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Lions have to be close to perfection to down All Blacks - Greenwood

The British and Irish Lions celebrate in 2017

The British and Irish Lions will have to put in performances that are “close to perfection” in order to beat New Zealand, but the outcome of the first Test is not necessarily decisive in winning the series says Will Greenwood.

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The Lions routed the Chiefs 34-6 on Tuesday in their final warm-up game, which built on the momentum from the 32-10 beating of the Maori All Blacks.

Facing the All Blacks is an altogether different task, though, and two of the three Tests take place at Eden Park – a venue where New Zealand have not lost since 1994.

Many have highlighted Saturday’s contest as crucial to the Lions’ hopes in the series, with England coach Eddie Jones among them.

Greenwood, who toured three times with the Lions, does not necessarily believe that is the case but was at pains to stress that the strength of New Zealand’s squad means Warren Gatland’s side have to build towards perfection over the coming weeks.

“[The Lions] did it in 1989 – lost the first Test and won the next two. Everyone’s got a theory on it, you’ve just got to get to two,” Greenwood, speaking courtesy of Land Rover, a Principal Partner of The British and Irish Lions Tour, told Omnisport.

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“Look, there two Tests at Eden Park. They’ve lost twice there in 30 years, they are the number-one ranked team in the world, they’ve got a ridiculously deep squad. 

“It’s going to take probably close to perfection but as [Vince] Lombardi said: ‘You don’t ever get perfection on sports field, if you chase it you get excellent’. So if they get close to perfection they’ve got a chance.

“They’ve got some great components. We’ve seen in the games so far that if you can put together a sort of composite 80 minutes from the four games, they’ll be unbelievably competitive. 

“And that’s the challenge of the tour, building, building, building so by the time you get to the Test matches, you’ll never get an 80-minute performance, but once you get to Auckland can you get 65, 70 and that gives you a chance of winning.”

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Greenwood added that the team should not be judged purely on the result of the series and hailed the special atmosphere that comes with touring with the Lions.

“Look away from all the speculation about wins and losses, I can say as an old duffer, you don’t have to win a series to have a great Lions tour,” he said. 

“I know you are judged by winning or losing, but there is something special, something a little bit different about making great friends for life, with people who you’ve been at loggerheads with for four years. 

“And then you sort of have a four-, five-week window and you become best pals. It’s a really special environment to be in.”

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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