Wynne Gray gives his verdict on five of the standout clashes between the All Blacks and the Lions.
Eden Park, July 29, 1950 All Blacks 11 Lions 8
Ken Jones drawing away from Peter Henderson and Roy Roper (diving) to score. Photo / Herald Archive
With only a few minutes left the All Blacks were leading 11-3 to clinch a tight series. Pegged back near their goal-line,the Lions won some late possession and decided to attack the pressing flat line All Black tacklers.
Jackie Kyle unloaded to fullback Lewis Jones who feinted, dummied and got past his marker to give him a break on the man-on-man defence. He raced down field until confronted by All Black fullback Bob Scott near halfway as wing Peter Henderson cut across in cover.
Jones knew his Welsh mate and Olympic speedster Ken Jones was sprinting hard away to his right, positioning himself in support. The pass came at just the right time, Jones to Jones, holding Scott to his position and floating the ball over Henderson's reach.
Scott, Roy Roper, Henderson and Bill Meates chased Ken Jones as 58,000 wailed their support. When Jones coiled himself to dive he eluded Roper's attempted ankle tap and somersaulted in for the try of the series.
Eden Park, September 19, 1959 Lions 9 All Blacks 6
Once again the scoreboard showed Don Clarke penalties against tries from the Lions but this time the tourists won after some instinctive genius from five-eighths Bev Risman.
The Lions had scored from one scrum move when halfback Andy Mulligan combined with Tony O'Reilly who came off his blindside wing to make an extra man in midfield. Midway through the second half at another scrum on the All Black 22, they set up for what looked to be a similar plan and the defenders fanned across in cover.
However this time Mulligan reverse-passed to Risman who cut back down the blindside where he sidestepped wing Bruce McPhail and then outpaced flanker Rex Pickering, halfback Roger Urbahn and finally fullback Clarke as he dived in at the corner.
That gave the Lions a 9-6 lead (three unconverted tries against two penalties) as they went into the last quarter. They had to watch a Clarke penalty attempt hook across the posts before they heard referee Pat Murphy's final whistle to give them a win after narrow losses in Dunedin and Wellington.
Don Clarke in action. Photo / Herald Archive
Lancaster Park July 10, 1971 All Blacks 22 Lions 12
The Lions won the first test and with a further run of strong results against the provinces looked likely to unsettle the All Blacks in their next meeting in Christchurch. But it was the hosts who came out of the blocks best and Bob Burgess scored a couple of tries, Sid Going snaked across then the All Blacks were awarded a penalty try for an early tackle on Bryan Williams.
Going into the last five minutes the All Blacks were comfortable at 19-6 as a maul formed inside their own half. Suddenly Ian Kirkpatrick wrestled his way clear, pushed away Gareth Edwards, Barry John and John Dawes and headed off on an angled run as the Lions tried to regroup. The loose-forward faltered slightly as he fended away John Williams then dived in at the corner ahead of the cover.
That remarkable solo try iced the All Blacks only victory in the series and the Lions only defeat in their celebrated New Zealand foray.
Ian Kirkpatrick's try.
Athletic Park June 18, 1977 All Blacks 16 Lions 12
John Dawes returned as coach of this Lions side which was captained by Phil Bennett. They were a solid side without the overall sharpness of their predecessors but they made a remarkable start to this opening test when Andy Irvine kicked a 60m penalty down-breeze after a few minutes.
That woke the All Blacks who gained possession from the restart for Bill Osborne to barge and jink deep into the Lions 22 before Grant Batty carried on the attack. When he was held in a ruck, possession squirted out awkwardly behind Sid Going. The halfback retreated to claim the ball, looked to run blind then stopped as though he was going to pass to five-eighths Duncan Robertson on the open.
Going stuttered again as the rushing tacklers closed on Robertson and scuttled off on a weaving run through a gap in the forwards, past several of his teammates to clatter through two surprised Lions for the try.
That started an afternoon when Brad Johnstone and Grant Batty also scored tries in their 16-12 win with the Lions only able to score through penalty goals.
Sid Going. Photo / Herald Archive
Westpac Stadium July 2, 2005 All Blacks 48 Lions 18
Daniel Carter was learning his new role at first five-eighths and gave a masterclass against England's World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson who was switched to his usual duties as coach Clive Woodward hit the all-change button.
The Lions made a breezy start before the All Blacks and particularly Carter, dominated this second test to clinch the series. After his captain Tana Umaga grabbed a loose carry, Carter ran for more than 50m before passing back to his skipper for the All Blacks opening try. Carter kicked several conversions and three penalties by the break before he turned up the throttle.
His run, chip chase and score was a sublime piece of skill, matched by his sideline conversion then he scored again with an outside break around a tiring defence. Carter's record 33 point haul came from two tries, four conversions and five penalties with the only downside a shoulder injury which forced him from the field late. By then though he had caused most of the damage and the All Blacks were able to ease to the bell with 14 men.
