New Zealand Maori 19 Lions 13

one of the greatest Lions games ever?? definitely if u are a New Zealand rugby fan.. a performance by the Maori that u usually find in legend and folklore.. it was remniscent of one of those battles the Maori fought against the British.. the Maori were the far better side.. Jono Gibbes, Leon McDonald, Marty Holah, Rua Tipoki, and everyone else had the games of their lives, and this of coz Hamilton was home turf for Gibbes, Holah and several other Maori players..

just reading Scrum V, and no surprise, the first thing the Brits do is criticise the Lions rather than praise the opposition.. IMO the Maori had a superb game, had far too more time with the ball than the Lions.. and more importantly, used the ball very well, spreading it wide, putting pressure on the Lions defence.. they did score an important try which seemed to be the big difference between the teams, but they did get the penalties and had Hill done better with two of them, the gap prob would have been much bigger..

but let's talk abt the Maori first.. that's more interesting than dissecting bit by bit the poor performance of the Lions.. from the haka at the start of the game, there was a clear sense that they were out to play and hunt down some lion.. they started off positively, kept the ball, put pressure on the Lions, dint allow them to have the ball in the early stages, got penalties.. okay their lineouts were prob average at best and there were nervous moments.. but they got to the breakdowns well and Holah was superb in this area.. u would think he is the first choice openside flanker only that an apparently even better player in Richie McCaw is ahead of him.. but i've always regarded Holah highly especially when the Highlanders came to Hamilton to play the Chiefs a month ago, he was a class act..

but special mention must be given to captain fantastic, captain Shrek, Jono Gibbes.. an old-fashioned, passionate, reliable rugby player who can lead through fire and flood.. when the lineouts needed to settle, he was there, and was crucial in one of two stolen lineouts when the Lions set out for the try to win them the game at the end..

Leon McDonald? the guy's nailed the no. 15 All Blacks jersey.. an inspirational performance from the back and scored a superb try.. he had pace and was superb in the defence.. Rico Gear dint really see much of the ball sadly, so hard to gauge..his opposite winger, Caleb Ralph had a superb game.. Rua Tipoki was the wildcard that i knew he would be.. made superb breaks and was tricky to tackle.. also got some turnover ball for the Maori.. McAlister and Hill were also good..


Spencer prob made the diff when he came on in the second half for Hill.. in prob his farewell game in New Zealand, his skills and direction made the difference for the Maori.. glimpses of a glittering career and his outrageous skills will be missed in New Zealand.. that pass under the legs for Rokocoko to touch down against South Africa in the World Cup will always stick in the mind.. perhaps the selectors might think again, but Dan Carter is doing a superb job and it'd be p hard to see Spencer wearing no. 10 again for the All Blacks.. but tonight, backed up by the talented McAlister, he played a game that should rank up well in his list of memorable games, e.g. 2003 Australia 14 All Blacks 51, South Africa 9 All Blacks 50, 1996 Super 12 final..

finally the front row.. i can confidently say that the NH supremacy in front is a myth fabricated by the British press.. it was great but it's not so far ahead of even the Taranaki scrum as so many experts have claimed.. sure they put the Maori under pressure, but Hayman-Flynn-Manu all stood up well.. the only gripe i have abt Flynn was that his lineout throwing was frustatingly inconsistent.. long then short then long.. it's def between Oliver, Meleamu and Witcombe for no.2 in the All Blacks..



so this was the game that mattered for the Lions at this early stage of the tour, and they failed miserably.. most importantly, their apparent first team failed.. morale won't be good for a while that's for sure.. Sheridan's punch at McAlister was dumb and deservedly earned him 10 minutes in the bin.. White was p good at the scrum and did make some impact on the Maori scrum.. Thompson, O'Connell and Shaw were v disappointing.. Hill, M Williams, Owen were anonymous and just too slow.. Dawson made some good breaks but coughed up the ball at crucial times.. Jones was alright, def better than O'Gara.. S Williams made some good breaks.. Lewsey was a big disappointment after his man-of-the-match performance against the Bay, D'Arcy was agressive full stop.. Shanklin was p good..

but a night to remember for the Maori.. a night they deserve to own.. a historic first win against the Lions..