Hooker Ken Owens has new-found appreciation of Lions’ series result

Ken Owens has said the All Blacks’ pummelling of Australia has made him appreciate just how well the Lions did to tie a series in New Zealand.

The Lions, Wales and Scarlets hooker said he now looked on the outcome of the three-Test series with a fresh perspective after the initial disappointment.

New Zealand thrashed the Wallabies 54-34 in Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup encounter, racking up a record 40-6 half time score as they subjected the beleaguered Australians to a try blitz.

“We were disappointed initially,” Owens said.

“As a squad we believed we had the quality to go there and win.

“But I think when you look at what New Zealand have achieved over the last eight to 10 years, being double world champions, I don’t think they had lost at home since 2009, and the strength in depth, the quality of players they’ve got out there.

“When the dust settles, to draw a series against New Zealand in New Zealand, the second best result the Lions have ever had, and seeing how (New Zealand played on Saturday), the score line was closer toward the end of the game as I think there was a drop off from New Zealand towards the end of the game, but they just blew Australia away in the first half – I think it does bring perspective on how good the achievement was during the summer.”

As well as reflecting on the Lions’ exploits Down Under, on Wednesday Owens was looking ahead to the PRO14 season, as the Scarlets try to defend the title they won in thrilling style in May’s 46-22 final victory over Munster.

The captain of the Llanelli-based champions accompanied coach Wayne Pivac to an event in Dublin’s Aviva stadium to mark the launch of the new-look expanded tournament.

Pivac insisted there was more to come from a side lauded for its attacking style last season and said he wanted to repeat Leinster’s achievement and win back-to-back titles.

“We have got a style of play that everybody has bought into,” said the New Zealand-born coach.

“We have had to work very hard to get to the level we are at at the moment yet there’s room for improvement, the boys know that.”

Pivac wants his team to play at a top level for more sustained periods during games.

“We have broken down the final – we didn’t play that well over 80 minutes but we had purple patches and we put them away,” he said.

“So can we evolve our game and get better? Yes we can.

“We can be more disciplined and we can play at higher intensities for longer periods of the game.”