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Former British and Irish Lions full back Lee Byrne says he just can’t see any way that the men in red can emerge from the forthcoming tour to New Zealand with a series win under their belt.
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The 36-year-old, who started the first test defeat to South Africa in 2009, thinks his former coach Warren Gatland has picked a strong squad that could win a series anywhere else in the world but that the All Blacks will have too much and the tour schedule and quality of provincial sides may also take its toll.
“It’s a very good squad and I’d say they’d have a very good chance anywhere else in the world but it’s a difficult task playing New Zealand in their own back yard and I can’t see them beating the All Blacks unfortunately,” he told Rugby Pass.
“Gatland wanted a hard tour but each game is going to be like a test match, so it is going to be tough. It’s not going to be like going to South Africa or Australia where there might be a bit of a soft underbelly with the midweek teams. Every game is going to be like a test match.”
The Lions haven’t beaten New Zealand in a test series for over 45 years since 1971 and have won just six of the 38 tests they have played against them in total, sobering statistics that suggest Byrne is not just being overly pessimistic.
And, if they are to be competitive, he is clear about what kind of tactics they will employ.
“There’s only one way the Lions can beat New Zealand and that’s up front. There’s no point playing open rugby against New Zealand because their game is far quicker than Northern Hemisphere rugby and in terms of speed and intensity we are not used to playing at that level,” he said.
“There is no way we can match them for speed, turnovers and the way they can get from one end of the field to the other and score tries, so we have got to take them on up front.”
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The man wearing his old number 15 jersey may not see much of the ball if Byrne is correct in his predictions but he firmly believes Liam Williams should be the man given the job of being the last line of defence against the All Blacks in the coming weeks.
“I’d go for Liam Williams at full back. I think that’s his best position, he plays his best rugby there and never lets anyone down. For me, he’s an out-and-out 15 but he’s versatile and coaches like that. If I was him, I’d like to play at full back but he has shown that he can play wing or full back.” he said.
“If you are looking at goal-kicking, then you’d go for Leigh Halfpenny and he offers solidity as well but Liam Williams and Stuart Hogg offer the flair.”
And, Byrne is also tipping Ben Te’o, who has just one test start for England to his name, to play a starring role in the series.
“Another long shot for the test side would be Ben Te’o in the centres because he’s played over there in the Southern Hemisphere, knows what it’s about and is big and tough. It is just a question of whether he has enough international experience.
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“He looks very good though and I think he could be one of the stars of the tour given the chance.”
The Lions face the New Zealand Barbarians in Whangarei on Saturday before going on to play the Blues (June 7), Crusaders (June 10), Highlanders (June 13), New Zealand Maori (June 17) and Chiefs (June 20) ahead of the first of three tests against the All Blacks on June 24.
Lee Byrne took part in the Fiat Fullback Challenge. For more information on the new Fiat Fullback Pick-up visit: https://www.fiatprofessional.co.uk/uk/Models/fullback-pick-up. To view the full video click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES9B07PRmsc.
Comments on RugbyPass
It will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
1 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to comments