A 14-man All Blacks side have gone down 24-21 to the British and Irish Lions in the second Test in Wellington after losing Sonny Bill Williams to a red card.
In the All Blacks’ first loss on home soil since 2009, a 78th-minute penalty goal to Owen Farrell was enough to secure a Lions win after earlier second-half tries to Taulupe Faletau and Conor Murray.
Williams was sent off in the 25th minute for a shoulder charge that struck Lions winger Anthony Watson in the face.
After a period of discussion with his assistant referees and TMO George Ayoub, referee Jerome Garces of France said he was left with no choice but to brandish a red card.
“I need to protect the player. It was a direct charge on the head,” Garces told All Blacks skipper Kieran Read.
The last All Black to be sent off was Colin Meads, against Scotland at Murrayfield in 1967.
The only other All Black to be sent off in the side’s history is Cyril Brownlie, who was sent off against England at Twickenham in 1925.
The three-match series is now tied at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first game 30-15 last week in Auckland.
The final and deciding Test will be next Saturday back at Eden Park in Auckland.
ALL BLACKS TEST RED CARDS:
– Cyril Brownlie vs England, 1925
– Colin Meads vs Scotland, 1967
– Sonny Bill Williams vs British and Irish Lions, 2017