Jeremy Guscott: Lions prove they have stomach for the battle

To beat an All Blacks side that have lost only six games since the World Cup in 2011 – and not at home since 2009 – is really some achievement. The Lions can now think about winning a series which if a lot of people are brutally honest, they believed the writing was on the wall   for three-nil.
New Zealand are the No.1 side in the world by a stretch and the red card to Sonny Bill Williams could be an extra incentive to galvanise the squad.
From personal experience, the Lions must enjoy the victory as much as they can and then, as Sam Warburton said afterwards, switch back on because there is still work to do. A lot of it.
And there so much more to enjoy if they accomplish their next mission.
It’s special to be part of a team that believes in itself – and overcoming almost impossible scenarios makes you even stronger. It was backs to the walls stuff in that final ten minutes but the character of this team shone through and, as the minutes ticked by, it seemed the Lions found extra gears to keep hitting that black wave and forcing it backwards.
It’s a marvellous feeling but now they must switch to decider mode and get even hungrier for a repeat performance.
The Sonny Bill incident did change the game and the Lions know they will face a different challenge next week. However, until he went off, the much debated Johnny Sexton-Owen Farrell axis held its own in defence and withstood the early battering. There is some give and take in all teams, with strong and weaker points, and certainly the back three that the Lions currently have need the ball in space, so having two distributors at 10 and 12 makes the ball more accessible to 11, 14 and 15.
And looking at how the tries were scored, and how they were created, there is vindication in Warren Gatland‘s selection. I am still not sure about the Johnny Sexton loop around as I think the opposition see it, but it worked well for the Taulupe Faletau try. New Zealand read it but Sexton got his pass away and Elliot Daly did likewise to Faletau before being tackled.
The second try was created from a pop pass inside from Sexton for Jamie George which led to the Connor Murray snipe. With Sexton and Farrell both getting their hands on the ball it keeps the defence honest. It gives you two options every play: will the ball go to the player coming short or are they going to throw it to the one in behind coming from deep? You can’t always cover every angle and on that occasion the short ball went to George who went steaming through.
The Lions will be a lot happier with the opportunities they created this week and the manner in which they finished them off. The wide men made the right contribution, up the inside and outside, and certainly seemed to thrive on the options created. But while all focus was on the midfield pairing, none of that can function without the boys up front and they certainly answered the questions from last week.
First and foremost the Lions got the upper hand by winning the crucial collisions on the gain line. Rather than soaking up the hits, like they did too often last week, they won precious metres around the breakdown. It forced the All Blacks’ three-quarters to inch backwards rather than swarm forward and also made them try to force the occasional pass and drop the ball in slippery conditions.
The Lions put in some ferocious hits, in twos and threes, that sent the All Blacks back from where they came. It brought vital traction at the gain line and could have struck a few physiological blows to the Kiwi pack.
But there are huge challenges ahead next week; first keeping the penalty count down. They really lost their balance in the second half. In boxing parlance, their opponent had one armed tied behind their back but the Lions were still the ones on the ropes.
Completely unnecessary penalties almost killed them. The frustration levels will have been right up there as they still trailed 14 men, but the Mako Vunipola yellow almost cost the Lions this famous victory. He had already given away a few penalties and when you’re not playing your best game it can be easier to cross the line trying to make up for it. On another day the All Blacks would have scored two or three tries in that sin-bin period.
Stupid penalties and turnovers conceded need to be tidied up massively. So you would not be surprised if Vunipola makes way. However, he offers so much in the plus column that Gatland may give him the shirt and hope he repays the faith with a storming performance.
Gatland threw down a challenge to his forwards, telling them they got physically outmuscled last week. I can imagine him standing in the changing room and being brave enough to point fingers at pretty much all of that team last week.  He made them think about whether they truly believed the All Blacks are that much stronger, more aggressive and more committed than them.  To a large degree the Lions answered his questions.
Sean O’Brien, above, was outstanding and Taulupe Faletau gave the sort of performance we all know he’s capable of. The nervous players will be Alun-Wyn Jones, Vunipola and Sam Warburton. The captain made his tackles and slowed the ball down at the breakdown – but for me he needs to show more with the ball in hand. He’s getting better with each game and it’s a huge shot in the arm if the Lions have their captain fully firing next week.
In 1993 we did the same and turned the series around in the same city. They came back in the next one and totally blew us away. I’m hoping and believing it can be different for this Lions side.
If you finish your chances against the All Blacks, you’re in the game. Lead the All Blacks with 20 minutes to go and you’re even more in the game. They hit the accelerator and ratchet up the tempo then, but that’s when mistakes can happen.
The big test is to reproduce a final 20 minutes like they did here. If they are as committed, as aggressive as they were when their backs were against the wall they stand a great chance of creating their own piece of history.