The British & Irish Lions have made another solid step forward – defeating the Chiefs 34-6 in Waikato.
It wasn’t just the scoreline that was pleasing for the Lions faithful, but the all-around performance and defensive display. While the Chiefs might have been missing their All Blacks players, they remained a formidable opponent and came into the match with a seven-game winning streak on their home turf. But the European tourists did not let them in a for single try.
The Lions got off to the right start with an early penalty goal to Dan Biggar. Jack Nowell caused the Chiefs some problems on the flank, while the Lions scrum was dominant. Biggar soon made it 6-0 before Stephen Donald pulled it back to 6-3.
Nowell got his first try of the evening after sustained pressure, which Biggar converted to make it 13-3. With Donald striking once more with the boot, the Lions took a seven-point buffer into the interval. At half-time the visitors were making more metres with their runs and their tackling was near perfect.
In the second half the Lions were awarded a penalty try as the Chiefs illegally pulled down a maul. Soon after Nowell finished a length-of-the-field movement with a brilliant score. This might have be the best try of the tour so far. With Biggar’s conversion the Lions were suddenly 27-6 in front and cruising. But they weren’t done yet and the killer blow came after a Liam Williams break ended in a try to Jared Payne. At 34-6 it was all she wrote.
Following on from their 22-point win over the Maori on Saturday, all up this was excellent work from the Lions. Winning breeds more confidence. While largely made up of second-string players, those hoping to impress for a Test berth, several did their chances no harm. Perhaps most eye-catching was winger Nowell with his two-try haul. But all of the back three of Nowell, Elliot Daly and Williams were exceptional.
Biggar controlled the game well and CJ Stander was tough to contain in the middle. Courtney Lawes and James Haskell were perhaps two of the best Lions forwards on ground, tackling anything that moved and making yard with their carries.
Warren Gatland said after the match: “The quality of opposition we’ve had has definitely improved us. I hope we are peaking at the right time. We always felt that we would get better the longer we spent together. We were more clinical today, we squeezed them, didn't concede any tries and played some good rugby, finished off a few chances.
“We will look at the video tonight and announce the team to the squad tomorrow night. I thought the back three were good and I had told both Nowell and Daly that there were chances for them. You never know what is going to change between the first and third Test.”
Lions captain Rory Best said they went into the game with a no regrets mantra: "I told the lads before kick-off that if we let this one slip by you'll regret it. We have not been getting the wins but we have been putting ourselves into positions to win and win comfortably. We picked ourselves off the ground and did well. It would have been easy to give away a try in the final stages there but we kept marching forward and to have a tight-head prop make the turn-over in the last three minutes summed it up."
The Lions are hitting form at the right time. After a slow start, the All Blacks have been put on notice. The Tests series awaits.
