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By Liam Napier at Ellis Park Dave Rennie’s All Blacks remain unbeaten – but only just. The All Blacks completed a clean sweep of the four South African franchise teams and made it five from five on tour but they had to work overtime to maintain By Liam Napier at Ellis Park Dave Rennie’s All Blacks remain unbeaten – but only just. The All Blacks completed a clean sweep of the four South African franchise teams and made it five from five on tour but they had to work overtime to maintain their momentum before closing out their 41-35 win. Three days on from their epic upset triumph over the Springboks, the All Blacks returned to Ellis Park for a contrasting assignment for the midweek team against the Lions. The Lions finished seventh in last year’s United Rugby Championship but you wouldn’t know it as they played like men possessed in this match. For three-quarters of the contest it appeared this was one too many games on a torrid tour for the All Blacks as a lack of training time and combinations heavily affected the midweek team. The All Blacks had to summon another second-half comeback, surging from 18 points down and then clinging on at times before Emoni Narawa’s second 80th-minute strike sealed the seven-tries-to-five victory. In the context of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, Patrick Tuipulotu’s departure midway through the second half for Jamie Hannah strongly suggests his place is booked in the All Blacks second test squad, likely on the bench behind Fabian Holland and Tupou Vaa’i. Richie Mo’unga’s comeback, in his first appearance for the All Blacks for three years, since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, faded into the background as the Lions produced an inspired performance to push the tourists to the brink. Mo’unga made one late second-half break and pulled off a courageous cover tackle on Lions loose forward Siba Mahashe in the first spell that almost prevented a try but was otherwise mixed in a largely scrappy All Blacks performance. “He had a lot of nice touches and he’ll be better for that time on the park,” Rennie said. “It’s not just about him jumping into the 10 jersey it’s the connection with everyone around you that you might not have played a lot of footy with. We’re really pleased with his contribution.” While they had no shortage of chances, the All Blacks often resembled a makeshift team that had barely trained together. From a not-straight lineout throw to errors, inaccurate penalties and a lack of flow, they let the Lions off the hook and again endured scrum issues before two huge late shunts – one a tighthead – helped turn the tide. Highlanders prop Saula Ma’u on debut made a massive impact off the bench as did Xavier Numia who will be one of five players - Tuipulotu, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Peter Lakai the others - backing up for the second test against the Boks this weekend. The Lions, to their credit, came to play. Perhaps because they had more time together than the previous franchise teams the Lions were more cohesive, certainly more so than the Sharks and Bulls. Of all the South African teams the All Blacks faced on this tour, the Lions were also the most entertaining and enterprising. The Lions were regularly rewarded for their ambition, too, much to the delight of the small but impassioned, vocal crowd. When the Lions had the All Blacks on the rack early in the second half after a scrum pushover try, the locals – those in particular stationed directly behind the open media box – truly found their voice. The Lions led 14-0 early and 35-17 in the second half. The All Blacks trailed until Ethan Blackadder, one of the best performers for the visitors, claimed his second try in the 62nd minute. Blackadder was highly involved on both sides of the ball, throwing himself into contact, snaffling turnovers and making metres with ball in hand. “He was all over the park,” Rennie said. “He got his hands on a lot of ball post tackle. He carried a lot, he made a lot of tackles, his support play. He’s got a big engine. He’s all arms and legs. He had a massive impact on the game tonight.” Rieko Ioane’s two tries instigated the comeback. Ioane’s first featured a big left foot step in the midfield as he sprinted 40m to score. And he then pinched an intercept after switching to the wing. Narawa, from the left wing, was also among the All Blacks best. He threatened with every touch to further enhance his case for the test team. Narawa beat three defenders after scooping the ball from the ruck to lay on the All Blacks’ first try for Noah Hotham, who otherwise endured a forgettable night. Timoci Tavatavanawai had several beast mode carries and Fehi Fineanganofo was busy on the edge in the first half before leaving with an injury early in the second. While this victory carries little relevance for the test series, Rennie praised the second-half response that maintained winning momentum for the extended touring squad. “There were a lot of big contributors but we weren’t accurate enough. We turned over too much ball. We lost races. We weren’t able to get the sort of continuity that would be important to shut them out early. “At 35-17 we were under a lot of heat so I was really pleased with the composure and our ability to grind out that last 30 minutes and finish in front.” All Blacks loose forward Anton Segner will, meanwhile, take no further part on tour after undergoing keyhole surgery on an infection in his ankle. Segner will travel with the All Blacks to Cape Town but Rennie confirmed his tour is over and a replacement will not be called in. The Blues player of the year was in compelling form before the injury was discovered one day before the first test victory. All Blacks: Noah Hotham, Emoni Narawa 2, Ethan Blackadder 2, Rieko Ioane 2 tries, Beauden Barrett con, Richie Mo’unga con 2 Lions: Nico Steyn, Siba Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronje, Francke Horn tries, Chris Smith con 5 Halftime: 21-17