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New Zealand v British and Irish Lions: Everything you need to know
All eyes will be on fortress Eden Park on Saturday when New Zealand lock horns with the British and Irish Lions in the first Test.
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Following years of planning, months of hype and plenty of trash talk in recent weeks, it will be down to the players to show that actions speak louder than words in Auckland.
The Lions face a monumental task in the three-match series and start at a famous stadium where the world champions have won their last 37 matches and are unbeaten since 1994.
New Zealand have only once lost a series against the Lions, going down 2-1 way back in 1971, and are firm favourites to demonstrate why they are the best team on the planet.
Yet Warren Gatland is optimistic that the tourists can defy the odds in his homeland and believes All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen is worried about the threat that the Lions pose.
Gatland picked Peter O’Mahony over tour captain Sam Warburton as the man to lead the Lions in the opener, while Alun Wyn Jones and Elliott Daly got the nod as the New Zealander left the likes of Maro Itoje, Jonathan Sexton and Leigh Halfpenny on the bench.
Hansen made a bold call of his own by giving Rieko Ioane a first start on the wing at the expense of Julian Savea, who will not feature at all, in what promises to be a gripping opening Test.
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HEAD TO HEAD
New Zealand: 29
British and Irish Lions: 6
Draw: 3
KEY PLAYERS
Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
Barrett has established himself as the best player in the world after replacing the retired Dan Carter. If the outstanding fly-half and Aaron Smith are allowed to pull the strings, the All Blacks will take some containing. So dangerous with ball in hand and lethal with the boot, the Lions must find a way of stopping Barrett from showing his class.
Liam Williams (British and Irish Lions)
Gatland made a big call in selecting Williams ahead of his Wales team-mate Leigh Halfpenny, who has a perfect record from the tee on tour and could have done little more to stake his claim against the Maori All Blacks last weekend. Williams caught the eye in the win over Chiefs, though, and the full-back is capable of producing moments of magic, which could make the difference.
THE LINE-UPS
New Zealand: Ben Smith, Israel Dagg, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Owen Franks, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Sam Cane, Kieran Read (captain).
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British and Irish Lions: Liam Williams, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Davies, Beo Te’o, Elliott Daly, Owen Farrell, Conor Murray; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadhg Furlong, Alun Wyn Jones, George Kruis, Peter O’Mahony (captain), Sean O’Brien, Taulupe Faletau.
PRE-MATCH TALK
Kieran Read (New Zealand captain): “It will probably come down to the simple things done well. Our set-piece is pretty crucial. Most Tests are tight games, and these big occasions when there’s plenty riding on it come down to a few moments, and to the team that essentially wins those tough battles.”
Rob Howley (British and Irish Lions attack coach): “We are hugely looking forward to the challenge, everyone has been waiting for this event, it is a special game, the first in 12 years, with the unbeaten record at Eden Park, that is something we are looking to embrace and hopefully go out and play some rugby. It is just a game of rugby, trust your players to go out and play.”
OPTA STATS
– The Lions have won the opening Test on three of their last five tours, having lost five opening Tests in a row before that.
– New Zealand have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the sides, with the Lions’ only win in that run coming in the second Test in 1993.
– The All Blacks have not lost at home so far this decade, winning 46 in a row on home soil since losing to South Africa in Hamilton in 2009.
– Ben Te’o tops the charts for metres gained (200), clean breaks (9), defenders beaten (14) and offloads (7) on this year’s Lions tour.
– Since losing to France and drawing against South Africa in 1994, New Zealand have since won 37 games in a row at Eden Park. On only five occasions in that run have they failed to win by at least 10 points.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe 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.
8 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.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 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.
61 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.
8 Go to comments