All or nothing

TJ Perenara leads the All Blacks in the haka before the second test at Westpac Stadium in...
TJ Perenara leads the All Blacks in the haka before the second test at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Photo: PA Images via Getty Images
The script could not be better.

The biggest rugby match in New Zealand since the 2011 World Cup final kicks off in Auckland tonight.

The All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions head into the deciding test of their  three-match series with plenty on the line.

The All Blacks won at Eden Park in the first test and the Lions managed to get home in a wet Wellington last Saturday night.

So  there is everything to play for in a test which has drawn about 30,000 Lions fans to the country.

The All Blacks love playing under pressure and will not lack motivation tonight.

It is All Blacks skipper Kieran Read’s 100th test.

He will become just the seventh All Black to rack up 100 tests — and what better way to cap that than pick up a series win.

The side has looked at its game from last week and  is bound to have a trick or two up its sleeve.

Plus it is playing on its favourite ground. When it last lost there, the game was amateur.

But there are worried All Black fans out there. The Lions could win. They have the runs on the board — winning last week. They have a great team spirit and appear to be peaking at  the right time. And they will not lack for support.

So  it is anyone’s game. We have been here before. Hope springs eternal with the Lions and their supporters. But it usually ends in defeat. After all, in more than 100 years of trying, they have only won one series.

Here’s hoping for All Blacks fans, they do not double that tonight.

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