ELLIS PARK THRILLER: Seven-try All Blacks survive Lions scare to remain unbeaten on tour

Four tries and 24 unanswered points in the final half hour by the All Blacks saw them secure their fifth successive win on the Greatest Rivalry tour by overcoming an excellent Lions side at Ellis Park.

The home team’s commitment to attack and occasional brilliance contributed to an entertaining, if wild and open game, just four days after the tourists won the first Test against the Springboks at the same venue.

The Lions took the fight to the All Blacks and scored five tries, but also leaked seven as they tried to go toe-to-toe with a team that loves nothing more than a fast-paced match.

The All Blacks were on the rack 10 minutes into the second half, trailing 35-17 after the Lions opened the stanza with two quick tries, having led 21-17 at the break.

Although the home team held an 18-point lead 55 minutes into the game, it never felt secure as the All Blacks routinely created overlaps and chances when they went wide.

Lions flyhalf Chris Smith was brilliant, and even though he is classed as a journeyman, this might have been his finest moment. He kicked for goal and from hand impeccably, defended like a loose forward and carved up metres with deceptive runs.

But the heroics of Smith and others aside, the Lions were up against a Test team that knew how to ride the passages of negative momentum and find a way to win.

In the final 30 minutes, centre Rieko Ioane scored twice, once carving through a hole after throwing a simple dummy, and the second time pouncing on a loose pass from centre Richard Kriel to intercept.

Those two converted tries in the space of four minutes brought the All Blacks to within four points of the lead, and it felt inevitable that they would somehow find a way to win the game from there.

After struggling in the set piece for the opening 60 minutes, the All Blacks dominated the scrums late on when a swathe of reserves from either side changed that dynamic.

On the back of the set-piece dominance, the All Blacks, as they have done so often before, found a way to win.

Late tries from the impressive flank Ethan Blackadder and wing Emoni Narawa sealed the victory.

Festival

The match had a festival feel to it with six tries scored in the first half alone, but it was underpinned by steady foundations.

The Lions pack was rock solid in the set piece and created a good platform for their ambitious backs to attack, even though they only had 37% possession in the first half.

The Lions, while often stretched on defence when the All Blacks used their mastery of manufacturing space through deft handling and clever angles, asked some tough questions too.

Fullback Quan Horn did his Springbok ambitions no harm with some line-breaking runs to keep the All Blacks’ defence honest.

Scrumhalf Nico Steyn was excellent in keeping up a high tempo while also showing a pragmatic side to his game. Steyn scored the Lions’ first try in the fifth minute, displaying his intelligence.

From a scrum inside the All Blacks’ 22, the Lions took it through one phase before Steyn picked up and dummied past Rieko Ioane to score.

Minutes later, flank Siba Mahashe was alert to All Black scrumhalf Noah Hotham’s momentary tardiness to pass after receiving the ball off the top of a lineout.

Mahashe burst through the lineout, timing his run perfectly to intercept and race 50m to score.

The All Blacks might have been rocked, but they were calm.

And in typical New Zealand fashion they struck back, using their superior handling and running ability to fight their way back into the contest.

Hotham atoned for his earlier lapse when he scored the tourists’ first try, thanks to great work by Narawa. There were no Lions defenders protecting the pillar of the ruck and Narawa gratefully helped himself to the ball and ran 30m before offloading to Hotham.

New Zealand’s second try was even better as they carried for 80m and went left to right before Beauden Barrett slipped a great chicken wing pass to Narawa to score.

That pulled the All Blacks back into the game.

But the Lions were not intimidated and just before half-time wing Kelly Mpeku tiptoed down the right-hand touchline to score again. Blackadder, though, finished off another sweeping move just before half-time to keep the All Blacks in the contest at the break.

The Lions, though, nearly wrestled complete control with a strong opening 10 minutes to the second half.

Wing Erich Cronjé, another who impressed on the night, finished a fine move, which involved the busy Mahashe, to extend the Lions’ lead.

Minutes later the Lions scrum manhandled the All Blacks pack, allowing number eight Francke Horn to score off the base of the set piece. At that stage it was all Lions.

But New Zealand displayed composure and patience, and clinically picked off the tiring Lions to carry winning momentum into the remainder of the Test series against the Boks. DM

Scorers

Lions – Tries: Nico Steyn, Siba Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronjé, Francke Horn. Conversions: Chris Smith (5).

New Zealand – Tries: Noah Hotham, Emoni Narawa (2), Ethan Blackadder (2), Rieko Ioane (2). Conversions: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga (2).