ELLIS PARK THRILLER: Seven-try All Blacks survive Lions scare to remain unbeaten on tour

The All Blacks secured a come-from-behind 41-35 (17-21) win over the Lions at Ellis Park to complete their club fixtures unbeaten in the Greatest Rivalry series.

Four tries and 24 unanswered points in the final half hour by the All Blacks saw them secure their fifth successive win on the Greatest Rivalry tour by overcoming an excellent Lions side at Ellis Park.

The home team’s commitment to attack and occasional brilliance contributed to an entertaining, if wild and open game, just four days after the tourists won the first Test against the Springboks at the same venue.

The Lions took the fight to the All Blacks and scored five tries, but also leaked seven as they tried to go toe-to-toe with a team that loves nothing more than a fast-paced match.

The All Blacks were on the rack 10 minutes into the second half, trailing 35-17 after the Lions opened the stanza with two quick tries, having led 21-17 at the break.

Although the home team held an 18-point lead 55 minutes into the game, it never felt secure as the All Blacks routinely created overlaps and chances when they went wide.

Lions flyhalf Chris Smith was brilliant, and even though he is classed as a journeyman, this might have been his finest moment. He kicked for goal and from hand impeccably, defended like a loose forward and carved up metres with deceptive runs.

But the heroics of Smith and others aside, the Lions were up against a Test team that knew how to ride the passages of negative momentum and find a way to win.

In the final 30 minutes, centre Rieko Ioane scored twice, once carving through a hole after throwing a simple dummy, and the second time pouncing on a loose pass from centre Richard Kriel to intercept.

Those two converted tries in the space of four minutes brought the All Blacks to within four points of the lead, and it felt inevitable that they would somehow find a way to win the game from there.

After struggling in the set piece for the opening 60 minutes, the All Blacks dominated the scrums late on when a swathe of reserves from either side changed that dynamic.

On the back of the set-piece dominance, the All Blacks, as they have done so often before, found a way to win.

Late tries from the impressive flank Ethan Blackadder and wing Emoni Narawa sealed the victory.

The match had a festival feel to it with six tries scored in the first half alone, but it was underpinned by steady foundations.