Wynne Gray Is a Former Senior Rugby Writer at the New Zealand Herald.
SOMEHOW IN THE awkward aftermath of their drawn series with the All Blacks, the British and Irish Lions found time to vote on their player of the series.
They’d been through an uneasy presentation ceremony at Eden Park where none of the players quite knew how to react to the stalemate.
The Lions looked more content with the deadlock than their hosts and that was understandable.
If the All Blacks had been as accurate as their prematch intentions they would have sorted the series inside the first half. As it was they scored two tries and should have had a few more but missed their moments in the face of the gritty Lions resilience.
Eventually the All Blacks fluffed their lines even more and then lost the contentious offside debate with Monsieur Poite in the dying minutes of the test after the Lions had kicked their way to all square.
There were puzzled looks all round when Poite called time and those continued throughout the speeches and presentation to All Blacks skipper Kieran Read for his 100th test.
When he and Lions leader Sam Warburton hoisted aloft the series silverware, the pictures looked like a series preview rather than the end of six weeks’ hard graft in New Zealand.
Denne historien er fra Issue 188, August/September 2017-utgaven av NZ Rugby World.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 188, August/September 2017-utgaven av NZ Rugby World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The 20 Most Memorable Rugby Acts Of 2020
2020- Most Amazing Rugby Acts
RUGBY ROYALTY
FRANS STEYN’S IMPACT AT LAST YEAR’S WORLD CUP ADDED MORE PRESTIGE TO A DECORATED CAREER THAT ISN’T OVER YET. CRAIG LEWIS FROM SA RUGBY MAGAZINE REPORTS.
WINGING IT FOR LONGER
TYPICALLY POWER WINGS DON'T LAST LONG IN THE ALL BLACKS. BUT CALEB CLARKE AND RIEKO IOANE ARE HOPING TO BUCK THE TREND.
TOUGHEST JOB IN THE WORLD
NZ RUGBY WORLD EDITOR GREGOR PAUL HAS A NEW BOOK OUT CALLED THE CAPTAIN'S RUN. IN IT HE EXPLORES WHAT IT TAKES TO LEAD THE WORLD'S BEST RUGBY TEAM, HOW THE JOB HAS CHANGED AND HOW THE VARIOUS LEADERS HAVE DEALT WITH PRESSURE, FAILURE AND SUCCESS.
WOW FACTOR
SCOTT ROBERTSON IS UNORTHODOX BUT HE'S ALSO BRILLIANT AND WANTS A JOB WITH THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS.
RUGBY REBORN
COVID BROUGHT ECONOMIC CARNAGE IN 2020 BUT RATHER THAN BEING SEEN AS A WRECKER OF FORTUNES, THE PANDEMIC WAS ACTUALLY A GIANT BLESSING.
BATTLE FOR THE BLEDISLOE
THE UNPRECEDENTED CONDITIONS OF 2020 SAW THE INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR HASTILY REDRAWN AND IN A UNIQUE TWIST FOR THE PROFESSIONAL AGE, THE ALL BLACKS PLAYED FOUR CONSECUTIVE TESTS AGAINST AUSTRALIA.
PACIFIC POWER HOUSE
FIJI HAVE NEVER QUITE BEEN ABLE TO FULFIL THEIR ENORMOUS POTENTIAL. BUT THEY MIGHT NOW FOLLOWING THE APPOINTMENT OF VERN COTTER AS HEAD COACH.
THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION
ON AND OFF THE FIELD, SPRINGBOKS WING CHESLIN KOLBE CONTINUES TO MAKE AN INSPIRATIONAL IMPACT.
DEFENCE FORCE ONE
THE BLUES WERE A RADICALLY DIFFERENT TEAM IN 2020 AND MUCH OF THAT WAS DUE TO THEIR VASTLY IMPROVED WORK ON DEFENCE.
