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Lions 2017: The strengths and weaknesses of Gatland and Hansen
It is almost time for one of the highlights of the rugby union calendar: another British and Irish Lions tour.
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The Lions venture to New Zealand this year and will take on the two-time reigning world champions in three Tests in their own back yard.
The Lions have not returned victorious from a tour against the All Blacks since 1971, losing their last four – the most recent of which was a 3-0 whitewash in 2005.
In Warren Gatland, the Lions possess a coach who has already guided them to victory once previously and has knowledge of New Zealand having been born and raised there.
His counterpart Steve Hansen has taken the All Blacks into the most successful era in their history and the clash of wits between them promises to be just as intriguing as the on-field battle.
Here, we assess each coach’s areas of strength and weakness.
Make sure you save the dates for the 2017 Tour! https://t.co/ruY18iHnJe #allforone pic.twitter.com/lGXkY4H0Zp
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) May 26, 2017
Strengths
The clearest positive for Gatland is that he already has experience of leading the Lions on a victorious tour.
The 53-year-old was in charge for the 2013 trip to Australia that ended in a 2-1 series triumph, engineering an emphatic 41-16 third-Test win in Sydney. Furthermore, he has coached Wales for the last 10 years and will have accumulated a wealth of knowledge about the players he has picked.
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Gatland is also a New Zealand native and has worked at Waikato and Chiefs, so he understands the very essence of what makes the All Blacks such a formidable side. However, he will no doubt call upon the experience of the eight Ireland players in the set-up who took part in the 40-29 win over Hansen’s side in Chicago that ended their record run of 18 straight Test victories in November.
Weaknesses
Gatland’s last experience of a tour to New Zealand was not a good one. His Wales side suffered three resounding defeats at the hands of the All Blacks last year as well as a 40-7 thumping from Super Rugby side Chiefs, albeit with a heavily rotated side. The closest margin in any match was 14 points when they went down 36-22 in the second Test in Wellington, while a 46-6 thrashing in Dunedin completed the whitewash.
Gatland has also been faced with criticism over a perceived Welsh bias in his selections. He came under fire when he dropped Brian O’Driscoll for Jamie Roberts and an all-Wales centre pairing in the final match in 2013. However, that decision was vindicated as the Lions romped to victory.
"Everyone will get an opportunity…"
Every player starts with a chance of making the Test XV, says Warren Gatland: https://t.co/ro75ASSBUr pic.twitter.com/Dd4QTiD8Tf
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) April 19, 2017
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Hansen has been part of the All Blacks set-up since 2004, when he was drafted in as an assistant to Graham Henry. Their partnership culminated in glory at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and Hansen repeated the feat in England four years later when he took full control, making New Zealand the first nation to successfully defend the Webb Ellis Cup.
He has since guided the team through a hugely successful transition after the retirements of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Keven Mealamu and Conrad Smith – the highlight being an 18-Test winning streak that included the 2016 Rugby Championship title. Although the run ended with that defeat to Ireland in November, the All Blacks bounced straight back with victories over Italy and France, either side of gaining revenge over Joe Schmidt’s side.
He has an incredible wealth of talent at his disposal, including arguably the world’s best fly-half in Beauden Barrett, and has knowledge of the northern hemisphere from a stint in charge of Wales between 2002 and 2004.
Weaknesses
While his team will be gearing up for what promises to be a blockbuster series, Hansen has made it clear that he is already contemplating winding down his career. The 58-year-old said this week he does not envision himself remaining in charge beyond the 2019 World Cup in Japan, though he admitted he is not 100 per cent committed to that decision. Could the uncertainty unsettle the usually unflappable All Blacks?
His side will also come up against Rory Best, the hooker who skippered Ireland to the famous victory in Chicago. With Best able to share his thoughts on how to overpower New Zealand’s forwards, Hansen will need to get the most out of his pack to stop his side coming under unfamiliar pressure from the Lions.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says @lionsofficial squad to tour NZ could be one of the best ever.
READ: https://t.co/tQTdOoiuRi pic.twitter.com/H7O6mnJQxZ
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) March 13, 2017
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
60 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
60 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
60 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
60 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
60 Go to comments