The so-called 'Midweek Massive' completed their tour of provincial New Zealand with a 100% record after holding on for a hard-fought victory over Auckland today.

Here, we analyse how Ian McGeechan's men forged a victory at Eden Park that the Lions hope will be a forerunner for Saturday's third and final Test against the All Blacks:

TACTICS: Coach Ian McGeechan has always stressed the strength of a Lions tour will always be judged by the final midweek side, featuring players whose Test ambitions were all but gone.

On that criteria this Lions tour will go down as a roaring success because Gordon Bulloch led a side full of character which was dominant at the set-piece, attacked with intelligence and defended with commitment.

After the two Test defeats the Lions not only needed a win but also moral-boosting performance and they produced exactly that.

LEADERSHIP: Bulloch was captain again and described the performance as the "proudest moment of my life" after the Lions responded to his leadership with a display bursting with character.

Auckland came back into the game with 20 minutes remaining and pulled to within a point but the Lions held out and were inspired by Bulloch and particularly the stand-out performance of scrum-half Matt Dawson.

The only disappointment was the number of penalties the Lions conceded when under pressure.

KICKING: Ronan O'Gara came on for the injured Charlie Hodgson after 20 minutes and grew in confidence as the game went on and he ended up producing a confident display at fly-half. He picked out Denis Hickie with an inch-perfect cross-field kick only for the Irish winger to juggle the ball and eventually spill it forward.

As the Lions were under threat from Auckland, O'Gara began to find his range with the boot and pinned the New Zealanders back deep into their own territory with clever tactical kicking.

O'Gara also remained ice-cool to land his third penalty which opened the Lions their winning margin.

FORWARDS: The forwards turned in another impressive midweek performance. The lineout functioned smoothly and, as well securing their own ball, the Lions locks Simon Shaw, Ben Kay and then Brent Cockbain successfully disrupted Auckland's throw.

Had Auckland worked more clean ball from the lineout they would have been a far more dangerous threat.

The Lions had the edge in the scrum and in the loose the forwards broke the gain-line consistently and McGeechan was hailed their work at the breakdown as the best on tour so far.

ATTACK: The midweek side began to show some familiarity after a disappointingly disjointed tour. The support play was quick and on the shoulder, allowing the likes of Martyn Williams and Michael Owen to off-load as they do so well for Wales.

The Lions looked to match Auckland's fast pace and O'Gara brought his centres into play as often as possible. Gordon D'Arcy and Shane Horgan, when he came on, caused constant problems for Auckland.

Dawson was the catalyst for much of the Lions' attacking play and Mark Cueto took the opportunity to again show to Sir Clive Woodward what he would offer on the Test stage - power, pace and the ability to beat his man.

DEFENCE: The Lions successfully snuffed out Auckland's attacking potential for much of the game, but it needed committed defence to do so.

Auckland boasted dangerous runners like Joe Rokocoko, Sam Tuitupo and Ben Atiga but the Lions closed down the space well and did not allow them to break clear.

Dawson twice hauled Rokocoko down when to have slipped off the tackle would have certainly been to concede a try. Denis Hickie turned in some brave defence on the wings and Mark Cueto was equally resolute.

Auckland scored with a swift and fluid move but they were denied a further score when Dawson and Williams combined to stop prop John Afoa from touching down when he dived over the line.