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24th Jun 2017

Many people were harshly blaming one Lions star after New Zealand’s win in Eden Park

It's not easy out there

Patrick McCarry

The All Blacks were always going to be up for the First Test and, boy, were they fired up.

New Zealand tore into the British & Irish Lions for 20 relentless minutes at Eden Park to race into a 10-0 lead after Elliot Daly had gone close with a tryscoring chance after 90 seconds.

Steve Hansen’s men flooded forward in waves after black waves and the Lions were doing their best to hang on, but it ultimately proved fruitless as the home side won the match 30-15.

Aaron Smith caught the tourists out after 15 minutes when his quick-tap penalty and two quick passes saw hooker Codie Taylor dive over in the corner. One man that it would be hard to pin blame on would be Alun Wyn Jones, who was clearly dazed in the lead-up to the score.

The Welshman was selected ahead of in-form England lock Maro Itoje and many felt he was lucky to get the No.4 jersey. He did appear to be unsteady on his feet after shipping two big blows.

Jones will definitely have to put his hand up, tough, after dropping an easy pass on the AB’s twenty-two. It ruined a promising attack after Mako Vunipola had secured a crucial turnover and sparked a counter-attack.

It was not a half to remember for the veteran lock but he was copping some harsh abuse online, and it kept coming after the game finished.

Mid-game

Post-match