Down 35-17 with half an hour left: All Blacks 41, Lions 35

Seven minutes in, the All Blacks were down 14-0 and the Ellis Park crowd was making a noise you could feel through the concrete.

By the 47th minute it was 35-17. On a Tuesday night, against a team nobody had them worried about, the All Blacks were being beaten.

Then they scored the last four tries of the match and won it 41-35.

The comeback, in order

| Moment | Score | |---|---| | 7th minute | Lions 14, All Blacks 0 | | 47th minute | Lions 35, All Blacks 17 | | 62nd minute, Blackadder scores | All Blacks lead for the first time | | 79th minute, Narawa scores | All Blacks 41, Lions 35 |

Ethan Blackadder got two of them, including the one in the 62nd that put New Zealand in front for the first time all night. Rieko Ioane also scored twice. Emoni Narawa finished it off with a minute left.

Seven tries for the All Blacks, five for the Lions. Twelve tries in one match.

The goalkicking tells you how untidy it was. Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett landed only three of seven conversions between them. At the other end Chris Smith kicked all five for the Lions and rattled the post with a long penalty. The Lions did not lose this game on the boot. They lost it because the All Blacks simply kept scoring after they stopped.

What Blackadder said

He was honest about it, which is the best thing about the quote:

"The Lions came out hissing. But we stayed composed and found a way in the end. They were quality tonight."

Coach Dave Rennie said Blackadder "was everywhere" and had "a massive engine." On the evidence, both are hard to argue with.

The tour record is now perfect

This was the fourth and last franchise match of the tour, and the All Blacks won all four:

| Opponent | Score | |---|---| | Stormers | 38-21 (crowd 47,130) | | Sharks | 54-0 | | Bulls | 50-19 | | Lions | 41-35 |

Four from four, and this was the first time the Lions and the All Blacks have ever met.

But look at that last row against the one above it. Fifty-four to nil in Durban, then a side that nearly ran them off the park in Johannesburg. Midweek touring teams are like that, and every touring side in history has had a night like it.

Why it matters for Saturday

The second Test is in Cape Town on 29 August, and the Springboks are hurting after losing the first 33-16.

If there is a lesson in Tuesday night for them, the Lions handed it over for free: get after this All Blacks team early and they can be rattled. Rassie Erasmus will have watched every minute.

The other lesson belongs to the All Blacks, and it is the better one. They were 18 points down with half an hour to play, in a hostile stadium, on a cold Tuesday, and they did not panic.

They just kept scoring.