Woodward Praises Lions’ Pride

Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward praised his side for playing “right to the last minute” despite being overwhelmed by 30 points by the All Blacks in Saturday’s second Test.

Post-Match Reaction: Second Test: NZ 48 Lions 18

“We are bitterly disappointed. I though the guys were fantastic, they played right to the last minute,” insisted Sir Clive Woodward on Sky Sports.

“They put a lot into this but it was not to be. The effort was fantastic. It was a great game of rugby but we were on the wrong end of it.

“I wouldn’t say the All Blacks are a better team than us but they are an outstanding team.

“They scored some great tries at the end and we struggled to defend. But we are a great team and we probably deserved more than we got.

“I thought the guys really fronted up. We started really well but the shape drifted away after the first 10 minutes.”

2001 Lions coach Graham Henry, who now enviously fills the New Zealand hot seat, admitted of his side’s 48-18 Wellington victory: “The Lions played well but our guys were up 20 percent on last week.

“They opened us up but then we settled and played our football. They just want to express themselves, these guys enjoy playing and they showed that.

“Daniel Carter was quite amazing, he had a superb game. I think he was man of the match.”

Lions stand-in captain Gareth Thomas, who arrowed through for a stunning second-minute try, said: “The boys were out on their feet. We had a great start but over the 80 minutes we weren’t the better team.

“We turned the ball over and gave the ball away on attack. Against a team like New Zealand you can’t do that.

“Regardless of the scoreboard we thought we were still in it for the 80 minutes and we tried hard.”