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All Blacks player ratings vs. British & Irish Lions

The All Blacks defeated the British & Irish Lions 30-15 at Eden Park to take a 1-0 series lead against the British & Irish Lions. Here is how those in black rated in the first Test.

Ben Smith: 5.5/10

Dropped opening high balls but worked his way back with a couple of stepping runs. Left the field for concussion midway through first half and didn't return.

Israel Dagg: 6.5

Did his best to run Lions chasers off the ball, with success. Threw the pass that put Codie Taylor over, and nice basketball effort for Ioane's try.

Ryan Crotty: 5

Didn't see much ball playing outside of Williams. Left the field with ankle injury on 33 minutes.

Sonny Bill Willams: 8

Had the All Blacks on the front foot throughout. Gainline was never a problem, though turned distributor a little more after the break. His battle with Te'o was brutal at times.

Rieko Ioane: 8

Didn't see much ball in the first half but that all changed upon the resumption. Started to go looking for work, and then provided nice finish for All Blacks' second try. Iced a memorable first home Test by scooping on dropped high ball and sprinting 45 metres for a double.

Beauden Barrett: 7.5

Another quality outing, if without his usual brilliance. Moved to fullback when Ben Smith went off, but showed his class in a seamless adjustment. Was perfect from kicking tee.

Aaron Smith: 6.5

Was the go-to man for New Zealand when exiting. Always a threat around the ruck before being replaced by Perenara just before the hour mark.

Owen Franks: 6.5

Was his typical brutal self in defence and did his best to upset Lions' ruck ball. Redemption at scrum time after Christchurch.

Codie Taylor: 6

Super pick-up for game's opening try and did his job at scrum time. Three missed lineout took the gloss off an otherwise strong game.

Joe Moody: 6.5

A couple of big shots on defence in finishing with nine tackles. Scrumming was solid.

Brodie Retallick: 7.5

Reaffirmed his status as game's premier lock. Made a menace of himself at the ruck, carried with authority and defended stoutly.

Sam Whitelock: 6

Quiet night compared to Retallick, though did work tirelessly in defence.

Jerome Kaino: 6

Couple of big first-half charges but lost impact towards halftime.

Sam Cane: 7.5

Hit rucks all day and produced a superb strip on Kruis during first half.

Kieran Read: 8

His usual shift. Powerful runs in tight, and threatened wider out, too. Always had the All Blacks on the front foot and then provided miracle flick ball to kick-start play for Ioane's first try.

Replacements 7

Were far more effective than Lions' replacements, though Anton Lienert-Brown and Aaron Cruden were on in the first half. A second playmaker seemed to help the All Blacks. Both Charlier Faumuina and Wyatt Crockett were strong at scrum time.