The reason why the All Blacks received their first red-card in 50 YEARS!

Sonny Bill Williams made history for the wrong reasons tonight when he became the first All Black to be sent off in a test for 50 years, and the first ever in a British and Irish Lions test.

The man who some have described as the sexiest man on the pitch last night made the unsexiest move of the night that saw him become the first All Black to receive a red card in almost 50 years! Williams was shown a red card by referee Jerome Garces in the 25th minute after connecting with his shoulder to the head of Lions wing Anthony Watson, who left the field for a head injury assessment but returned.

Williams will now face the judiciary at 5.00pm on Sunday.

Blindside flanker Jerome Kaino was the unlucky All Black. He had to leave the field along with Williams to allow midfielder Ngani Laumape to come on for his test debut, the All Black scrum doing remarkably well with Anton Lienert-Brown performing Kaino's role on the side.

All of which meant the All Blacks were severely disadvantaged for 55 minutes and looked extremely tired in the final minutes - a time when their superior fitness usually means they have an advantage. They couldn't play a width game in the constant rain, and without the ball carrying ability of Williams, they tired themselves to near exhaustion against the red brick wall in front of them.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.