Stephen Jones of The Sunday Times believes changes need to be made for the second Test. One of them, he feels, is the dropping of captain Peter O'Mahony.
Ultimately, their scrum was disappointing, the bench could not make an impact, and Peter O’Mahony, the captain, just did not have the game to shake the All Blacks. The flankers could not slow down the New Zealand ball, and a change must be made in the back row for the second Test on Saturday.
Writing elsewhere in the paper, he further elaborates on why he would drop O'Mahony. He also adds that he would like to see Courtney Lawes inserted at blindside in O'Mahony's place.
Peter O’Mahony, the Munster hero, has the respect of the party but out of his Munster context, he does not have the physical presence, the skills at the breakdown or the carrying game to make an impact on a Test match.
In his column for The Sunday Times, former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio says the only change he would make for next weekend's game in Wellington is the introduction of Maro Itoje into the second row.
He also believes that yesterday's substitution of Johnny Sexton for Ben Te'o was a mistake. Dallaglio thinks Sexton replacing Farrell at out-half would have been the better option, maintaining a centre partnership of Te'o and Jonathan Davies which was working well.
What is certain is that there are no easy solutions for the Lions. There isn’t a battalion of reinforcements who can do better than the team that in the end was well beaten at Eden Park. The only change I would make is Maro Itoje for Alun Wyn Jones, a straight swap with Itoje in the starting team and Jones on the bench.
I thought it was a mistake not to have played Itoje from the start and haven’t changed my view on that. I also felt the Lions erred in replacing Ben Te’o when Johnny Sexton was brought on. That should have been a like-for-like substitution: Sexton on, Farrell off. Without Te’o, the Lions were less of a threat through the middle.
Like Dallaglio, the only change which former Lions coach Ian McGeechan would make is the selection of Itoje over Alun Wyn Jones.
He wrote for The Telegraph:
I would not make too many changes in terms of selection. I would give the players the experience of this game and challenge them to learn from it. Maro Itoje for Alun Wyn Jones is one change I would consider, simply because I feel that to beat the All Blacks you need to get your ball carriers and second rows involved in phase play, to have a high game involvement.
Clive Woodward, in his column for the Mail On Sunday, writes that the Lions overused the box kick, a tactic which he believes limited their attacking opportunities.
Tactically, the Lions overdid the box kick in the first half. It can be a good tactic and Conor Murray is one of the best, but the All Blacks back three weren't rattled by it and eventually the Lions were just ceding hard-earned possession to them and denying themselves chances to make a dent through their own runners.
We had seen right from the outset that the Lions backs could pose a threat and they needed a few more opportunities to strike.
Mark Orders of Wales Online thinks that both Peter O'Mahony and Sean O'Brien could come under pressure for their places in the second Test.
Lots of perspiration and one great line-out steal. Not much going forward, but O’Mahony chopped down countless New Zealand tacklers. There needs to be more, much more. Replaced on 54 minutes. Could come under pressure for place.
And on O'Brien:
Did superbly to stay in support and claim try after Lions backs swept upfield. Industry was never a problem for O’Brien, but the Lions lost the breakdown and Sam Cane comfortably took the openside honours on the night. Another who will be sweating over his place.
