Lions squander 31-17 lead to draw with Hurricanes ahead of Second Test against All Blacks

So ends the Lions midweek appointments, with their last Tuesday fixture seeing them secure a draw against the Hurricanes. The result may not seem like one to celebrate, particularly as the Lions had already lost two of their last three midweek matches on this tour, but with many writing off this encounter as merely a distraction before the Second Test, it provided plenty of fun.

The midweek team have not quite been the modern equivalent of ‘Donal’s Donuts’ — the midweekers from the 1989 tour of Australia who pulled together and performed sensationally under captain Donal Lenihan. Indeed, today’s Lions had a chance to run away with this game but threw away the chance. Throughout this tour, however, they have scored from mistakes, they have run it hard, they have allowed home crowds moments to cheer and they have even put up candidates for Test selection.

This match had that same spirit, with some scorching tries through Tommy Seymour and one smart assist for George North. And although there was no victor, the people of Wellington filled the stadium with the sound of clapping at the end. It now remains to be seen if any of the Lions pack have forced their way into contention to face the All Blacks on Saturday or whether there are any other surprise packages to come out of this encounter.

The start was founded on industrious work from the forwards, based on quick and efficient rucking — and certainly the approach to that area by referee Romain Poite was different to that of Jaco Peyper at Eden Park last Saturday.

The Frenchman backed himself all game — neatly highlighted by him spurning some potential Television Match Official interference after Callum Gibbins scored for the Hurricanes and simply awarding the score. He also allowed minor scuffles to fizzle out, rather than wasting his breath telling the players off.

While the ruck was sharper for the Lions, there were plenty of spills and scrums and scraps, with Dan Biggar helping himself to a large haul of points, thanks to the indiscipline of the Wellington side.

The first try was a product of sloppy Hurricanes play, too.

Greig Laidlaw intercepted the ball in his own 22, the floated horror of a pass a product of pressure from Seymour.

The Scottish scrum-half scampered 50metres upfield and, as he was hauled down, Seymour took an offload as he hared past his national team-mate and scored.

How the Lions rated

15 JACK NOWELL 6/10

Switched to the wing early, was his usual busy self without making a strong case to be in the Second Test match squad.

14 TOMMY SEYMOUR 6/10

Grabbed two tries and ran excellent support lines, looking more like the player who was so effective for Scotland.

13 JONATHAN JOSEPH 5/10

Was largely anonymous and not helped by the midfield reshuffle and appears to have lost confidence on tour.

12 ROBBIE HENSHAW 5/10

Only lasted 19 minutes before a shoulder knock forced him off, which summed up a disappointing campaign for the Irish centre.

11 GEORGE NORTH 6/10

Scored try supporting on the shoulder of a team-mate but had to play out of position in centre which hampered his Test cause.

10 DAN BIGGAR 7/10

Can be happy with his consistency and bravely put his body on the line even when he knows it will leave him groggy.

9 GREIG LAIDLAW 6/10

Great try-making break and tried to keep the pace up while putting in box kicks to help the Lions move forward.

1 JOE MARLER 5/10

Pugnacious but to little effect and did not put in the kind of performance to convince the selectors he is more than a ‘mid-weeker’.

2 RORY BEST (capt) 6/10

Line-out throwing was better but did not deliver as an impact in the loose and is clearly the third-best hooker.

3 DAN COLE 5/10

Was unsually suspect in the scrum, gave away a penalty again, and failed to play to the standard he delivers for England.

4 IAIN HENDERSON 8/10

A big game from the lock, who finally delivered the form that earned him a call-up to the tour. Yellow card was a blip.

5 COURTNEY LAWES 8/10

Strong game all round, including line-out wins, and caused problems for the opposition. Must be very close to a Test call.

6 JAMES HASKELL 6/10

Put in a solid shift in the tight but was never able to deliver the ball carrying he needed to further his Test cause.

7 JUSTIN TIPURIC 6/10

This has not been a tour to showcase his skills but was always competitive in the loose and is a good team man.

8 CJ STANDER 5/10

Has found it difficult to be a ball-carrying focal point and lacks the size to really worry New Zealand.

Shortly after, centre Robbie Henshaw came off injured, meaning that North slid from his wing into the midfield, with Leigh Halfpenny coming on. The pair would benefit from more looseness from the hosts later on.

The Hurricanes back row would combine to generate a try, with captain Brad Shields passing from the base of a ruck, 5m from the line, to openside Gibbins. However, Courtney Lawes, Iain Henderson and Rory Best shone from the packs and generated favourable ball.

Both Lions second rows, in particular, were head and shoulders above their opponents and must be in Test consideration.

Lawes left the field after 53 minutes, while Henderson broke off huge runs regularly. He did blot his copybook, though, with a yellow card offence as he lifted full-back Jordie Barrett past the horizontal while attempting to clear him out of a ruck but demonstrated incredible skill under pressure in assisting the second Lions try.

With Biggar putting up a skyscraper of a kick, Halfpenny chased hard. He and several Hurricanes missed the ball and, as it bounced up, the Ireland lock flicked it deftly on the move to North, who trotted in for the try.

All Super Rugby sides have their dangerous attackers, though, and after half-time they unleashed theirs. The hosts had three All Blacks released back to them for this outing, with young full-back Barrett joining wing Julian Savea and centre Ngani Laumape in action. Those last two combined to score a dynamic try, with Savea streaking ahead and then unleashing league convert Laumape, who bounced off Biggar on his way to a score.

With scrum-half Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi in the sin-bin for a high tackle, Biggar added three more points and the stage was set for Seymour’s second score. The Scotsman benefited from quick hands as the ball looped to Jack Nowell, who fed Halfpenny, the full-back quickly paying it sideways again to the Scottish wing.

North thought he might have a brace himself, having powered on to a kick ahead by Jonathan Joseph, but the winger-turned-centre planted a foot in touch on his way to the try-line.

Henderson then received his marching orders and Hurricanes made their numerical advantage count with a try for Wes Goosen. Barrett converted to make it a seven-point game again.

When Barrett again converted, this time from a Vaea Fifita try close-in, it was all square.

The hosts thought they could win it but the Lions threw bodies at the problem, forcing errors. It would not matter anyway, with Laumape pulled up for a neck roll on Halfpenny, but the heart was there. Biggar attempted an audacious drop-goal to snatch victory but it just snuck under the bar.