All Blacks, Lions to clash in Auckland
The All Blacks will clash with the British and Irish Lions on Saturday in a hotly anticipated first Test pitting the world champions against Warren Gatland's fast-improving team. While New Zealand are defending a 23-year unbeaten record at Auckland's Eden Park, the Lions haven't won a Test series against the All Blacks since 1971. Gatland and New Zealand coach Steve Hansen have both made bold selections, with Lions tour captain Sam Warburton on the bench and star All Blacks winger Julian Savea missing the game altogether. Gatland has opted for an attacking back three of Liam Williams, Anthony Watson and Jonathan Davies, leaving 2013 man of the series Leigh Halfpenny, who is yet to miss a kick at goal on tour, among the replacements. Kick-off is at 7:35 pm (0735 GMT) and conditions are forecast to be cool and wet, which could suit the Lions' forward-based, kick-and-chase game. But the All Blacks, back-to-back world champions, have won their last 37 games at Eden Park stretching back to 1994, and boast a 29-6 record against Lions sides. Saturday's game is expected to be a clash of northern and southern hemisphere styles, contrasting game plans, and different rule interpretations under South African referee Jaco Peyper. When the Lions last visited in 2005, New Zealand 'blackwashed' the series 3-0. But after a slow start to their tour, Gatland's Lions have developed into a formidable force, especially in defence. The All Blacks are confident their speed and sleight-of-hand offloads will get them through the close-marking, rush Lions defence which has squeezed tour opponents into submission. - 'You have to be bold' - It is a Test that will be intensely physical at the breakdown and it remains unpredictable whether the All Blacks' attacking flair, or the Lions' grunt, will prevail. "They've selected a side that's capable of playing a different type of game than we play and that itself is intriguing and (it's) going to be interesting to see the result once it's been played out," Hansen said. But coach Warren Gatland has also indicated he is open to instinctive play, highlighted by the selection of his attack-minded back three. "To play the All Blacks you have to be bold, you have to take risks," Gatland said. "Yes, we play to a structure as every team plays to a structure but (it's about) having the confidence and ability to bring an offloading game in when it's appropriate." Hansen, when asked to compare the game to the 2015 World Cup final, said: "It's right up there. "The World Cup's a knockout tournament and the difference with the Lions is you get three (Tests). So if you stuff the first one up you get another one. And it's the same for both teams. It's exciting." Home captain Kieran Read, back after eight weeks out with a broken thumb, said expectations remained high in the All Blacks camp. "We'll go out there and expect to win," he said. "Everyone in New Zealand expects us to win and we have to go out there and do that. It doesn't just happen."
