After a hectic five weeks on the road and eight searching examinations to this point, the 2017 Lions tour reached the point of no return in the aptly named windy Wellington last Saturday night.

Donal Lenihan looks at three key areas the Lions must address.

There is nothing worse for a player, having to answer questions about a game that you had visualised playing in for months and yet find yourself surplus to requirements, writes Donal Lenihan.

The opening test of a Lions series is a journey into the unknown. Everything the Lions coaching staff have done in the last five weeks, since the earliest arrivals introduced themselves for those pre-tour camps at the Vale of Glamorgan and Carton House, has been geared towards this moment.

With four games played this Lions squad now fully appreciate the severity of the task ahead of them in the test series, writes Donal Lenihan.

For the financial viability of the international game in particular, there is far more riding on a competitive Lions series than many appreciate, writes Donal Lenihan.