Lions 16 Blues 22: Lions player ratings

John O’Sullivan runs the rule over tourists as they are beaten by the Blues at Eden Park

15 Leigh Halfpenny: Solid performance; discharged his defensive duties and placekicking with aplomb but little chance to attack. Rating: 6

14 Jack Nowell: Suffered a bit of a nightmare, missing three tackles and being caught narrow for the Blues' first try when charging out of the line. Rating: 4

13 Jared Payne: He was gone after 48 minutes with what looked like a recurrence of the calf issue that saw him withdraw from the bench the last day: denied a try but little chance with the ball in hand. Rating: 5

12 Robbie Henshaw: He carried with typical aggression but was well marshalled for the most part and was up against an in-form and influential Sonny Bill Williams. Rating: 6

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11 Elliot Daly: Didn't get much chance in attack, an area in which the Lions were predictable and sterile for the most part but showed glimpses of his ability, especially when switching to centre. Rating: 6

10 Dan Biggar: He conceded a couple of penalties, being over enthusiastic or careless depending on perspective and departed injured after shipping a huge tackle. Rating: 5

9 Rhys Webb: He was bright and lively initially, sharp in getting the ball away and looking for spaces but his box-kicking drifted too far, giving chasers little chance to contest the ball. Rating: 6

1 Jack McGrath: One of the Lions' best players on the night, a huge work-rate and tackle count, and very effective at scrum time. He can be proud of his effort. Rating: 8

2 Ken Owens (capt): He led the team well and apart from one crooked throw the lineout went very well. He also featured in the loose in carrying ball. Rating: 7

3 Dan Cole: He was an integral part of a very strong scrum and worked hard in defence; missed a couple of tackles but finished on the positive side of the ledger. Rating: 7

4 Maro Itoje: Absolutely outstanding, a leader in every respect and very accurate in everything he did except for one penalty, and later when he came out of the line slightly for the Blues' winning try. Rating: 8

5 Courtney Lawes: Like his secondrow partner he got through a huge amount of work on both sides of the ball and can be very happy with his contribution. Rating: 8

6 James Haskell: He missed a number of tackles and looked a little bit off the pace. The Blues' backrow won the breakdown battle. Rating: 5

7 Justin Tipuric: Despite being outnumbered for the most part at ruck time he rescued his team in this area on several occasions, while his tackling and covering was excellent, as was his lineout work. Rating: 7

8 CJ Stander: The Blues had done their homework in shutting him down, often committing two players to the tackle with one going low, meaning he didn't get too many positive gain-lines. He scored the Lions' try. Rating: 6

Replacements: The bench didn't really add the desired momentum. Liam Williams's yellow card wasn't crucial on the scoreboard but it was careless, while in the inquisition that crucial final lineout will go down as hooker or system failure. Johnny Sexton, Peter O'Mahony, Joe Marler and Kyle Sinkler all contributed positively. Rating: 5

Coach: Warren Gatland will reflect on an improvement in some areas from last Saturday but what is very worrying at this point is that the Lions couldn't shut down the Blues' offloading game and also that the attack is blunt and ineffective. Rating: 5