British and Irish Lions 2017: Error-strewn finale doesn't detract from epic battles that blessed a drawn series

Mistakes from both sides cost them a chance of memorable victory, but this was 80 minutes of epic sport

The Lions and All Blacks couldn't be separated after an epic series (Getty)

In terms of intensity, of drama, of crescendo, this was as close to the peak of international rugby as it gets.

In terms of quality, it showed it only in flashes, most notably in a wild first-half spell that ebbed and flowed from one end of the field to the other and back again. The final Test could be fairly described as error-strewn, an encounter where New Zealand may well have run away with it had they been a tiny bit more precise with their first-half play but still the Lions will be lamenting a missed opportunity - several, in fact - with the series tied and the game tied and barely more than two minutes ticking away on the clock.

Once again the Lions were afforded the opportunity of glory by All Black indiscipline, Jerome Kaino in the sin bin this time after Sonny Bill Williams had last week had been dismissed. They took little advantage of a 15-on-14 situation, nicking three points as the clock ticked down to zero on Kaino's punishment.

What it all came down to was those breathless, fingernail-less final seconds. New Zealand making incursions deep into Lions territories but the red sea swarming to the ball, slowing down the recycling process and eventually forcing the ball out of play. It was over. And a curious silence befell Eden Park. A sunken sponge. A bitter taste.

Perhaps a drawn series proves a fair result, and the Lions will come out of it with immense credit. They looked overmatched at times but had enough grit - and, it must be said, phenomenal goal kicking throughout - to come away with something. More than many had predicted, less than they had dreamed of.

For many of these All Blacks, the feeling will be that they didn't deserve to lose.

On the day, a little more composure and New Zealand could have had more than their two first-half tries. There would have been no coming back from that. Cross-field kicks that weren’t quite where they needed to be and passes that fell slightly behind their intended recipient managed to stop the All Black juggernaut at full speed, but the two they did score were the product of top-class play from the backs.

Ngani Laumape went over first after a smart knockdown from Jordie Barrett hadn’t been read by the Lions defence, and then scorer turned provider, a game-breaking offload from Laumape finding Anton Leinert-Brown, who fed rising star Barrett for the second score.

Shortly after the break Julian Savea took a one-handed, 20-yard pass to run untouched into the corner but that pass was forward and the Lions lived to breathe again. As long as the scoreline reflected an achievable gap, something that could be swept away with one moment of magic, it felt as if the Lions were happy. Perhaps happy is the wrong word, they were just desperate to hold on, waiting for one of the New Zealand mistakes to become fatal and let in the tourists to cap a memorable series victory.

But New Zealand would raid into Lions territory and then the huge touring crowd would wail in apprehension. To win this at the death would be dreamland but to lose it? Unthinkable. Heartbreaking.

Instead, as the rucking masses were shunted into touch and the final whistle blew, there was no great explosion of joy nor misery, a curious ambivalence from the crowd reflected by the players' immediate post-match comments.

"I don't know what to say really," said skipper Sam Warburton. Who does? Months of hard work and four hours of tough, on-field grind against the world's best and nothing to show for it, not even defeat.

But New Zealand skipper Kieran Read had it right on the Lions. "A special team, a special series," and perhaps that is all that matters.

As they lifted the trophy, together, Read and Warburton nodded in agreement. They had been through so much. "I said it was going to be an epic battle," Warburton recounted, and it was. Oh it was.