The Lions scored one of the best tries ever seen against the New Zealand, but the hosts were too good at Eden Park and took the first Test fairly comfortably in the end, winning 30-15.
All Blacks skipper Kieran Read was immense and young winger Rieko Ioane showed why he has been elevated to the highest level so soon.
Highlights above with more coverage to follow. Extended highlights below
I think the best us Lions fans can hope for is a rainy day on both match days.
the kiwis have also been on the tough end of a rather famous forward pass. They should let it go though.
If you look where dagg ends up when the ball is caught by Taylor he is parrallel to is, so the pass is flat. Dagg had enough forward momentum that meant the ball would have forward momentum as well. The point about the hands works well becasue it shows that the passer is applying a backwards force on the ball, so the only reason the pass could go 'forward' is due to the momentum of the ball at the point of the pass.
Going off the highlights, it almost feels like the Lions were trying to play like the Barbarians - keep it alive and fling it about, see what sticks? Would that be correct? I'm wondering if that's either a) an attempt to play like the ABs but without the same level of cohesion and drilling they've had after all these years, or b) Plan A tactics-wise not working? Either way the Lions looked far better playing like that, but all tour they've been plagued by frustrating execution and discipline.
What's kinda sad, and I hope I'm proven wrong, is that it feels like this is the best hand the Lions can now play - and it's been trumped fairly comfortably. Maybe it goes all the way back to the 'same again' attitude to team and coach staff selection, but it doesn't feel like there's much more this squad can offer? I have a horrible feeling there's players in better form and confidence that didn't even get on the plane, and now we're making the best with what we have - admittedly still good - but it isn't enough. We needed everything we could throw at the ABs to have a chance, and faltering right out of the gate hasn't helped.
I thought it was a cracking game and the AB's did well to beat a very good Lions team!
Hopefully get to see Teo and SBW go at it again and that Lions try sure was special...
I think the physics of running forward and passing is understood, but dagg passed it from the quick tap having taken no more than one step so the forward motion factor shouldn't really be considered. It was forward
We need to establish an easier rule of thumb for refs, players and supporters to follow. If the pass appears parallel or negative to the try line it should be ok. If it appears beyond the parallel line it is forward, regardless of the hand position.
The creep of this in the game goes against the very concept of rugby.
The kiwis have often been the beneficiary of high profile forward passes, but then it's easier to be bitter when we were well and truly humped at the weekend!
I totally agree with you regarding the assessment of the AB's and their penalty and card tactics.
All teams give away penalties to save a try, but no one is as clever about it as the kiwis...and THAT is exactly what it is, CLEVER, no "cheaters" or any other sort of comments, it is a clever effort and they do so well not to draw attention to similar penalties or individuals committing penalties.
That being said, I watched the match and personally found the refereeing was pretty good all round... but then what do I know...
I wondered about a possibility of that yellow card also at the start of the 2nd half and maybe a penalty try. NZ is so very good and not giving away penalties unless they need to to prevent a try. But, then because they haven't been committing a lot before hand they can sometimes avoid that yellow card when they do near their try line.
However, looking at the replay again several times in slow motion I think everyone but Sam Whitelock actually was back onside on the blindside before the ball came out of the ruck. At that point, had Watson shipped the ball on (which he couldn't do because Whitelock was in the way) I think Read would/could still have made the tackle and prevented a try? He was moving towards the outside player and then readjusted when Watson cut back inside.
As a biased Lions supporter I wanted the penalty try and yellow card, but looking at it multiple times in slow motion I'm not certain that would have been the right call?
as much as I would have loved it to have been it wasn't forward. It probably went close to a metre forward from where Dagg passed it from, but thats not the test. Its never wise to question forward passes when the Kiwi's are concerned otherwise you'll kick off a full on moanfest..... This video explains the forward pass law well and if you apply it to the replay of Daggs pass you can see it isn't forward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=box08lq9ylg
I'd be more concerned with
1. whether the shunt that NZ got on in that scrum was legal as there were no replay's of this an pretty much zero indication in the rest of the scrums before or after that scrum that either side had any scrummaging supremacy.
2. Or the lack of yellow card for the offside virtually on the NZ try line early in the second half, was a bit lenient.
or
3. The NZ defending of the driving lineout. One example where Read went round the outside completey early on the first half.
I'm not complaining. Ref's make mistakes, but they call it as they see it. I'm not even saying the points above are mistakes, just questions I would ask the ref on analysis after the game if given the chance.