The Maori All Blacks mean business!
The select New Zealand side delivered their famous haka – Timatanga – ahead of their clash against the British and Irish Lions in Rotorua on Saturday.
The match is viewed as the “fourth Test” of the tour of New Zealand, and it was still tight at halftime, with the visitors leading 12-10.
Lions fullback Leigh Halfpenny has slotted four successful penalties for Warren Gatland’s team, but the Maori All Blacks hit back with a try by loose forward Liam Messam, which was converted by flyhalf Damian McKenzie.
Chiefs star McKenzie also added a penalty.
The Lions, though, were certainly the more impressive of the two sides in the opening quarter. They started off the match with a concerted ball-in-hand attack that went through 17 phases, all the way into the Maori All Blacks’ 22-metre area.
Referee Jaco Peyper eventually awarded the Lions a penalty.
But the Kiwis got back into the match and found their rhythm as they neared halftime in wet conditions in Rotorua.