Robert Kitson imagines an alternative reality in which Sam Warburton’s boys had the chance to win the series against the All Blacks rather than settle for a draw

It was a drizzly evening in Auckland as Sam Warburton slipped out of the British & Irish Lions’ team hotel by a side entrance and climbed into the passenger seat of a sponsored car. The journey across town to the All Blacks hotel would take only a few minutes but Warburton was in no mood to rush.

This was the biggest week of his life and he wanted to feel absolutely certain he was doing the right thing.

The ever-alert Johnny Sexton had been the one to raise the subject on the squad’s flight from Queenstown the previous day. “What happens if the final Test is level after 80 minutes, skip? Is there a tie-break?” Warburton had smiled and made a joke about away goals. Yet the more he thought about it, the less he liked the idea.

Imagine the biggest Test series in years, poised at 1-1 with one Test to play, producing no outright winner. Later that night he sought out Warren Gatland in the hotel bar. “Warren, I think we should ask to play extra-time if it’s a draw.” Gatland looked up from his glass of mineral water. “Sam, I think we can beat this lot over 80 minutes. But let’s not die wondering, eh?”

The tour manager, John Spencer, needed little convincing, having been a member of the victorious 1971 squad, the last Lions party to achieve rugby’s holy grail of a series victory in New Zealand. The chief executive, John Feehan, pointed out that no such clause existed in the tour agreement; television schedules might also be compromised. Warburton politely demurred: surely if both captains and the referee were all happy, where was the problem? No self-respecting TV executive would reject a gripping sudden-death finale if one was offered.

Feehan acknowledged the commercial logic and suggested sending a WhatsApp message to the All Blacks captain, Kieran Read, and the NZ Rugby chief executive, Steve Tew, proposing an 11th-hour tweak. Even before Warburton’s phone pinged at breakfast time the next morning, he sensed the All Blacks would go for it. As the car turned down Hobson Street, the Wales captain scanned the dimly-lit pavements for lurking photographers. Most of the Lions press corps were still in Queenstown but he did not want to be spotted if remotely possible.

As it turned out, the lobby was deserted and he and Read swiftly adjourned to a private room. Tew and the host broadcaster had already given their blessing and Read sounded happy enough: “If that’s what you guys want, Sam, then no worries. But isn’t it more likely we’ll be 20 points up with the series won?” Warburton chose to ignore the playful jibe and instead reached out to shake Read’s hand. “Let’s wait and see, Kieran. Here’s to a memorable game either way.”

And now – scarcely believably – it was actually happening. The Lions had led their opponents for only three minutes in the entire series but, once the referee, Romain Poite, had decided against penalising Ken Owens for his inadvertent reflex grab at the ball in the closing moments, neither side wanted to settle for “kissing your sister”, as every Kiwi coach seemed to describe it. Knackered but still intensely committed, Warburton fleetingly caught Reid’s eye. Ten more minutes each way would be physical torture but the All Blacks, with Sam Whitelock and Sam Cane both substituted towards the end of normal time, did not look as composed as normal.

The first half of extra-time actually proved an anti-climax; no points, too many dropped balls slipping from tired fingers. The scoreboard remained at 15-15 and Warburton momentarily wondered if sticking to the original tour agreement might have been easier. Best not to think about New Zealand nicking the series right at the death. Instead he gathered his team-mates around him and reminded them that the 2003 World Cup final had been won in extra-time. “Where’s Wilko when you need him?” someone muttered. Even amid the screeching tension, the players still seemed in good heart.

The next nine minutes passed in a blur; a penalty for Owen Farrell cancelled out by a three-pointer from Beauden Barrett, both for high tackles. And then came the critical moment: young Ardie Savea digging frantically away at a breakdown on halfway with seconds remaining after Poite had clearly called “hands away”. Farrell offered to shoulder the responsibility but Warburton, impressed by Elliot Daly’s kicking from long range throughout the tour, threw the ball to the young Wasps player instead. Up in the coaching box, Gatland leaned back in his seat and tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore his pounding chest.

For six months afterwards it was pandemonium. A winning Lions series in New Zealand seemed to trump everything in the British and Irish public imagination: Brexit, Strictly Come Dancing … all of it was relegated to a virtual sideshow. It was almost embarrassing at the BBC Sport’s Personality of the Year awards: the Lions swept the board with Maro Itoje, Sean O’Brien and Warburton himself polling more public votes than Mo Farah and the rest of the shortlist put together.

Sir Warren Gatland appeared on every chat show wearing a red clown nose and Meghan Markle even announced her intention to wed Prince Harry on the pitch at Twickenham. The lone dissenting voice belonged to England’s coach Eddie Jones, who could still be heard at Christmas arguing that a shared Lions series would have done rugby’s worldwide image even more good. In New Zealand, meanwhile, they reckon the inquest will continue for at least another decade.

All of the above conversations and events are fictional, of course. In reality the series finished tied at 1-1 and Mo Farah was BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Green light

And so to the final tally after two intense weeks of Champions’ Cup matches. Of the six pool games played between Irish and English club sides in rounds three and four, the Premiership’s representatives lost every one. In 14 games over the last two weekends, English sides were beaten in 12. Leinster, Munster and Ulster clearly deserve huge congratulations for their home and away doubles over Exeter, Leicester and Harlequins respectively, with the prospects of England staging even one European quarter-final tie now remote. Is that unprecedented? Hardly. It was the same in 2015 and in 2014 as well. Last year, for all Saracens’ dominance, there were only two English quarter-finalists. The truth of the matter is that the leading Irish and French sides are seriously hard to outmuscle, whoever is running the tournament.

One to watch

For those wondering if Premiership relegation is a good or a bad thing this Friday’s meeting between the bottom two clubs, Worcester and London Irish, should provide a few answers. With Bristol certain to come up from the Championship, this is effectively a high-wire contest without a safety net. Here’s wishing all involved – as well as every Guardian and Observer reader – a peaceful Christmas and a happy new year.