Neither side walked away with the result they had come from, but it was difficult to find a glum face at Westpac Stadium after the Hurricanes and The British & Irish Lions battle out an epic 31-31 draw in front of more than 38,000 fans.

On a night that a bit of everything on and off the pitch, the reigning Super Rugby champion Hurricanes showed their character  to battle back from 23-7 down at halftime to all but steal the result.

There was something special in the Wellington air long before kick off and when Hurricanes 2017 captain Dane Coles strolled out to the middle to present non playing Lions skipper Sam Warburton with a feathered Maori cloak, or korowai, the scene was truly set.

CAPTION: Hurricanes fans came out in force to support their team. PHOTO: Getty Sport

Both teams played in a way that honoured the Tuia Te Tangata (the name of the korowai) and by night’s end rugby had lived up to the cloak’s literal meaning – The Binding of People.

Thousands of red-clad Lions fans battled the Hurricanes faithful in the stands and on the field an enthralling match unfolded.

French referee Romain Poite did his part, handing out yellow cards to Hurricanes halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Lions lock Iain Henderson to add to the drama.

The Lions enjoyed the better of the first half as they pressed hard on defence and forced the home team into errors.

Wing Tommy Seymour scored from an intercept before outstanding Hurricanes openside Callum Gibbins answered with a close range try as the first half hour past.

CAPTION: Wing Wes Goosen took flight to score his try. PHOTO: Getty Sport

Lions first five Dan Biggar knocked over three penalties to give the Lions a 16-7 buffer before wing George North gave his side an ominous 23-7 lead heading into halftime.

But the Hurricanes weren’t about to roll over and arguably the player of the match, second five Ngani Laumape scored immediately after the restart following a perfect insertion into the back line by wing Julian Savea.

Fullback Jordie Barrett’s reliable boot added the conversion and a penalty and the Hurricanes closed to 23-17 as the crowd began to enter the contest.

Tahuriorangi’s yellow card for a high tackle gave the Lions an opening and they capitalised with a Biggar penalty and a second try to Seymour to lead 31-17 with 20 minutes to play.

No sooner had Tahuriorangi returned, Henderson was departing, sinbinned for tipping Barrett dangerously during a clean out.

CAPTION: Vaea Fifita's try gave hope of a comeback win. PHOTO: Getty Sport

The Hurricanes didn’t miss their cue. Replacement wing Wes Goosen scored then loose forward Vaea Fifita brought the house down with a try 10 minutes from fulltime that tied the scores.

Both teams threw everything at the final stages, but couldn’t quite find the final pass or line break to finish the job and the stalemate remained.

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd thought his side had done enough to win, but was extremely proud of his side’s effort.

"If you looking at that game - four tries to three and of course I'm a complete neutral - two of their three tries were off an intercept and a dropped high ball. When I reflect on that game, I think that the Hurricanes had the better of the game," Boyd said.

Lions coach Warren Gatland said similar and the fans left echoing the respective coaches view depending on the colour of their jerseys.

The record books will say 31-31 and those in attendance will long remember a night that truly saw rugby bind them together for 80 thrilling minutes.

Scorers:

Hurricanes 31 (Callum Gibbins, Ngani Laumape, Wes Goosen, Vaea Fifita tries; Jordie Barrett 3 con, pen). British and Irish Lions 31 (Tommy Seymour 2, George North tries; Ban Biggar 4 pen, 2 con). HT: 7-23.

CAPTION: Westpac Stadium was sold out for the historic match against The British & Irish Lions. PHOTO: Getty Sport