Read likens second Lions Test to World Cup final

Kieran Read is braced for a far tougher Test against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday, which the New Zealand captain has likened to a World Cup final.

The All Blacks beat Warren Gatland’s side 30-15 in the opener at Eden Park last weekend and can wrap up the series with a Test to spare with another win in Wellington on Saturday.

Two-time World Cup-winner Read, so instrumental on his return from injury in Auckland, expects the tourists to be a different proposition with no margin for error when the two sides renew their rivalries this weekend.

And the number eight has compared the occasion to the pressure of a showdown when the Webb Ellis Cup is on the line.

“In a sense it compares in terms of the one-off nature of the game – they win they level the series, we win then we win the series,” said Read.

“It is pretty special and comes round every 12 years, which is another factor of that. I hope that it is not lost on our players.

“We knew last week we were in a massive Test match – it is not going to be easier tomorrow, it will be a lot together so I am looking forward to that.”

Read added: “I think it will be a step up. You put those things on the line and it makes teams both pretty ruthless and wanting to do the best that they can.

“For us we’ve got to have that same mindset, we can’t just be waiting for what they’re going to bring, we’ve got to go out there and take it ourselves and lead with our game and impart our game on them.”