British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton said yesterday's second rugby test win over the All Blacks was far from mission accomplished. But he said his players would need to lift their game again this week.
The Lions yesterday levelled the three-match series at 1-1 with a gripping victory over New Zealand in the Wellington "Cake Tin", the cylindrical stadium formally known as Westpac.
But the victory came against an All Blacks side reduced to 14 men for 55 minutes after centre Sonny Bill Williams had been given a red card for a shoulder charge that connected Lions winger Anthony Watson's head. He became only the third All Black to be sent off in a test, following Colin Meads against Scotland in 1967 and Cyril Brownlie against England in 1924.
The Lions struggled to make the extra man pay, however. They only took the lead over the world champions for the first time in the match in the 78th minute when Owen Farrell kicked the winning penalty.
"Credit to New Zealand to play for so long with 14 men, they did extremely well," said Warburton, who was recalled to the starting lineup having been kept on the bench in the first test in Auckland.
"We've just got to remember next week, we're more likely to be playing 15. It's going to be a big step up," he said.
It was a first defeat for the All Blacks on home soil in 48 tests going back eight years to when the Springboks won in Hamilton.
It was a first victory for the Lions over New Zealand since 1993. It also kept alive their hopes of a first series triumph in New Zealand since 1971.
"It's only half a job done," Warburton said. "It's great we've got it to 1-1, we want to take it to a decider at Eden Park [Auckland]. There's still plenty to work on, we gave away far too many penalties in the second half."..