Pressure is on for the All Blacks who dare not lose Test opener

Hard to believe that, given the incessant pre-tour hype that started out months in advance, this Lions tour has already passed the halfway point, with six games played.

While there will be disappointment with the fact that the Lions were on the end of two defeats in their opening four games, significant progress has been made since, and everything is now geared towards the first test next Saturday.

We have now entered the most crucial week of the entire Tour. The players selected to start against the Chiefs yesterday will have appreciated at that stage that, barring injury, they will not feature in Saturday’s match day squad.