The British and Irish Lions suffered the first defeat of their 2017 tour as a dazzling late Ihaia West try gave the Blues victory.
British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand
Blues (12) 22
Tries: R Ioane, Williams, West Cons: Perofeta, West Pen: West
British and Irish Lions (10) 16
Try: Stander Con: Halfpenny Pens: Halfpenny 3
A third Leigh Halfpenny penalty had just put the Lions back in front with 10 minutes to play when West scorched over for the winning score in Auckland.
Earlier, Blues winger Rieko Ioane had opened the scoring with an emphatic finish before the Lions edged ahead through CJ Stander’s converted try and a Halfpenny penalty.
But Sonny Bill Williams’ converted score after a penalty came back off the posts gave the Blues the half-time lead, and set up a dramatic second period.
Warren Gatland’s Lions had stuttered to a 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians in their tour opener on Saturday, and they faced a sterner test in Auckland, albeit against supposedly the weakest of the New Zealand franchises.
However, the Blues always looked dangerous ball in hand, and despite spells when the power of the Lions gave them the ascendancy, West’s winning try always looked on the cards.
The Lions now face Crusaders on Saturday (kick-off 08:35 BST), with their first Test against New Zealand on 24 June.
The Blues turn on the style
While the Lions’ first opponents on the tour were made up of fringe players from Super Rugby, the Blues are an established team and their pace and attacking style – despite wet conditions – ultimately proved too much for the tourists to handle.
Nowell was given a torrid time on the wing by Ioane, who darted over in the corner for the opening try and went over twice more, only for the TMO to deny him both times.
The quick reactions of Williams saw him touch down with one hand and claim the Blues’ second try on the half-time hooter, after Perofeta’s penalty had bounced off the upright and back into play.
And they saved the best until last when Williams offloaded the ball from the back of his hand to an onrushing West, who sailed past the Lions defence and crossed under the posts.
Positives for the Lions?
Although Gatland’s side could not match the Blues’ attacking prowess, they did show power up front, especially at the scrum.
They also scored from an unstoppable driving maul to initially peg back the hosts when, having kicked two penalties to the corner, Stander drove over from a line-out in the first half.
They managed to win the period when they only had 14 men on the field, after Liam Williams was sin-binned for making contact with Matt Duffie in the air twice in quick succession, 3-0 thanks to Halfpenny’s boot.
And they bulldozed the Blues scrum backwards for a penalty with 10 minutes to go to enable Halfpenny, from 40 metres out, to edge his side 16-15 ahead.
But it was the hosts who showed the greater attacking threat, and the final piece of Blues magic not only won the game but also showed the scale of the task facing the tourists not just in the three Tests against the world champion All Blacks, but also against the other four Super Rugby teams they have to face.
Analysis – ‘The impact of the loss cannot be underestimated’
Former Lions and England winger Ugo Monye
“A tough tour just got tougher. The impact of the Lions losing to the Blues cannot be underestimated.
“Winning is everything on these tours but a performance was a bare minimum. Unfortunately, and more so in the second half, we didn’t get either.
“Congratulations to the Auckland Blues on a fantastic game – a once in a lifetime opportunity was grabbed with both hands.
“Under the tutelage of Tana Umaga we should’ve expected their team to be emotionally on the edge, well-drilled and powerful. They were all those things.
“Saturday’s game, against the best franchise of the era in the Crusaders this Saturday, is a must win. Not quite panic stations but the Lions need to get this tour back on track in Canterbury.”
The views of the captains
Lions captain Ken Owens: “You are coming on a Lions tour, and you want to win every game. Unfortunately, we haven’t done that, and we are going to have be harsh on ourselves, pick up where we lost the game and really analyse it.
“We have got to lick our wounds – we have only got two or three days before our next game in Christchurch – pick ourselves up and get our tour back on track.”
Blues skipper James Parsons: “It is something I am going to savour. I am extremely proud of the effort, not only the leadership group, but the young fellas as well.
“A lot of credit has to go to the coaches because we knew it was going to be a tight 80-plus minute battle, and to get across the line, we are extremely proud.”
Teams:
Blues: Michael Collins, Matt Duffie, George Moala, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Stephen Perofeta, Augustine Pulu; Ofa Tu’ungafasi, James Parsons (capt), Charlie Faumuina, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Scott Scrafton, Akira Ioane, Blake Gibson, Steven Luatua.
Replacements: Hame Faiva, Alex Hodgman, Sione Mafileo, Patrick Tuipulotu, Kara Pryor, Sam Nock, Ihaia West, TJ Faiane.
Lions: Leigh Halfpenny; Jack Nowell, Jared Payne, Robbie Henshaw, Elliot Daly; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Jack McGrath, Ken Owens (captain), Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell, Justin Tipuric, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Rory Best, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Grieg Laidlaw, Johnny Sexton, Liam Williams.
