Rugby: The last time the All Blacks lost two in a row at home

Captain Taine Randell and his team during the All Blacks' loss to Australia in 1998. Photo / photosport.nz

The last time the All Blacks lost two in a row at home was way back in 1998, a defeat to South Africa in Wellington compounded by another a week later in Christchurch against Australia.

The All Blacks lost five in a row that year, an annus horribilis for them and coach John Hart, and it's a rare series of failures that Lions kicking coach Neil Jenkins, for one, is aware of.

"I did ask that question earlier to be honest with you," said Welshman Jenkins when asked about the All Blacks' most recent back-to-back defeats on home soil.

"It's an interesting stat... we know what's coming on Saturday. I always remember going back a long time with Graham Henry saying 'the boys will probably be eating barbed wire' from Saturday night onwards, probably, the All Blacks.

"We know that very rarely do they lose and very rarely do they lose at home. Everything's on the line on Saturday night - it's a series decider, a World Cup final, whatever you want to label it as. It's a humungous game. We know how hard it's going to be."

And yet the Lions feel they will be perfectly poised at Eden Park to ruin another weekend for the All Blacks and their supporters after their come-from-behind victory in Wellington.

They have enjoyed two days off in Queenstown as they prepare for the final push in a long and arduous battle around various points of New Zealand, training today for the first time since they arrived in the south in front of the Remarkables mountain range, a backdrop which must rank as one of the most stunning for any rugby pitch in the world.

They know how they want to play and believe they have the men to do it. For once, all of the personnel and tactical issues are with Steve Hansen and his assistants and an added freedom for the Lions, written off by most before they arrived in this country, is that they will feel they have little to lose.

Hansen's world champions have come through many high-pressure situations over the past few years, but Saturday's test must rank right up there in terms of importance.

"If we can implement our game plan and the way that we want to play on the All Blacks, well it's going to be an incredibly tough game and a very close game, there's no doubting that," Jenkins added.

"[A Lions series win in New Zealand] has only been done once before - in 1971 - so it says it all really."

As his men stand on the brink of history, Jenkins was asked how their lives might change should they win again.

"Sometimes you don't actually appreciate what you've done until you've finished playing.

"It might only be a look," he said of how the players might remember the occasion in the future. "You have friendships and bonds for life and that will never change."