Rugby: Codie Taylor preparing for quick turnaround following Lions draw

All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor in action during the third test against the British and Irish Lions at Eden Park in Auckland last night. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

One of the more extraordinary statistics to emerge from this Lions series is the fact the visitors drew it despite leading the All Blacks for only three minutes of the 240 played out over the three tests.

It was probably one of the main reasons why they were celebrating the Eden Park stalemate like it was a victory - that and the fact they got so close to beating the All Blacks at their fortress, a place where the home side have been relentlessly successful since 1994.

But while the All Blacks changing room is likely to have been a quiet place - in contrast with the Lions' anyway - Steve Hansen's men are quickly looking towards the Bledisloe Cup series with starts with a test against the Wallabies in Sydney on August 19.

If the Lions series proved anything it is that the margins at the top level can be very small.

If Hansen's men don't prepare properly for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship then other records could be in danger of falling too.

Before that there is the not insignificant matter of the Super Rugby playoffs which many among Hansen's squad will be involved in, including Codie Taylor, the All Blacks and Crusaders hooker who started all three Lions tests in the absence of the injured Dane Coles.

"I'm not going to lie, it feels pretty average," Taylor said of his feelings after the 15-15 draw. "We're pretty gutted but at the same time ... it's only rugby. It was a hard series. Both teams played with a lot of heart in that test.

"It showed what it meant to them and it was a draw so we've just got to live with it and move on."

Speaking of moving on, the Crusaders play the Hurricanes in Wellington next Saturday, a final round-robin match for both teams before they move into the playoffs, and in the Crusaders' case a victory will cement them their No1 spot on the points table.

"I was joking to TJ [Perenara] and Jules [Savea] that we would hate each other on Monday because we have to play each other on Saturday. Hey that's all right, it's Super Rugby, we have one more round-robin and then we're into the playoffs."

The All Blacks have taken a uniform approach not to publicly question the decision of referee Romain Poite to change his mind on the last-minute penalty which would have given the All Blacks the chance to win the test and series outright. Privately, though, there will be dismay that the official got it so wrong - clearly hooker Ken Owens deliberately played the ball in an offside position and according to the laws of the game that's a penalty.

"We can't really dwell on what happened in that last play," Taylor said. "We had opportunities to score points and we didn't finish off in other facets of the game. It cost us a bit - it could have put a lot of pressure back on them.

"You think you're going to have a shot at goal and it changes - but the ref made the call and you can't influence his decisions.

"It felt like we were going pretty good up front. We were exploiting some areas. It was just the last pass or final touch that let us down."

The All Blacks missed Coles, the world's best hooker, but Taylor was a worthy replacement. He scored the opening try of the first test and will be significantly better for the experience.

"It was an unreal opportunity," he said. "For me the biggest thing I learned was that you have to win the little moments in these big games. When you do that's how you build momentum. We probably didn't do that as much as we would have liked."