Wanted: leader of the pack

NZ Maori 19 Lions 13

His inspirational leadership from the back row helped ensure his famous side’s first victory over the tourists in 75 years and left the Lions management and players scratching their heads as to how to pick up the pieces from a morale-sapping defeat in Hamilton.

It is by no means the beginning of the end for these 2005 British & Irish Lions - as Neil Back reminded journalists yesterday, they lost a tour game to the Blue Bulls in South Africa in 1997 and won the Test series and four years ago a defeat to Australia A was followed by a Test victory over the Wallabies.