So Close it Hurt: the Lions Had the All Blacks on the Ropes Before Letting a Famous Scalp Slip

There are nights at Ellis Park that stay with you, and Tuesday was very nearly one of the great ones. The Lions, missing several established players and written off before kickoff, ran at the All Blacks from the first whistle and had the most famous team in world rugby staring down the barrel of a shock defeat.

In the end, the tourists escaped with a 41–35 win, but don’t let the final score fool you. For an hour, the Lions were the better team, and the whole of Joburg knew it.

A Flying Start That Had Ellis Park Dreaming

The Lions didn’t creep into this game; they tore into it. Inside seven minutes they were 14–0 up, playing with a freedom that suggested nobody had told them they were meant to lose. By the break the hosts were still in front, 21–17, having traded blows with a New Zealand side struggling to contain the Lions’ tempo.

Then came the passage that will haunt them. Early in the second half the Lions stretched clear to 35–17, an 18-point lead over the All Blacks, with the clock ticking past the 47th minute. Fly-half Chris Smith was slotting his kicks, the tries were flowing, and a genuine giant-killing was on, bringing the whole of Ellis Park up on its feet.

The Comeback That Only the All Blacks Can Pull Off

What separates the great sides from the rest is what they do when the game is running away from them. New Zealand did’nt panic. Their replacements strengthened the scrum, their handling sharpened and suddenly the tourists started scoring in waves. Four tries in the space of half an hour flipped the match on its head.

The All Blacks edged ahead shortly after the outstanding Ethan Blackadder’s 62nd-minute try, and Emoni Narawa’s score inside the final minute finally put the result beyond doubt. Rieko Ioane and Narawa were constant menaces out wide, while All Blacks coach Dave Rennie reserved special praise for Blackadder afterwards. “He’s got a massive engine and was everywhere,” Rennie said.

Heartbreak, but Heads Should be High

For the Lions, this is the cruelest kind of loss: the one where so much went right before the match just slipped away. They scored five tries against the All Blacks despite missing several established players.

Nico Steyn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronje and Francke Horn all crossed the whitewash, and for an hour they made the tourists look ordinary. There’s plenty to build on, although conceding 24 unanswered points shows exactly where the hard review must begin.

The result completes New Zealand’s unbeaten sweep of all four South African franchise matches, and it comes on the back of their 33–16 win over the Springboks in the first Test. The tour rolls on, but the locals will remember how close the Lions came long after the scoreline fades.

The Betting Read

This is a reminder of why large handicaps in midweek tour matches deserve caution. A weakened Lions side entered as a clear outsider but pushed New Zealand to within six points after leading by 18 early in the second half. Big favourites away from home aren’t always as comfortable as their prices might suggest.

The All Blacks’ depth, conditioning and late-game management won this. Their replacements strengthened the set piece, while Blackadder, Ioane and Narawa punished a tiring defence. When you weigh up the second Test, that ability to improve as the match unfolds should worry Bok fans. It could also make New Zealand worth watching in the in-play markets if they start slowly again.

For the Lions in the URC season ahead, that attacking tempo is a genuine signal. A team that can put 35 points on the All Blacks will trouble plenty in the league. Their try-scoring and totals markets will be worth watching once the club campaign kicks off.

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