The Lions had their momentum from Saturday stopped with a 23-22 defeat at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Lions look dejected on the back of the 23-22 defeat
The first half was a mixed bag for the Lions going in at 10 all. A Waisake Naholo try, made from immense strength going through three tackles in the process put the Highlanders 10-3 ahead. The Lions came back through a brilliantly worked try stemming from a Dan Biggar break and an outside line by Jonathan Joseph to go over to tie the scores. The sequence of plays leading up to the Naholo try will frustrate Andy Farrell, the Lions defence coach given the amount of missed tackles, which tallied 13 in this half alone.
The Lions will rue missed opportunities in this game they will feel that they should have won. In a half that started full of promise with Tommy Seymour scoring, after cleverly gathering a kick pass to make it 15-10, and soon after captain Sam Warburton went over to stretch the lead to 22-13. But a driving line out by the Highlanders saw the gap cut to two points, then a kick by Marty Banks took them one point in front. A debatable decision to take a long range effort at goal in the 77th minute was missed by the narrowest of margins. The Highlanders held on for yet another victory for the Super Rugby sides.
Tommy Seymour dots down after a Highlanders error
A plus point is that Joseph, Seymour and Warburton all crossed the whitewash but tries will be minor consolation considering the team would have been hoping to build on the performance from Saturday. Dan Biggar also put his hand up in the race for the 10 jersey with a fantastic display.
Dan Biggar makes a break, leading to the opening try
Next up for the Lions is the ‘unofficial’ fourth test against the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.
