British and Irish Lions 2017: The story of the House of Pain - Dunedin's forgotten stadium

Located at the foot of The Glen, in Dunedin, locals knew it simply as 'The Brook'.

But to most, Carisbrook has always been - and will continue to be - the ‘House of Pain'.

Not to be confused with the 1990s hip hop group of the same name, the ‘House of Pain' once hosted Taranaki, the Otago Highlanders and the All Blacks. No stadium on earth had as formidable a reputation.

The intimidating, 29,000-seater structure staged 38 Test matches involving the All Blacks over 103 years, with the home side losing just five.

From the first fixture, against Anglo-Welsh in 1908, to the final Test that raised funds for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, it was always an unwelcoming, uncomfortable and rickety old stadium that for many years was in need of more than a lick of paint.

Until 1998, the Caversham bypass afforded motorists a free view of the pitch and was known as the "Scotsman's Grandstand". What would Warren Gatland give for any Scot to be grandstanding in Dunedin this week?

When Carisbrook was replaced, ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, by the state-of-the-art Forsyth Barr Stadium that will host the British and Irish Lions when they face the Highlanders on Tuesday, it was not much surprise to the locals, though that did not mean there was no sentiment at its loss.

“My most graphic memory was the Lions in 1983 when it was either hailing or snowing, it was bloody cold, and we had a North-South match here that was the same,” New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith has previously noted about Carisbrook.

“We've had some really good occasions there with Canterbury and of course the Crusaders in 1999, winning the final down here. It's like an old gentleman of New Zealand rugby, isn't it?”

But while Carisbrook is now the stuff of legend confined to the rugby history books, the ‘House of Pain’ proved to be a nightmare for rival teams. The Lions won just twice at Carisbrook, suffering defeat five times by the All Blacks when they have met in the chilly climes of the New Zealand's most southerly Test venue.

One of the two times that the Lions came out on top was at the start of the famous 1971 tour, the only time that the British touring side have sealed a series victory over the All Blacks. Six years later, when the Lions returned, it was the third of four Tests at Carisbrook that proved decisive, with New Zealand ending any hopes of back-to-back triumphs with a 19-7 victory, despite the inclusion of a number of the 1971 tour victors.

The ground was home to a ferocious atmosphere, too, partly thanks to the support received from the nearby Otago University, and it proved such a hard stadium to win at that, individually, only Australia, South Africa and France were ever able to beat the All Blacks there. The first of those came in 2001 - a solid 99 years after staging its first Test match - and none of England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales have ever won there against the All Blacks. They never will, either.

Now, though, you can easily visit Dunedin and not know it was ever there.

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All that remains is the Neville Street Turnstile, a Category I historic building that represents the memories of 108 years of the All Blacks.

In its place down the road, near the picturesque Dunedin waterfront, is the Forsyth Barr Stadium, a 30,000-seater indoor venue that has helped the Otago Highlanders rack up the third-most tries in Super Rugby this season.

Dan Biggar will walk out against the Highlanders on Tuesday as the only of the selected Lions with memories of Carisbrook - one of four current players who played there along with the unselected Alun Wyn Jones, Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies.

On that sole occasion that Wales played in the ‘House of Pain’, they were dispatched 42-9 in a thumping defeat. The Forsyth Barr Stadium may not be as intimidating but the Highlanders, and New Zealand in the coming weeks, still are.

The Lions seek to grow from their win over the Crusaders in Christchurch and be disruptive visitors in Dunedin. The hosts? Well they simply want to be masters of the house once again.