Here’s how the New Zealand media reacted to the British & Irish Lions win against the Chiefs…
Richard Loe (New Zealand Herald)
The Lions again showed their power and value with their victory over the Chiefs, but gee they can play negatively.
You could argue rugby broke out in the 58th minute when Jack Nowell raced across for his try, but before that it was dire for patches.
The Chiefs were awful, something that was only really matched by the performance of referee Jerome Garces, who is in charge for the second test. He must have a holiday home in somewhere like Swansea, judging by a couple of those early penalties.
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Gregor Paul (New Zealand Herald)
Lions coach Warren Gatland got what he wanted in Hamilton. He got the win, he got the performance and he got three performances that will force him and his fellow selectors to pause before they announce their test team on Thursday.
The first two things were more pleasing than tour-changing. The mid-week side have done it tough and in their games so far, have been poor.
They needed something to restore their spirits, to boost their confidence and make them feel that New Zealand isn’t one endless slog with no reward.
The performances of Jack Nowell, Liam Williams and Elliot Daly were, however, potentially tour changing.
To read his full piece, click here.
Patrick McKendry (New Zealand Herald)
Warren Gatland’s mid-week battlers will be triumphant at such a resounding victory against what was very much a Chiefs’ B or even C team, but the result, while deserved and good for those involved in the red jerseys, will have little or no impact on the first test at Eden Park on Saturday for virtually none of them will be involved in it.
What it did display was how important the set piece and defence is to this game. The Chiefs were poor in both areas here and will be disappointed not necessarily in losing but in not putting in a performance they can look back on with pride.
It was also a happier homecoming for Gatland after his Wales team were humiliated by the Chiefs here 12 months ago.
To read his full piece, click here.
Mark Reason (Stuff)
The late arrival of the Lions bus at Waikato Stadium barely 60 minutes before kick off was clearly because New Zealand motorists had been changing lanes in front of it and running illegal blocking manoeuvres.
Warren Gatland said he would be raising the matter with Transport Minister Simon Bridges in the hope that the Lions route to Eden Park on Saturday would be kept clear.
Well, all right, so that’s just a bit facetious but Gatland was quite right to call out all the cheating that goes on off the ball in New Zealand. It has now reached the level of an epidemic.
They might just as well have strung a wire across the road like Burton and Eastwood did in planning their escape from the Schloss Adler in Where Eagles Dare. Certainly Daly had as much chance of reaching his target as those munted German motorcyclists.
Jerome Garces, the referee, called Fa’auli across and said, “After the kick don’t change your line.”
Mysteriously Garces did not give a penalty on that occasion, but at the start of the second half he had had enough and penalised Fa’auli for blocking.