Lions 2017: The stats behind the drawn All Blacks series

The British and Irish Lions may have been forced to settle for a drawn series in New Zealand, but they come away with a fair amount of credit following their three-match tussle with the mighty All Blacks.

From breaking long-standing winning streaks for their hosts, to individual achievements that earned a place in Lions history, there is plenty to celebrate about the 2017 tour.

Here, with the help of Opta, we take a look at some of the standout stats from the shared series.

– The Lions drew a Test series for just the second time, the other tied series coming in 1955 against South Africa.

– In the third Test, the All Blacks failed to win at Eden Park for the first time since August 1994, when they drew against South Africa; they had won 38 in a row at the venue between those two ties.

– The Lions’ win in the second Test against the All Blacks was the first time New Zealand had lost on home soil since 2009 (v South Africa).

– The second Test also saw the All Blacks fail to score a try, this after going 38 consecutive matches crossing the try line at least once.

– The Lions drew a match in a Test series for the first time since 1974 against South Africa (they also drew an individual Test against Argentina in 2005).

– The Lions had also drawn four years before in their final Test in New Zealand in 1971, the last time they avoided defeat in a series against the All Blacks.

– This was the fifth time since the beginning of 1989 that a Lions series had gone to a final game decider; the Lions have won two, lost two and drawn one of those games with the series tied at 1-1 going into the final match.

– Elliot Daly became the first player to score points both for and against the Lions on a tour; he scored a penalty in the third Test against the All Blacks after slotting a penalty for the Barbarians against the Lions four years ago.

– Warren Gatland remains unbeaten on both his tours as Lions head coach, winning in Australia four years ago before tying this series.

– Taulupe Faletau made more tackles than any other player on tour, making 76 of his 78 attempted hits.

– Liam Williams was the only player to gain 300+ metres on tour, making 344 metres with ball in hand in his six games.

– Owen Farrell (45) was the Lions’ top point scorer during the tour, while Scotland winger Tommy Seymour (3) crossed the try line more often than any other Lion.

– Alun Wyn Jones became just the seventh Lion to win a Test against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, following the Lions victory in the 2nd Test (also Tony O’Reilly, Ieuan Evans, Jason Leonard, Jeremy Guscott, Martin Johnson and Rhys Williams).