IT WAS a night of high drama but at the end of it all, the Lions emerged victorious, claiming a famous win in the Wellington rain, to set up a final Test decider against the All Blacks.
Warren Gatland’s side were given a huge helping hand following the first-half dismissal of Sonny Bill Williams but made it difficult for themselves before snatching a 24-21 win at the death.
On a night when penalties and indiscipline played a huge part in the contest, it was the boot of Owen Farrell which separated the sides and inflicted a first home defeat on the world champions since 2009.
“It feels very good right now,” Sean O’Brien, who was immense all game, told Sky Sports.
“We’re delighted to win and the crowd have been unbelievable here. We made our life very hard for ourselves, but we worked incredibly hard for one another out there and we really fronted up there.
“We had a cool head and we knew our plan. We stuck to the plan, bar discipline, and it worked out for us.”
Lions head coach Gatland added: ”It’s great that we have tied the series and we go to Auckland with everything to play for. I thought even with the red-card that we were the better team and deserved to win – we played some good rugby. We gave away some silly penalties which was disappointing but the better team won tonight.
“I thought the last ten minutes when the guys came off their line and stopped the All Blacks momentum was key. I am very happy with the boys and proud that we have won.
“Some of our kicking was not good so we have a lot to work on in the week. We saw what happened in Chicago and then a couple of weeks later in Dublin so we know what to expect next week.
“The key for next week is to build on the good things from tonight. There were lots of positives – last week we spoke about the collision dominance which they had but I thought tonight there was a big improvement.”
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