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British and Irish Lions 2017 player ratings: Jack Nowell and Courtney Lawes star to romp past Chiefs

Man-for-man marking from the Lions tour match in Hamilton

Jack de Menezes

FMG Stadium

Tuesday 20 June 2017 12:00 BST

British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

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1/15British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Liam Williams – 8 out of 10

Looked to come into the line nearly every time the Lions attacked and his work ethic was first class. Cut a beautiful line to receive the ball off Nowell and surge through the defence, sucking in two players before offloading to Jared Payne to score.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Jack Nowell – 9 out of 10

Made a good break off William’s neat step, and was alert enough in the same move to come in-field and collect the ball from the base to score as he dived over the ruck smartly. On hand to finish a lovely flowing move for his second, though he still had to produce a good finish as he straightened the line and jinked his way past Shaun Stevenson and Chase Tiatia. His best showing by far.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Jared Payne – 8 out of 10

Another who put in his best performance, bagging a try in the process. However, his highlight moment was having the awareness to take Daly’s pass and offload to Robbie Henshaw on the way to Nowell’s second try, and he was not at fault for dropping Tommy Seymour’s dreadful pass after he had closed the space in the full-back.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Robbie Henshaw – 7 out of 10

A bit ragged at the start as he tried to lead the Lions’ rush defence, but he soon settled and set the tone with his tackling. Showed wonderfully fast hands at times, and struck up a good partnership with Payne outside him.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Elliot Daly – 8 out of 10

Brilliant break down the left wing produced Nowell’s second try in what was undoubtedly the best score for the Lions of the tour so far. He showed his impressive footwork early on, and his withdrawal in the 60th minute suggests he’ll play a part on Saturday.

British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Dan Biggar – 8 out of 10

Good start to the game and controlled play well. Strong tackle on opposite man Stephen Donald dislodged the ball and triggered a counter attack. Lucky to not see yellow for a high tackle on Tom Sanders, but a 100 per cent kicking record will please him and he read the game very well when triggering attacks.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Greig Laidlaw – 6 out of 10

His delivery of the ball is slightly slower than both Conor Murray and Rhys Webb and it hurts the Lions back line, but he did have one smart break in the second half as he found a gap on the fringe and nearly outpaced the covering defence.

British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Joe Marler – 6 out of 10

Too eager at the start of the match and it cost him, with his late shoulder charge on Nepo Laulala earning him a yellow card, though he was lucky that the Chiefs failed to score while he was absent. His return remained solid in the scrum upon his arrival, but the yellow spoiled his day.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Rory Best – 6 out of 10

Picked up a knock midway through the first half but soldiered on valiantly. Accurate in the lineout until a crooked throw at the start of the second half saw him wobble on his throw, and penalised for handling the ball on the floor. Captained the side well but his individual performance could have been better.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Dan Cole – 7 out of 10

Looked to try and impose himself in the breakdown, though was just a split-second off the pace early on, yet winning a turnover with the final play of the game was evidence of his battling performance. Very solid in the scrum.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Iain Henderson – 8 out of 10

A third consecutive strong performance has put him right in the mix for a place among the Test replacements. Gave the decisive pass to Nowell for his second try and one exceptional take in the lineout.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Courtney Lawes – 8 out of 10

Brilliant jump to steal the first lineout and proved a thorn in the Chiefs’ side. Strong carrying with a nice offload off the deck to Nowell early on, and also produced a stunning take in the air when Best threw too far on the Chiefs side.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

James Haskell – 7 out of 10

The unlucky one who had to be sacrificed when Marler was sent to the cooler, but he was on the shoulder twice in the first half to collect offloads from Lawes and Nowell that made significant gains. Crucial clearout in the second Nowell try, and a good all-round performance.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

Justin Tipuric – 7 out of 10

Showed incredible upper body strength to hold up Mitch Brown in the opening minutes and win the scrum put-in. Brought a good physical edge to the breakdown, and also took on a great deal of responsibility in the lineout.

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British and Irish Lions player ratings vs Chiefs

CJ Stander – 8 out of 10

Extremely powerful carrying as he started the game with a point to prove to Gatland. May have forced his way into the Test side, although the fact that he played 80 minutes may work against him.

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The British and Irish Lions will head into the Test series against the All Blacks off the back of a resounding 34-6 victory over the Chiefs at FMG Stadium, with the tourists scoring four tries and keeping the opposition scoreless in the second half for the second match in succession.

The Lions never trailed in the match and scored the opening try for the first time on this tour, with Jack Nowell crossing in the first half. The score, along with eight points from the boot of Dan Biggar, gave the Lions a slender 13-6 lead at the break, with the Chiefs’ points coming from fly-half Stephen Donald.

However, after the break the Lions cut loose and added a further three tries, with the pack taking the plaudits for a penalty try that came as a result of a collapsed driving maul. Nowell added his second by finishing a beautiful move that started in the Lions’ own half, with good work from Elliot Daly, Jared Payne and James Haskell ensuring the move did not stutter when Robbie Henshaw was tackled on the 22.

The final try came as a result of great play between Nowell and Liam Williams, with the full-back cutting a lethal line through the defence before offloading to Payne to go over.

The Lions now head back to Auckland to prepare for this weekend’s first Test against the All Blacks at Eden Park.

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