Lions of a more sepia-tinted vintage will no doubt feel the world has gone soft. Or maybe they'll lament they never had such options on the six-month odysseys by boat that pertained in their day when they missed the birth of their children, on hearing that Michael Owen will leave Auckland on Sunday to be at home with his wife for the birth of their child next Tuesday.

The Welsh captain will set off on the return journey that night to be back in New Zealand on Thursday, and will remain on "New Zealand time" to minimise the jetlag.

Maintaining that he will, in effect, be unavailable only for the Wellington game on Tuesday, Owen said: "I feel I've got as much chance as anybody. I'm not going to be there really long and it's going to be hectic."

Ian McGeechan rejected any notion that Owen's visit home would jeopardise his chances of making the Test team. "Clive (Woodward) has said he can go home for the birth of his child, and I think that will mentally put him in a very positive frame of mind. We can incorporate that, and it doesn't take away the quality of rugby he can produce for us.

"Parts of his play are exceptional and different, and I think we saw them tonight," added McGeechan. "He's a very talented footballer, and when you're in pressure situations and can think like a footballer and have hands like a footballer, and you can deliver in pressure situations, then he's a major asset."

The capacity 22,400 crowd ensured a carnival atmosphere.

There were some glitches. Captain Martin Corry admitted he was "so pumped up" he ran past the Lions' team manager, Louise Ramsay, without taking the cuddly mascot from her. "It was only when I was standing for the anthems and saw her there standing with it that I thought 'oh b . . .' It was good to start the game, but I think I made a balls-up of everything beforehand."

The Leicester backrow is self-deprecating and candid, but he's also teak tough and in the hour of the Lions' need, post-Lawrence Dallaglio, he led from the front. However, he admitted, "in the first half, as a pack, we weren't very good, but in the second half we started to get some quick ball and then the players behind us started to show what they can do".

Corry extolled the "great rugby brain" of outhalf Charlie Hodgson, while McGeechan, when asked about Hodgson's performance, said he preferred to group him with Chris Cusiter, "and I thought both half-backs, as a combination, played very well".

Cusiter said he was "embarrassed" by his wild pass from a turnover inside the Lions 22 which cleared not only Hodgson but also the dead-ball line. "To commit a howler like that in such a big match was frustrating and annoying, but I felt I came back and composed myself. There are not many hiding places out there, so you just have to concentrate on getting the next one right and take it from there."

McGeechan admitted the Taranaki pack really put it up to the Lions forwards, especially in the first half. "But I was pleased by the way we responded to it. There was a lot of competition for the ball in the tackle and what's pleasing is that we're not just learning in training but we're learning on the pitch as well."

Another common theme in the two games to date is the way the Lions have regrouped at half-time. "The first thing we have to respect is that the opposition we play against are playing the games of their lives," said Gareth Jenkins. "The intensity is quite intimidating, and in that first 40 minutes of both games we've had to throw everything at it and not get a lot out of it, and we've gone in at half-time quite close on the scoreboard.

"What you have to do at half-time is keep the players realising that the last 15 minutes of this kind of rugby is when you will benefit. You have to keep your composure, you have to keep your discipline, you have to be strong in what you're doing, you mustn't panic, and these are the type of messages that Ian (McGeechan) was making. And both games have worked out that way."

The collective effort was studded with some quality individual performances, among them the Irish outside trio, including two-try Geordan Murphy. "Geordan saw the chances well and that's what we want from our back three players, that they don't rush into the game, and I thought they sat back and they made some very good decisions from 30 metres away. I thought in that respect he was very good," said McGeechan.

Murphy took a couple of big knocks to leave him a bit glazed looking, and even lost one of his boots at one point, but, tellingly, he gave an insight to his confidence and wellbeing when he commented: "There was no way I was coming off; I was enjoying myself too much out there."

The Irish fullback felt his over-ruled "'try", from Shane Horgan's first gather and offload of a Hodgson crosskick, seemed like a legitimate score to him. "I made a few mistakes and there are always areas of my game I'd like to tidy up, but it was encouraging and I was reasonably happy with my performance."

As regards the scrummaging difficulties, Jenkins pointed out there was a difference in New Zealand in the interpretation of "the hit" and "the set". He also pointed out that Taranaki did little off their own scrum, but that although the "pack would be disappointed with a couple of the scrums" the Lions' scrum would improve as the tour progressed.

While the concession of a late try was "a sore point", it had been a good night for midweek defensive coach Mike Ford. "I think our defence in the first half kept us in the game . . . I got a big grumpy at half-time over the try we let in. I felt it was a soft try, but the boys responded magnificently and I am pleased," said Ford.