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Lions boss Warren Gatland has highlighted the three things that most pleased him about his team’s 56-14 over the Sigma Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday in the first match of their 2021 tour in South Africa. The Lions has flown to the southern hemisphere having had a costly hit-out versus Japan in Murrayfield where they lost tour skipper Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
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That pre-departure match in Scotland last Saturday was won 28-10, the Lions starting well but losing their way in the remaining 50 minutes. However, they were way more effective in their opening run in South Africa, leading 14-0 after just seven minutes and going on to score a total of eight tries – four of them for Josh Adams – en route to a comfortably 42-point winning margin.
Asked what pleased him most about the effort, Gatland said: “I thought the guy on the left wing did okay today. Pleased with the bench. I thought the bench brought some energy.
“Probably for us we went in there with a game plan, we had to adjust the way that we wanted to play because we were getting a bit more success in terms of they probably didn’t pressure us as much from a blitz defence as we had expected, so we were able to change the way we played so that was a pretty good reaction.
“I was just really pleased, the energy out there and the enthusiasm, the guys working hard to get back when they [Sigma] make a few breaks, we made a couple of mistakes. They were hard to get the ball off because there was a lot of one-pass, two-pass rugby, so that was quite hard when we did turn it over that they were playing lots of phases against us but I thought a really positive start.
PLAYER RATINGS: How we rated the Lions' performance after the side laid down a significant marker in Jo'burg #LionsRugby #LIOvBIL https://t.co/HwcSwVDIgY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 3, 2021
“We have been getting better and better as a squad the more time we spent together. We made 14 changes. We have put down a bit of a marker but we know as a group that we won’t be 100 per cent satisfied, still lots of improvements but we feel like we can get there and make lots of improvements too.”
With the non-matchday 23 having all trained hard on Saturday morning bar Robbie Henshaw, who is nursing what Gatland described as a minor hamstring issue, the Lions plan to give the squad a day off on Sunday in order to get everyone working on the same training cycle.
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MATCH REPORT: The Lions are up and running on SA soil. #LionsRugby https://t.co/ic6YyXTmL9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 3, 2021
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