward's craw this morning,
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.