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Home / Sport / Rugby / All Blacks

Rugby: Ten crucial questions ahead of All Blacks-Lions

Daily Mail
24 Jun, 2017 04:23 AM4 mins to read

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All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett will be a key man tonight. Photo / Brett Phibbs

All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett will be a key man tonight. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The time is now, the day is here.

All the talk stops as the sporting world turns its gaze to Eden Park, Auckland for the first test match of the 2017 series between the All Blacks and the British & Irish Lions.

If the Lions manage to beat New Zealand at a venue where the triple World Cup winners have not lost at since 1994, it will be one of the great sporting victories of the modern age.

Ahead of the match, Sportsmail takes you through a few key questions...

What are the teams?

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All Blacks: B Smith; Dagg, Crotty, SB Williams, Ioane; B Barrett, A Smith; Moody, Taylor, O Franks, Retallick, Whitelock, Kaino, Cane, Read (c).

Reserves: Harris, Crockett, Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, Perenara, Cruden/Sopaga, Lienert-Brown.

Lions: L Williams; Watson, J Davies, Te'o, Daly; Farrell, Murray; Vunipola, George, Furlong, Jones, O'Mahony (c), O'Brien, Faletau.

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Reserves: Owens, McGrath, Sinckler, Itoje, Warburton, Webb, Sexton, Halfpenny.

Are their any debutants on either side?

The Lions have picked eight starters who have not played a test for the tourists before, and for Jamie George it is his first test start, all his England caps have come from the bench. The All Blacks have no debutants in their entire 23.

Who is the referee?

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South African Jaco Peyper will take charge - it will be his 12th Test involving the All Blacks.

Who will be kicking the goals?

Owen Farrell will line up kicks for the Lions, with Elliot Daly on standby if his cannon of a left foot is required from longer distances. For the All Blacks, the hit-and-miss goal-kicker Beauden Barrett will be asking for the tee.

What haka will we see?

The All Blacks use 'Kapa O Pango' for their biggest Test matches. It was specially curated for the team in 2005, when there was a legal dispute over their use of the original 'Ka Mate' haka. 'Kapa O Pango' means 'Team in Black' and makes specific reference to the team in the lyrics.

How will the Lions line up against it?

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Aaron Smith, the scrum half will most likely lead it, with captain Kieran Read at the head of the arrow formation. The Lions do not have a plan to counter it specifically. In the tour matches they have just stood in a line and watched.

How much of Eden Park will be red with Lions fans?

Auckland has been flooded by a sea of red in the past week, and the numbers have grown noticeably in the last 24 hours. Sitting down for breakfast at the hotel on Friday morning it was tough to find a seat, with Lions men, women and children all grazing wearing club, country and touring shirts.

At the ground on Saturday it could well be half full with Lions fans - they will all wear red too, so it will be quite the sight inside the 50,000-capacity ground.

Will the All Blacks look to batter the Lions from the first minute?

New Zealand have a bit of a habit of starting Test series slowly. They usually still win anyway, but the scoreboard is often close at half time. Expect it to be tight at the break.

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One thing is certain though - the All Blacks will look to go from minute one. A fast game suits them down to the ground so watch out for quick lineouts, tapped penalties and kicks to the corner. They reckon they are the fittest team in the world, so will look to tire out the Lions and keep the ball in play for as long as possible.

Who is the All Blacks' danger man?

Unquestionably Beauden Barrett - although really you could pick one of about 10 world class stars in their starting XV. Barrett is the fly-half and reigning World Player of the Year. He is so fast and will look for holes in defence to run through. He does kick a lot too though, watch out for the cross-field nudge to either Israel Dagg or Rieko Ioane if he spots space behind the on-rushing Lions defence.

When can we expect to see Maro Itoje come on?

Warren Gatland has a bench full of game-changers, including Itoje. He will likely send on the first of the cavalry after 50 minutes, depending on the state of the game. So expect Itoje to get a 20-30 minute run in Auckland, whether the game will be in the balance at the point remains to be seen.

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