Hurricanes deny Lions after costly Henderson yellow
Iain Henderson’s late yellow card proved costly as the British and Irish Lions suffered a collapse and had to settle for a 31-31 draw against the Hurricanes.
The Ireland forward had been sensational all over the field in the opening 65 minutes in Wellington and was unlucky not to be rewarded with a second-half try, but his trip to the sin bin was pivotal.
A dangerous tackle on Jordie Barrett saw him punished and the Canes took full advantage to deny the Lions – who led 23-7 at the break and by 14 points when Henderson left the field – a morale-boosting victory.
There had been so much for Lions coach Warren Gatland to be pleased with – his side having lost the opening Test 30-15 against New Zealand – as Tommy Seymour scored two impressive tries and George North also touched down, while Dan Biggar kicked superbly.
However, the tourists were unable to hold on with 14 men as Wes Goosen and Vaea Fifita snatched a draw in a storming finish.
Nothing to separate the teams on the scoreboard… Thanks for a great game, @Hurricanesrugby!#HURvBIL reaction??https://t.co/OKYq8C7axt pic.twitter.com/Dg0IePLbyx
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 27, 2017
After a scrappy start the Lions opened scoring in the 10th minute as Biggar kicked the first of his 16 points with a close-range penalty.
The tourists then profited from a loose Canes pass after a superb tackle from Seymour, Greig Laidlaw intercepting and racing into the opposition half before offloading to Seymour, who raced in for his first try.
Gatland’s men continued to apply scoreboard pressure through the accurate Biggar, but the Hurricanes were still posing a threat – Otere Black, Ngani Laumape and Nehe Milner-Skudder able to break the defensive line.
Turning that territory into a try proved tough, though, as the Lions defended resolutely, but just before the half-hour mark Callum Gibbins burrowed his way through two tackles to give the Canes some joy.
Any momentum from the hosts was halted on the brink of half time as Leigh Halfpenny – an early replacement for Robbie Henshaw – challenged Milner-Skudder to a high ball from Biggar’s up-and-under.
The ball dropped loose and was superbly collected by Henderson, the Ireland forward quickly finding North on his shoulder and the winger did the rest.
Tries from Tommy Seymour and George North give the Lions a healthy lead at the break #LionsNZ2017
Follow #HURvBIL??https://t.co/OKYq8C7axt pic.twitter.com/8mvxY36eIj
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 27, 2017
A 16-point lead at the break was cut in the opening minute of the second half as Vince Aso and Julian Savea combined to get Laumape in space, the centre powering through Biggar’s challenge to score.
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi was then sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Jack Nowell from an offside position and the Lions capitalised, with Henderson key once again.
The lock found space in the midfield and charged for the line and, despite being held up, from a resulting scrum the Lions got the chance to spread the play.
Biggar’s loop pass was quickly worked left by Nowell and Halfpenny for Seymour to double his tally, and moments later North thought he was joining the Scotland back on two tries, but a foot in touch denied him.
Henderson’s excellent display was soured after his dangerous tackle on Barrett, and with an extra man replacement Goosen scored the Canes’ third try.
Barrett brought the hosts within seven by kicking the conversion and with 10 minutes remaining they were level as Fifita launched himself over a ruck.
Great game. 31-31. #HURvBIL
— Hurricanes Rugby (@Hurricanesrugby) June 27, 2017
The Lions could have snatched victory with a late Biggar drop goal, but in the end they were grateful to hang on for a draw after the Hurricanes gave their defensive qualities a stern examination.
Saturday sees the Lions take on the All Blacks in a must-win second Test in Wellington.
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
76 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments