Wynne Gray: Winning, not style, is all that matters

Lions fans won't care how their side plays as long as they win. Photosport

What matters tomorrow at Eden Park? The result. It's brutally straight-forward.

Style won't come into it for the victorious side when referee Jaco Peyper signals the end of the opening test rugby skirmish and the All Blacks and Lions regroup to duel again a week later in Wellington.

There'll be loads of talking points about the performance of the teams, individuals and the match officials, whether the coaches got their selections on the money, how the tactics played out and the impact of the referee's rulings.

Coaches and players will chat about their viewpoints but no matter the opinions, one squad will carry a warmer emotion with them back to their hotel.

That will continue through the week as one side deals with repeat expectation and the other searches for detailed improvement to lift and share the series. We could start with a draw as the 1971 series ended to guarantee a series decider in the return test at Eden Park but those stalemates are a rarity.

Arguments will persist about the merits of Don Clarke booting the 1959 All Blacks to victory against the Lions and Grant Fox doing the same in 1993 but leafing through the almanac or a Google search never changes the result.

There are no bonus points for beautiful rugby, no marks for style.

Spectators want to see dollops of flowing expression but have to accept the grinding foundations needed to set up those chances and the unrelenting pressure this test series will exert on the players' reactions.

Criticism of the Lions' disjointed work against the Barbarians and the Blues was replaced by an appreciation of their resilience in taming a near full-strength Crusaders side.

The Lions faced some intense heat to find a result and in difficult conditions, that victory was built on defence and goal-kicking.

They blanched against the Highlanders but throttled the NZ Maori and Chiefs.

Cue Eden Park and some mid-winter meteorological menace.

The antidote is as old as the sport and familiar to both teams.

Control possession, employ an attacking kicking game and make all your tackles.

The All Blacks have picked Rieko Ioane on the wing for his certainty under the high ball, roving defensive smarts, agility, kicking game and his pace - a package which reflects his form and is suited to conditions more than the powerful confrontation from Julian Savea.

That decision reflects the selectors' incessant search for improvement and a nod to the different challenge the Lions will exert.

Playing rugby in New Zealand and tangling with the All Blacks in an arena where they have been unbeaten for 23 years is a challenge coach Warren Gatland and his side will embrace as the collective talent of four nations who have played many games in wet and wild weather and know how to cope.

Gatland has come up with his salvo to rejig his backfield with reward for the all-round skill of Liam Williams and Elliot Daly and reducing any cries of favouritism or selection sympathy by leaving his under-cooked tour captain Sam Warburton on the bench and naming Peter O'Mahony as skipper.

The Lions will stick with their methods. Conditions will guarantee that and eliminate any ideas about changing their style as England did to their detriment when they were goaded into more expression in the 1991 World Cup final.