Lions blow late 14-point lead as Hurricanes fight back to seal thrilling draw

Dan Biggar fell agonisingly short with a last-second drop goal attempt as the British and Irish Lions let slip a late 14-point lead to draw 31-31 with the Hurricanes in a breathless and hugely entertaining contest at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday (27 June).

A final midweek match against the 2016 Super Rugby champions was the final appearance of the tour for many and one last chance for certain players to stake a claim for the Test side ahead of the final two meetings with New Zealand. The Lions lost their opening clash with the All Blacks 30-15 in Auckland on Saturday.

After a feisty start, Biggar converted an easy penalty and the Lions crossed the whitewash for the first time when Greig Laidlaw, following a big hit from Tommy Seymour, intercepted Otere Black's pass and made a lung-busting 50m break before teeing up his Scotland teammate to finish the job.

Another successful Biggar kick followed before the Hurricanes answered back through Glasgow-bound flanker Callum Gibbins, who powered over from close range.

Yet more ill-discipline saw the tourists' lead increase and they further hammered home their advantage when George North scored his first try of the tour after Leigh Halfpenny had dutifully chased a Biggar up-and-under and Iain Henderson fed the powerful Welsh wing.

Leading 23-7 at the interval, the Lions made a poor start to the second half when All Black Ngani Laumape scored inside a minute. The momentum began to shift considerably as Jordie Barrett reduced the deficit to six, but Biggar slotted over another kick after Te Toiroa-Tahuriorangi was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Jack Nowell.

Henderson was denied a try with the officials unable to see evidence of grounding, but Seymour soon went over again in the corner after good work from Biggar, Halfpenny and Nowell. North almost had his brace after scooping up a Jonathan Joseph kick in behind, only for the TMO to rule that his foot was in touch.

The otherwise sensational Henderson was then binned by referee Romain Poite for a dangerous tackle on Barrett, a decision that proved a major turning point as the Lions saw their lead seep away in the final 15 minutes courtesy of tries from Wes Goosen and Vaea Fifita.

Laumape was penalised for a neck roll deep inside the Lions 22 with just minutes remaining and a big turnover from Biggar gave the Welsh fly-half the chance to clinch the victory, but his drop goal attempt dropped just underneath the crossbar.