Chiefs 6 Lions 34: Lions player ratings

15 Liam Williams: Excellent performance; great line for the first try, superb break for the fourth try, he made the most of the space afforded him in a high quality contribution. Rating: 8.

14 Jack Nowell: This was a much better representation of his talent, sharp and decisive on the ball, his footwork caused the Chiefs plenty of problems and deserved his brace of tries. Rating: 8.

13 Jared Payne: Auxiliary flanker for a scrum penalty, he scored one try, might have had another if Tommy Seymour’s pass was better but the Lions don’t use him to maximise his talent. Rating: 7.

12 Robbie Henshaw: Another hard working display, physically abrasive in defence and carried hard and straight but like Payne, he’s underutilised from a creative perspective. Rating: 7.

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11 Elliot Daly: Virtually every intervention was a positive one, chasing kicks, making breaks, tackling and the fact that he was taken off early suggests that he will be involved, possibly from the bench on Saturday. Rating: 8.

10 Dan Biggar: A very bright display from the Ospreys pivot, he played on the gain-line, his distribution was intelligent and his place-kicking faultless. Rating: 7.

9 Greg Laidlaw: It was his best contribution on the tour but he’s still a little bit ponderous and structured in some of his play and his box-kicking drifted long at times. Rating: 6.

1 Joe Marler: His indiscipline that saw him correctly earn a yellow card aside, this was a really good performance both in the scrum and particularly in defence and the breakdown. Rating: 7.

2 Rory Best (capt): Two crooked lineout throws and a penalty conceded for which he loses a point but the ledger is overwhelmingly positive. He led his team superbly and was a standout player. Rating: 7.

3 Dan Cole: The turnover in the 80th minute highlighted his work-rate on a night when he was a big contributor in the scrum, the loose, breakdown and in defence. Rating: 8.

4 Iain Henderson: He got through a phenomenal amount of graft the majority of which was high quality in an outstanding performance. For me the best forward for his all-round contribution. Rating: 9.

5 Courtney Lawes: He excelled for the most part, the odd blip, a penalty conceded a couple of handling errors, but another to make a positive contribution. Rating: 7.

6 James Haskell: His best performance of the tour, he helped to shut down the Chiefs in attack and slowed down their ball at the breakdown while his clearouts were important in a couple of tries. Rating: 8.

7 Justin Tipuric: When the Lions lineout wobbled they went to him and he guaranteed possession, managed turnovers and supported intelligently. Rating: 7.

8 CJ Stander: Carried aggressively and to good effect, using his footwork as complement power and brought a passing game. Rating: 8.

Replacements: Allan Dell will have enjoyed that scrum penalty in his brief cameo but it was interesting that aside from him the Welsh and Scottish addendums to the squad didn’t get what some would have considered a cheap jersey. Alun Wyn Jones brief appearance suggests he will be on the bench at the weekend. Rating: 6.

Coach: He’s come in for some criticism about supplementing his touring party personnel based on geography rather than merit but if he wins the series, the brouhaha will be less virulent. The team did as requested against the severely depleted Chiefs. Rating: 7.