RUGBY: First of three “World Cup finals” begins as British and Irish Lions battle the All Blacks

AUCKLAND - Most great sports events come around once each year; others, like the Olympics and World Cup, a bit less often.

But those who enjoy one of the classic rugby match-ups must wait 12 years. Good news: This is the year. The British and Irish Lions face off against New Zealand beginning Saturday (June 23).

The Lions were first formed in 1888, a superteam consisting of the best players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Every few years, the team would take the long journey to the Southern Hemisphere to take on Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

In the current rotation, they make one of these stops every four years. And the most important is the trip to play mighty New Zealand.

The All Blacks, as they are known, are the top-ranked team in the world and won the last two World Cups. The team to face the Lions could include fly half Beauden Barrett, perhaps the world’s best player, two other Barrett brothers, and the legendary Sonny Bill Williams, who has played every type of rugby and won a professional boxing championship.

With four nations to choose from, the Lions always send out a strong side. But their results are not always spectacular.

As a touring team, they play all of their key matches away from home. Players also have a relatively short window to get used to new teammates, who are not only from different clubs but also different countries. The Lions have won only three of their last 10 tours.

Because of the rarity of the Lions tour, streaks become outsized. The Lions have lost four straight Test series to New Zealand, most recently in 2005.

Not too bad? But that means they haven’t won in New Zealand since 1971.

There were high hopes for the Lions this year, after a win in Australia the last time the team was put together, in 2013.

They have shaken off a slow start to their tour to develop into a formidable force, but now face the task of handing the world champions their first defeat at Auckland’s Eden Park in 23 years.

When the Lions last visited in 2005, New Zealand ‘blackwashed’ the series 3-0, continuing a run that has seen them win 29 of 38 Tests dating back to 1904.

The latest edition will be a classic clash of northern and southern hemisphere styles, contrasting game plans, and different rule interpretations under South African referee Jaco Peyper.

The tactics will be intriguing, with England lock George Kruis saying the Lions will “try anything” to gain an advantage, including screaming in the lineouts to upset the All Blacks.

“You’ve got to put pressure on players somehow and that’s one way of putting pressure on them,” he said.

The All Blacks are confident their speed and sleight-of-hand offloads will get them through the close-marking Lions defence.

The Lions are about power, kick and chase and as their tour has rumbled on, a shadow Test team, formed for game three when they beat the Canterbury Crusaders, have developed into a class unit.

It is a Test that will be intensely physical at the breakdown and it remains unpredictable whether the All Blacks’ attacking flair, or the Lions’ grunt, will prevail.

“They’ve selected a side that’s capable of playing a different type of game than we play and that itself is intriguing and going to be interesting to see the result once it’s been played out,” said New Zealand coach Steve Hansen.

From the Lions squad that beat the Crusaders, 19 of the 23 remain for the Test including 13 of the run-on side.

Along they way they have fine-tuned a powerful scrum and lineout, and defensive line speed that stifled both the free-scoring Crusaders and Maori All Blacks, conceding only one try. In Conor Murray, they have a kicking scrum-half who can land the ball on a sixpence.

But Lions coach Warren Gatland has also indicated he is open to instinctive play, highlighted by the selection of the attacking Liam Williams, Elliot Daly and Anthony Watson as his back three.

“To play the All Blacks you have to be bold, you have to take risks,” Gatland said.

“Yes, we play to a structure as every team plays to a structure but (it’s about) having the confidence and ability to bring an offloading game in when it’s appropriate and we’ve been trying to do that - not always effectively, but we think we’ve seen some development.”

The Lions stand at 4-1 odds to win the first Test on Saturday and 6-1 to win the three-Test series.

Hansen will be going all out to ensure that the All Blacks emerge triumphant, even describing the series as a ‘World Cup final’.

“It’s right up there,” he said, when asked to compare the Lions tour to winning the 2015 World Cup final.

“The World Cup’s a knockout tournament and the difference with the Lions is you get three (Tests). So if you stuff the first one up, you get another one. And it’s the same for both teams. It’s exciting.” AGENCIES

LIVE ON TV: The game will be shown on StarHub Ch217 on Saturday (June 24) at 3.30pm