In 2017, Hansen led the All Blacks into their first test series against the British & Irish Lions since 2005, when Hansen was assistant to Graham Henry. Ahead of the series, he led his side to a convincing 78–0 victory over Samoa in a warm-up in Auckland. The test series against the Lions was highly anticipated in New Zealand, was and expectation of a 3–0 series win for the All Blacks. This expectation looked promising in the first test, where New Zealand ran out 30–15 victors. However, the series was drawn in the second test, with a first home loss for New Zealand since 2009, Hansen's first taste of a loss at home. Center Sonny Bill Williams was shown a red card 24 minutes into the game, giving the Lions the advantage for the rest of the games, an advantage taken to see the Lions win 24–21. The All Blacks had failed to score any tries in the game, something they had not done at home since 2002. The final test saw a controversial call from referee Romain Poite just minutes from full-time, a call that could have seen the All Blacks opt for a penalty kick to see the game as a winners. However, a scrum was called for an accidental offside, and the game ended 15–15, the first drawn test between the two sides.