British and Irish Lions 2017: Kieran Read ranks second Test up with World Cup final as he tells All Blacks to up the ante
The two-time World Cup winner knows how important the second Test will be to both the Lions and the All Blacks
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kieran Read is fully aware of the danger that the wounded Lions will pose this Saturday, and he has called on his teammates to match the intensity that the All Blacks displayed to win the Rugby World Cup nearly two years ago to secure Test series victory against the tourists.
The All Blacks captain delivered one of his finest performances in the first Test to help New Zealand go 1-0 up and put the Lions on the brink of a fifth consecutive series defeat, having missed the past eight weeks of rugby with a broken thumb.
The 31-year-old will again lead his side out for his 99th cap in Wellington on Saturday, and he will do so against a Lions side that has its back against the wall knowing that defeat will end the Test series as a contest.
Read has been here before, though, having been involved in two World Cup finals, and he believes a match of this magnitude compares to those two triumphs in 2011 and 2015.
“In a sense it compares in terms of the one-off nature of the game – they win they level the series, we win we win the series,” Read said on Friday. “It is pretty special and comes round every 12 years, which is another factor of that. I hope that it is not lost on our players. We knew last week we were in a massive Test match – it is not going to be easier tomorrow, it will be a lot together so I am looking forward to that.”
The No 8 is quickly forging his own captaincy out of the large shadow left by former skipper, Richie McCaw, with head coach Steve Hansen praising Read in the aftermath of the first Test for the way he performed in Auckland last weekend.
Read’s rallying call, as captain of arguably the most dominant side in world sport, came on Friday when he made it clear to the rest of side that the same display that beat the Lions last weekend will not be enough to see off the tourists this time around given that Warren Gatland’s side know anything but victory will not be enough to maintain their hopes of winning the series.
“I think it will be a step up,” Read said. “You put those things on the line and it makes teams both pretty ruthless and wanting to do the best that they can. For us we’ve got to have that same mind-set, we can’t just be waiting for what they’re going to bring, we’ve got to go out there and take it ourselves and lead with our game and impart our game on them.”
Read added: “You can’t just roll out the same game plan as you had in the first game, you have to adjust and adapt to what is presented your way. Both teams have done that – if anything it is going to be even more physical tomorrow. I cannot wait for that battle. There will be slight changes so we will have to be good enough to pick out what they are and utilise that to our advantage.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments