Where do the Home Nations stand?

After a truly majestic series in New Zealand, the Lions are in good shape for the foreseeable future. Fans, players, coaches, and pundits all are celebrating the success of the Lions and what it means for World Rugby, so it seems that the incessant talk about the "death" of the Lions should be put to rest and the suits in the boardrooms accept that it should remain in place and be given a priority.

With the tour over focus shifts back to the four home nations. The coaches will all have kept a close eye on the Lions tour, looking for individual player performances, useful tactical approaches which worked, and any other areas which spark a thought. So what questions has the tour posed each of them?

The series ended all square, as the greatest in the world shared the trophy. Was truly one of the greatest series' ever.

One Last Round

I'll admit I didn't see the Lions winning a test match in the series. I felt they would punch hard but that the Kiwi's ability to score, and inability to lose, would be the deciding factor. I'll also happily admit I was wrong. It was a blood and thunder test match played beneath a storm in the windy city of Wellington. While the fans may have been getting drenched the ferocity on the pitch was more than enough to light a fire in the belly and raise a roar. 

The red-card debate will rage on for a few weeks, but given time the result is all that will be remembered. Never the less the Lions did make hard work of that advantage for most of the game. In fact the one try they scored which exploited extreme width was while they too were down a man. Both Lion's tries would have made those in black proud to score them, and stopping New Zealand scoring is a monumental feat these days. There was a lot to digest from the victory, but just what are the key points ahead of the final game, the decider, the game of the decade.

Lions players celebrate victory, in a brutal contest, to level the series 1-1.