ENGLAND FALL AT FINAL HURDLE

Just as with the England v Scotland game, after 5 minutes, you could sense it was not going to be the away team's day. Ireland were aggressive, ruthless, England were average, overawed, New Zealand were relaxed, smiling.

The Six Nations is a great tournament, 2017 was especially, with every team losing at least one game, offering supporters of all sides (except Italy) their day in the sun (or on the beer), and 3 teams on 14 points a few behind England, the rightly winners. But, no matter how impressive England were against Scotland (who were awful), they struggled against the rest, winning ugly against Wales, France and Italy, and looking second best against a weakened yet proud Ireland.

The 6N Championship but no Slam

Yes, an improving Scotland, a decent Ireland and Wales, plus a record equalling England should in theory create the recipe for the strongest Lions squad in many years. And, yes (again) Warren Gatland has tough choices to make across most positions (even in the starting XV), but the problem is they are not playing a re-building SA or a lightweight Australia, they are playing a brutal, skilful NZ at home, with two tests in the fortress, that is Eden Park, Auckland.

NZ's Super 18 Rugby franchises make up the top 3 places in the Australasian league, with Chiefs and Crusaders unbeaten, and Hurricanes having lost just one game. Anyone who has started their weekends watching Super 18 rugby games will know what the Lions are up against. If England had convincingly beaten Ireland in their own backyard, overtaken NZ's record, they would have laid down an important marker for Northern Hemisphere rugby, and the Kiwis would rightly be feeling nervous. As it is, they fell at that all important final hurdle, and that will mean the Lions starting the tour as firm underdogs.