We have witnessed history, ladies and gentlemen, but maybe not in the way you expected. We have a first-ever drawn Lions series in New Zealand. We all survived it, somehow. This was an epic, ding-dong contest to finish an epic, ding dong series. At 15-15 it was an absorbing encounter, punctuated by savage contacts. The All Blacks butchered a lot of chances but could have won it in the end, with referee Romain Poite originally giving a penalty for Ken Owens making contact with the ball after it went forward off Liam Williams. But after consulting with his assistants he changed the call to a scrum. It will be a key talking point here in New Zealand for a long time, while so many will ask if Lions series in the future must have a winner and a loser. At the end of the game, few knew what to do with themselves. Kieran Read, celebrating his 100th cap, looked a little stunned, while Sam Warburton had a wry smile. But at the end of a long tour which began with the tourists being written off, the Lions will be delighted to have taken the best the world’s number one can offer and stood their ground. No one expected a draw, but drama does not need an ending all wrapped up with a bow. The Lions secured their draw through the kicking boots of Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly, while the All Blacks got two tries. Ngani Laumape was instrumental in both Kiwi dots. He scored the first one after a Beauden Barrett crossfield kick was palmed back in field by brother Jordie, for Laumape to collect and go over. He then returned the favour, throwing a sublime round-the-tackler offload creating the space for Jordie to burst through. The match tore along with a sense of fervour. Elliot Daly began the scoring in the second half, but while a yellow card for Jerome Kaino could have opened the hole for the Lions to score, they could not capitalise with a try, committing errors under pressure. They did knock over a penalty to square things up at 12-12, before the All Blacks were awarded a scrum penalty that Beauden Barrett sent through to edge ahead again. The pendulum kept swinging. Farrell showed his bottle with a long-range penalty to draw level again and then What’s hot Respect – The Lions have won their respect in New Zealand. It has been a brilliant tour. Brutal force – The hits in this match were savage. So feral was the action that at one point Sean O’Brien and Kieran Read lay prone, reeling from the action. O’Brien would not last much longer, while Johnny Sexton was down a few times, his first hurting his lower leg, the second leading to an enforced Head Injury Assessment. Alun Wyn Jones was also removed from the action after a brutal smash from Kaino, who was yellow carded for the challenge – but that is one of the lows, … Continue reading Lions 2017: New Zealand 15-15 British & Irish Lions