Lions

They now have a one-nil lead in the three-Test series.

The first half at Eden Park was a tight affair, but the British and Irish Lions were not able to capitalise on their opportunities in the second period.

The All Blacks survived an early scare after a Jonathan Davies line-break and a good run by Conor Murray, but Israel Dagg was able to hold Elliot Daly off the line with a superb tackle

First blood went to the All Blacks when the Lions were pinged at the ruck. Beauden Barrett kicked the penalty to put the first points on the board.

The All Blacks great, who values the tour alongside playing at the World Cup, destroyed the Lions, scoring 33 points and crossing for two tries with a masterclass at first five-eighth to win the second test 48-18 in Wellington to secure the series.

Carter had just 18 tests to his name prior to that Lions series and admits he didn't appreciate the significance of the tour until facing questions from British media.

"I remember it started in 2004 when the All Blacks toured the northern hemisphere in the autumn series [in November and December]," Carter told ESPN.

The Lions overcame successive midweek losses to the Blues and Highlanders to control the game, force the Chiefs into errors and shut down their attack before they ran out 34-6 winners in Hamilton.

"They dominated up front. We battled to get our lineout going. Our scrum. And they punished us for it," Rennie said.

"(But) the All Blacks will play the way they play, they will back themselves and their skill set to challenge the Lions.

Lions coach Warren Gatland said New Zealand teams were deliberately blocking and holding players back to give the first five more time to clear the ball and he's mentioned it to the referees.

However Kaino says sticking to their game plan is the key to All Black success over a Lions outfit, who hit their straps against a strong New Zealand Maori side on Saturday.

Kaino says the All Blacks will simply have to adapt to how referee Jaco Peyper is going to officiate in the up-coming test.

"We have a game that we want to play and we will play that as well as we can.

The Lions conceded 12 penalties in Dunedin - five more than the home side - and were beaten by Marty Banks' decisive kick six minutes from time.

The result represents the tourists' second defeat of the tour to New Zealand after they were beaten by the Blues last Wednesday, and Warburton knows things must improve.

"We gave away too much possession at the breakdown, we turned over a bit too much ball," Warburton told Sky Sports. 

"I thought when we were direct, we looked good.

Warburton returns to skipper the Lions against the Highlanders on Tuesday having shaken off the issue that kept him out of Saturday's victory over the Crusaders.

However, the Cardiff Blues flanker says he must prove he is firing on all cylinders if he is to make Warren Gatland's starting XV in Auckland on June 24.

"If I play Tuesday and I still feel I'm a bit undercut, then I might not be ready for that first Test," said Warburton.

The Lions scored all their points with the boot when they out-muscled the Crusaders 12-3 on Saturday, the impressive display following two lacklustre tour outings in which the visitors combined for just two tries.

Seymour, however, is confident that a contest against an expansive Highlanders side combined with the gradual improvement of the touring party will enable the Lions to finally start putting more points on the board ahead of the All Blacks tests.

The visitors delivered an unconvincing win against the semi-professional Provincial Barbarians in their opening game and on Wednesday lost to the Blues, New Zealand's worst-performing Super Rugby side this season.

The Crusaders always loomed as the toughest opponents of the opening 10 days and Gatland has decided to field what appears to be the strongest Lions side yet in a bid avoid what would be a dispiriting second defeat so early on the tour.

It's the Lions first loss in the 10-match series after just scraping past the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei just four days ago.

The Lions controlled territory and possession in the first few minutes of the game in front of a 40,639-strong crowd, but the Blues were first to score off the back of some patient attack that started in their own half.

The visitors tried to put the Blues under pressure early, coming off their defensive line with a great deal of urgency but the Blues quickly found an overlap 20m out that resulted in five points to winger Reiko Ioane.

Lions coach Warren Gatland has named a strong team for the tour opener in Whangarei, which includes Sam Warburton, Rory Best, Alun Wyn Jones and Johnny Sexton.

It will be an opportunity to get over the long flight down under for the players and get match sharp for what lies ahead.

But it's also a chance for the Lions to show that they mean business throughout their six weeks in New Zealand.

"With this squad, we believe we've got a good team that's capable of winning over here, whether it's the warm up games or the series we believe that," Faletau said.