Lions' pre-season is over
The Lions victory in the opening match of their tour was hardly convincing. But it’s too early to write them off, writes James Harrington
In performance terms, the Lions’ opening match at Whangarei could be tried in a UK court for treason. A quick glance at reports from New Zealand suggests a strong argument could be made that it gave succour to the enemy.
The best anyone could say about the Lions is that they played like a random selection of blokes who had first met about four days previously and had recently dragged their sorry, knackered asses off a 27-hour flight from London.
They lacked … well … much of what a professional team needs to play a game of rugby. There’s no wonder a smattering of tour obituaries have already been published. The fact that some have tempered their vitriol for the moment is down to one fact alone: the Lions won. Just. Never mind that their victory was about as convincing as Donald Trump’s presidency. They won.
There were a few positives. Taulupe Faletau, Ben Te’o and Kyle Sinckler all had decent starts in a team for whom the term ‘misfiring’ would have been a step up.
Their ‘D’, as skipper Sam Warburton noted immediately after the match, stood up to the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians. Coach Warren Gatland also pointed out that they crossed their semi-pro opponents’ line four more times than the scoreline suggests. They merely lacked the ability to put the ball down on the grass in the in-goal area.
There were more rather more negatives. The Lions played like zombies. Jonny Sexton had a nightmare. Iain Henderson horlicksed the start. Stuart Hogg butchered a two-on-one. Greig Laidlaw missed a gap so large it had developed mass. And that was just the first half. Anthony Watson’s try and some impact off the bench apart, the second period was not much better.
The inconvenient truth is that the result was almost the exact opposite of the marker the Lions hoped – were expected – to put down against a scratch team pulled together from New Zealand’s ITM Cup competition.
It was not the performance of a professional touring side. And that’s a problem right there.
[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1473306980″]
The Lions, like the Barbarians, are a wormhole to rugby’s romantic remembrance of its amateur past. Unlike the Barbarians, however, they are actually expected to win some games, if not necessarily Test series.
Twelve years ago, some eight years after professionalism engulfed rugby, Clive Woodward tried to create the first fully professional Lions tour. And we all know what happened then. Even the man himself has, belatedly, admitted things weren’t Quite Right.
The 2017 Lions have even less time than Woodward’s Lions. They set off on tour less than 48 hours after two domestic seasons ended – and landed, 27 hours later, less than 80 hours before the first tour match against the New Zealand Barbarians kicked off.
Late-season club commitments meant there were only 14 players at Warren Gatland’s first training camp in Wales; 30 a week later in Ireland; and the total squad of 41 were together only twice before gathering at Heathrow for the flight – the ‘Messy Monday’ kitting out session and the get-together for the sponsor-required farewell dinner the day before take-off.
The matchday 23 for the weekend’s tour opener virtually picked itself from the players who were available to Gatland for about as long as the Provincial Barbarians squad, and who had rather more commitments than their opponents.
Ian Jones is right. In an interview with the BBC, he said jetlag is an excuse once. Players, management and staff knew what they were getting into, and accepted they could deal with it. The Lions have insisted they will be better for the first midweek match of the tour against the Blues. They’ll have to be.
You should expect to see, then, more accuracy, better communication between players, a functioning scrum. What you won’t see is an expansive gameplan. That’s not the Lions’ way. It can’t be.
The best Gatland can do is keep his gameplan simple. The playbook for the 2005 tour was, by all accounts, a monster. It was impossible to comprehend, let alone learn. The players need to be perfectly drilled and absolutely clear about a few key principles.
The coach’s only challenge is bringing players together. They don’t need to know the far end of a fart about which way to go if the 12 runs a certain line when the scrum-half picks the ball from the back of a scrum and the fullback’s dancing a jig on the 10m line.
They do need to know how to work together. Most importantly, they need to be excited about playing for the Lions.
If Gatland gets that right, this tour is not quite as over as many may believe. Pre-season, however, is over.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar 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.
9 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.
35 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.
2 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
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 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
35 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.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments