All Blacks drive home the final nail

The All Blacks wrapped up the 2005 British & Irish Lions series with another convincing win in the third and final Test in Auckland on Saturday, recording a 38-19 victory to complete their clean sweep.

Last Stand: New Zealand skipper Tana Umaga takes on the tourists

This is the third time the tourists have suffered a whitewash in New Zealand. The 1966 and 1983 Lions both found themselves on the wrong end of the series scoreline, and the class of 2005 - who were outscored on aggregate by 12 tries to two and 107 points to 40 - have added another disappointing chapter to the Lions' history books.

But the Lions saved their best till last, and were at least competitive in Auckland. An early lead and a series of penalties kept the reds in the hunt, but the match petered out in the second half with New Zealand taking a 24-12 lead into the break.

Rickety line-outs (the All Blacks lost four and threw in skew twice) and yellow cards for Tana Umaga and Jerry Collins did not help the All Blacks' cause, but they won well and set a record for the number of points for New Zealand in a series against the Lions - including series which had four matches!

The Lions pack battled valiantly and did well with mauls, but once the ball went away from the forwards the All Blacks were superior in ideas, skill and speed.

In the first half the drizzle became rain at a packed Eden Park with its big smudges of loyalist red amongst the night-black of home support.

As in the second Test, the Lions started with great enthusiasm and effort and took the early lead, as the All Blacks missed more tackles in the first seven minutes than they had in the whole of the second Test.

The Lions also won line-outs. They drove a powerful maul from the first line-out and Stephen Jones kicked a penalty when Greg Somerville went in the side.

Then the Lions had a golden chance to score. Gethin Jenkins ran strongly down the left before he was hauled in from behind with the line in sight. The ball then went right where the Lions had a massive overlap. Donncha O'Callaghan ignored those outside of him and went for the try himself. He was tackled at the line.

There Tana Umaga hung onto him, conceded the penalty and earned himself a yellow card. The All Blacks captain went without demur to the sin-bin. Jones kicked the penalty and the Lions led 6-0 after 11 minutes.

This was the Lions' best passage of play during the half - but it took the All Blacks little time to dismiss their challenge, a man short or not.

Sione Lauaki tapped a free-kick at a scrum and the ball went left to Conrad Smith who sped through and almost ignored Geordan Murphy's pat of a tackle to score. Luke McAlister kicked the simple conversion and the All Blacks led, as had been the Lions' lot for the series.

The All Blacks scored a minute or so afterwards as they attacked down the left where Sitiveni Sivivatu was stopped just short. Back the ball came, and to the right. McAlister slid a grubber into the Lions in-goal where Dwayne Peel failed to control the ball. Big Ali Williams flung himself onto the ball for the try, which McAlister converted. Within five minutes of Umaga's departure for the sin-bin the All Blacks had scored 14 points.

Before the New Zealand skipper returned the Lions did score - a third penalty for Jones when Chris Jack infringed at a tackle.

McAlister and Jones kicked penalties and then the All Blacks got their third try. From a scrum McAlister forced a half gap between Peel and Stephen Jones. He gave to Umaga who burst past Ryan Jones for a try at the posts. McAlister converted.

In the second half both sides, but above all the Lions, made changes. The rain abated but the match did not equal the quality of the first half.

Lewis Moody saved a try when he tackled Sivivatu out at the corner but the try, when it came, seemed so simple. The All Blacks tapped a free-kick. They got the ball back quickly from the tackle on Marty Holah and Justin Marshall gave to Umaga who burst past Paul O'Connell to score at the posts. McAlister converted.

Silliness deprived the All Blacks of a try when Chris Jack used a long left leg to boot the ball downfield. Sivivatu was there to gather and score but the touch judge reported Collins for a late, armless tackle and so the try was scrapped and the Lions got a penalty.

Any suggestions that the All Blacks were about to run away with the match were scotched as penalties took the Lions up to the black line were a series of further penalties and line-outs ensued.

From the fourth of those line-outs the Lions switched the thrust and Moody was the one to get the ball down for the try. Jones converted. That made it 31-19.

From the kick-off, the Lions were caught snoozing and let the ball bounce right through their tall timber. The chasing Sivivatu gathered and got close. The Lions survived the five-metre scrum that followed.

The last try had jam on it, but it also had skill and speed. Rico Gear intercepted a wobbly Will Greenwood pass, kicked, chased and scored - all over more than 50 metres.

McAlister converted from far out and the massacre was complete.

Man of Match: It must be Tana Umaga - for his two tries, his great defence and his leadership. Even his kamikaze yellow card can not deprive the All Black captain of his great effectiveness.

Moment of the Match: The negative one came from the Jerry Collins tackle, an action and a decision which deprived the All Blacks of an astonishing try. The positive one was an exquisite moment of skill when Gear gathered in an impossible pass and gave a perfect one to Sivivatu.

Villain of the Match: He's a hero and villain! Tana Umaga for killing the ball on his goal-line to deprive the Lions of a try.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Smith, Williams, Umaga 2, Gear
Cons: McAlister 5
Pen: McAlister

For the Lions:
Try: Moody
Con: S Jones
Pens: S Jones 5

The teams:

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Tana Umaga (captain), 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Byron Kelleher (Justin Marshall, 47), 8 Sione Lauaki (Marty Holah, 41), 7 Rodney So'oialo, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack (James Ryan, 77), 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock (Campbell Johnstone, 45).
Unused Replacements: 17 Campbell Johnstone, 21 Nick Evans, 22 Doug Howlett

British & Irish Lions: 15 Geordan Murphy (Ronan O'Gara, 66), 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Will Greenwood, 12 Gareth Thomas (captain) (Shane Horgan, 51), 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel (Matt Dawson, 49), 8 Ryan Jones (Martin Corry, 68), 7 Lewis Moody (Martyn Williams, 76), 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Julian White, 2 Shane Byrne (Gordon Bulloch, 70), 1 Gethin Jenkins (Graham Rowntree, 49).

Yellow cards: Umaga (NZ) - killing the ball, 7; Collins (NZ) - late tackle, 51

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Television match official: Andrew Cole (Australia)
Substitute controller: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)