The British & Irish Lions will enter the decisive final Test against New Zealand believing they have already identified the best recipe to win the series. With the teams level at 1-1 the head coach, Warren Gatland, has urged his players to make history after retaining his faith in the starting XV from the 24-21 win against the All Blacks last week and also naming the same bench.

Selecting a Lions team for a pivotal final fixture is never routine, as Gatland showed when he dropped Brian O’Driscoll at a similarly delicate point in the 2013 series in Australia, but the second Test victory has clearly encouraged the management they are on the right selectorial track. It is the first time since 1993 the Lions have kept the same XV for consecutive Tests.

Liam Williams, who missed training as a precaution before the Lions returned to Auckland from Queenstown, is named at full-back while Mako Vunipola has kept his starting place at loosehead prop. Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell will continue their 10-12 partnership with flanker Sam Warburton looking to become the first Lions captain to preside over successive winning tours.

Gatland is already challenging his squad to make history. “This is a huge chance for this group of players to show their abilities and reap the benefits of the work everyone has put in,” said the head coach. “It is their chance to make Lions history. We are all aware of how big this game is and we are expecting a backlash from the All Blacks. But the pleasing thing about the second Test is just how strong we were in the last 10 or 15 minutes in terms of energy and enthusiasm. We still feel there is another level in us.”

New Zealand, meanwhile, have added some muscle to their backline, with the 20-year-old Jordie Barrett coming in at full-back for only his second cap and the prolific Julian Savea back on the left wing instead of Rieko Ioane. Israel Dagg reverts to the right wing in place of Waisake Naholo, who took a bang to the head last Saturday, while Ngani Laumape takes over at 12 from the suspended Sonny Bill Williams. The rest of their starting line-up is unchanged with Malakai Fekitoa recalled on the bench.

The All Blacks, whose captain Kieran Read is set to make his 100th Test appearance, have not lost at Eden Park since 1994 and have not been beaten in a series by the Lions for 46 years. New Zealand have lost only five times in 71 Tests under head coach Steve Hansen and were convincing 3-0 series winners when the Lions last toured in 2005. Hansen, however, has suggested the 2017 series is in danger of being decided by refereeing interpretations rather than the players. “I will get into trouble for saying this but the referees need help,” said Hansen. “It is a hell of a job for them because there is so much happening. They can’t do what we are asking them to do and then they become overly influential in a game. If you have a tight game and it becomes a major factor … it just chips away at the game.”

Hansen is also unconvinced by outcome-based disciplinary verdicts and has questioned some of last weekend’s decisions. “Last Saturday was a pertinent example. No problem with the red card [for Sonny Bill Williams]. You have a guy [Vunipola] who did something he shouldn’t have done but because he didn’t hit him in the head he wasn’t red-carded. We all know what he was trying to do. Then you have a situation where a guy [Sean O’Brien] later gets cited and we don’t know why he got off. That’s not good for the game. Those things should be automatic.”

Hansen, furthermore, says the selfishness of wealthy European club owners is undermining the global stability of the game: “The owners up there, they’ve got their own agenda. Money makes us make funny decisions sometimes and those decisions aren’t always right for rugby. To even think we shouldn’t have Lions tours... people are saying that because they want the players. The Lions is right for the game. I have no doubt in my mind about that.”

British & Irish Lions Liam Williams, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Davies, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray, Taulupe Faletau, Sean O’Brien, Sam Warburton (captain), Alun Wyn Jones, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Furlong, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola. Replacements Ken Owens, Jack McGrath, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes, CJ Stander, Rhys Webb, Ben Te’o, Jack Nowell.



New Zealand Jordie Barrett, Israel Dagg, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ngani Laumape, Julian Savea, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read (captain), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Replacements Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Aaron Cruden, Malakai Fekitoa.