All Blacks star Rieko Ioane scores one of his two tries with Lions and Springbok fullback Quan Horn too late to stop him on Tuesday evening at Ellis Park.
The Lions showed that the only way to stop the All Blacks from running away with you is to fight fire with fire.
And although their defending left gaping holes for the Kiwis to score, the home side’s running game brought them within a whisker of upsetting the touring side in the final midweek match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Johannesburg, eventually going down 41-35 in an entertaining clash.
Following their victory over the Springboks in the first Test on Saturday, the All Blacks followed it up with a fifth tour win, but if only the Lions’ defence had been better, they could have caused a famous upset. What they showed, though, is that you need to keep the tempo going against the Kiwis.
The Lions only lost the lead for the first time in the 62nd minute. Before that, they scored five exciting tries, with the best team try arguably coming from eighthman and captain Francke Horn off the back of a powerful scrum that pushed the All Blacks over their own try line. But that converted try in the 46th minute was their final points of the game.
