British and Irish Lions vs Maori All Blacks as it happened: Tourists seize momentum ahead of first Test
Follow the game as it happened from the Rotorua International Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.The British and Irish Lions face the Maori All Blacks in their fifth warm-up match on their tour of New Zealand in what will be their penultimate game before the Test series with the All Blacks. Follow the latest here.
- Maori All Blacks vs British and Irish Lions kicks off at 19:35 local time [08:35 BST]
- Warren Gatland recalls a number of Test candidates to face the Maori
- No Owen Farrell with fly-half ruled out through injury
- Johnny Sexton starts at 10, Peter O’Mahony captains the Lions with Sam Warburton on bench
- Maori All Blacks captained by Ash Dixon
- Nehe Milner-Skudder starts on wing, Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Reiko Ioane released by All Blacks
Follow the live action below...
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What time does it start?
The Maori All Blacks vs British and Irish Lions kicks off at 19:35 local time [08:35 BST] on Saturday 17 June.
What TV channel is it on?
The match will be shown live on sky Sports 1 from 08:00 BST.
Teams:
Maori All Blacks: James Lowe, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Matt Procter, Charlie Ngatai, Reiko Ioane; Damian McKenzie, Tawere Kerr-Barlow; Kane Hames, Ash Dixon, Ben May; Joe Wheeler, Tom Franklin; Akira Ioane, Elliot Dixon, Liam Messam.
Replacements: Hikawera Elliot, Chris Eves, Marcel Renata, Leighton Price, Kara Pryor, Bryn Hall, Ihaia West, Rob Thompson.
British and Irish Lions: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Ben Te’o, Anthony Watson; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Ken Owens, Jack McGrath, Kyle Sinckler, Iain Henderson, Sam Warburton, Greig Laidlaw, Dan Biggar, Elliot Daly.
4 mins: Sexton makes a great early break and offloads well to Furlong. The Lions win an early penalty and Leigh Halfpenny gets the chance to give the visitors a three-point lead... and he does. 3-0.
6 mins: As we prepare for the first scrum of the game, we can reflect on this great start by the Lions. They have made a habit of getting out of the blocks quickly in games this tour and given how long it took New Zealand to get going against Samoa yesterday (and they really did get going) it will be so important come the Tests.
9 mins: Halfpenny doubles his and the Lions' tally from the tee yet again with unerring accuracy. A good first 10 minutes from the Lions and they have six points to show for it. The real challenge is scoring tries. 6-0.
11 mins: TRY MAORI
Awful defending from the Lions! The Maori have shown nothing so far but Milner-Skudder's kick is fumbled by North and he fears a collision with Halfpenny and Liam Messam touches down. Damian McKenzie adds the extras. 7-6.
15 mins: The two sides are just kicking back and forth and it's giving North an opportunity to try and redeem himself and he burrows into the Maori midfield.
17 mins: What a run from Jonathan Davies! He slices through the Maori defence before stepping past Milner-Skudder, but he is caught just before the line after a great turn of pace. The Lions keep going but momentum expires and we are brought back for the penalty for offside.
19 mins: The Lions opt for points again and again Halfpenny delivers. 9-0.
19 mins: That sums up the Lions' tour so far. A scintillating line break but they just can't capitalise on it. They need to find a way of doing that if they're going to have a chance against the All Blacks.
21 mins: Itoje is turned over and gives away the penalty. McKenzie eases it over and the Maori are back ahead. 10-9.
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