British and Irish Lions outclassed as silky Blues inflict first tour defeat

After a sluggish start to their tour in New Zealand, only narrowly beating the underdog New Zealand Provincial Barbarians on Saturday, the British and Irish Lions slumped to their first defeat as they were undone by the Auckland Blues at Eden Park. The Blues, fielding a fantastic array of talent such as Augustine Pulu and Sonny Bill Williams, proved a threat throughout the game and caused the Lions more than a few headaches early on as they took the lead through a splendid Rieko Ioane try. The visitors responded with a well-constructed try of their own; CJ Stander touching down after a drivin…