By Neal Collins

Bow down to the mighty All Blacks.

With two-try fly-half Daniel Carter racking up 33 points and New Zealand scoring more points than ever before against the Lions, there's no question as to the identity of the superpower in the rugby-speaking world right now.

For all their effort in Wellington the 2005 Lions, like all but the class of 1971 before them, saw the Test series ripped away from them at the Cake Tin.

The New Zealanders were immense. So smooth in the offload among the backs, so clever in the loose, the Lions were always playing catch-up once they'd lost the advantage of Gareth Thomas's masterful early try.

But this was no surrender. Hooker Steve Thompson was magnificent, Jonny Wilkinson played through the pain of injury and Paul O'Connell never gave an inch to the rampant Kiwi locks.

Sadly the backs, too small and too slow, could muster little after Thomas's early strike.

But let's just accept Grahan Henry's All Blacks are simply Bisto at he moment, different gravy.

The Lions, with Irish flanker Simon Easterby capping a great performance with a late try, gave it all to ease memories of that awful 21-3 defeat in Christchurch last week.

But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

Still, what a start. Right from the kick-off everything clicked in to place with captain Thomas making a wonderful jinking run to the line for a second-minute try.

A minute later Dwayne Peel's break left Wilko with a kickable penalty which hit the post. It could (should?) have been 10-0 after four minutes.

Then the early turning point. O'Connell went flying over a well-placed maul, silly penalty, up the other end we went and Carter made it 7-3 after seven minutes.

With Aussie ref Andrew Cole making things tough for the Lions only a great Gavin Henson tackle kept Rico Gear out as the All Blacks threatened in the corner.

Then another mysterious Antipodean penalty and Carter made it 7-6 before Tana Umaga, first Test villian, started and finished the All Blacks' first try.

And despite the Lions' best efforts, Carter's ice-cool conversion made it 13-7 after 19 pulsating minutes.

The game exploded in the 23rd minute with bodies everywhere as the Lions showed their fury at a series of underhand All Black shenanigans going unpunished yet again.

They were punished by Cole in the 26th minute and Wilko landed a desperately difficult kick to make it 13-10.

Carter immediately responded with one of his own from a scrappy restart with O'Connell caught again.

Wilko narrowly nissed a snapped drop goal but Josh Lewsey's break set him up for the penalty which made it 16-13 after half an hour.

But then disaster, Cole failed to spot the All Blacks holding on after Byron Kelleher's killer run, a brilliant Gear lobbed pass and Sitiveni Sivivatu went over, just as he did in the first Test. Six tries in three Tests - and we thought Joe Rokococko (29 in 27) was special!

Wilko took a blow to the old neck injury early in the second half and soon Carter had extended the lead to 24-13.

And he blew the Lions away with a lovely kick and chase to score down the touchline, landing a superb conversion to make it 31-13. Game over, series over.

The defining moment came five minutes later when, with the Lions threatening, the backs stuttered and Shane Williams, so quick but too light, was tackled into oblivion. Not once, twice.

How it hurts to see your side giving everything but failing.

Which is why Julian White unleashed a couple of roundhouse blows seconds later.

Wilko finally succumbed to the pain and Prince William clapped him off as Carter twisted the knife with another penalty to make it 34-13 with 20 to go.

Easterby snuck in for a late consolation, replacement Stephen Jones missed the conversion but the Lions continued their brave, hopeless battle.

But then Carter scored again, breaking through the tiring line to score and further extend the record for points against the Lions.

In the background, the overhyped Gavin Henson was subbed as Carter made it 31 points with a tight conversion.

The last ten minutes constituted damage limitation.

And even that didn't work as Richie McCaw, bloodied and brilliant, went over and Carter racked up his 32nd and 33rd points. Slaughter.

The Lions roared their hearts out but nobody heard. Auckland next week has been rendered meaningless.