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The riddle Gatland admits he can't answer despite 4 Lions tours
Having just completed his third Lions tour as head coach and his fourth in total having been a 2009 assistant to Ian McGeechan, you would imagine there is nothing about the famed tourists that Warren Gatland doesn’t have a definitive opinion on but you would be wrong as he is flummoxed about the issue of midweek games during Test match weeks.
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When he was first in charge in 2013 in Australia, Gatland had to pick Test match replacements on the midweek bench in order to make up the numbers and ensure there was sufficient cover available. He was then lambasted in 2017 in New Zealand when he called in the infamous Geography Six to take up the midweek slack and allow the Test 23 to train fully.
South Africa in 2021 saw Gatland go a different way and not have any midweek matches during Test match weeks. This allowed the 17 players who were not involved in the Test match 23 to go especially hard in Tuesday training against those players who had been picked for the weekend games against the Springboks, but it also meant that those surplus players were left without any game to prolong their interest in the tour.
Having tried three different methods, Gatland was at a loss to suggest what is best practice for the Lions and in the wake of their Test series loss to the Springboks, he even pondered if Clive Woodward had the right idea with what he did with his extended squad for the 2005 trip to New Zealand where the Lions effectively toured with A and B teams.
Asked what might be the best thing for the Lions to do on the 2025 excursion to Australia, Gatland was uncertain about which approach to adopt. “It’s something we have talked about and I don’t know what the answer is to this,” he shrugged in the aftermath of Saturday’s agonising 19-16 defeat which gave the Springboks a 2-1 Test series victory.
The 2025 tour to Australia was a post-game topic in Cape Town, Warren Gatland getting asked if he will be available to coach and what needs to change in the build-up for that series to be a success #LionsTour2021 #LionsRugby #BoksvLions #CastleLionsSerieshttps://t.co/SxzaLzPtQ0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 7, 2021
“As you go into a Test match week you want to be able to have the full preparation with that Test side. There has been criticism of us in the past about bringing in players to help protect that Test team in preparation, but it is also hard on those players who are not involved in the Tests, they don’t really have rugby for potentially three or four weeks.
“One of the things about the midweek games is it does keep them involved and keeps them playing rugby and that is a positive. I don’t know the answer to this. Maybe what Clive Woodward did in 2005 in terms of having two separate teams, is that the right model going forward but then do you miss all the stuff in terms of the bonding that goes on and are you devaluing the jersey a little bit by having sort of having an A and B team?
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“A really good discussion to have in the coming years is what is the right format and how does it work? We have tried to bring in players in the past to bolster up that team that is playing in that midweek game before the Tests and everyone is still engaged and involved.
“We have also done it when we haven’t done that and it is quite challenging for the Test 23 because you have guys sitting on the bench on a Tuesday and being involved in a match where normally that would be a tough training day for the Test side in a normal Test week. I haven’t really given you an answer but it’s a really weird debate going forward.”
"Congratulations to South Africa"
– Lions coach Warren Gatland has held his last media briefing as the 2021 tour head coach following his team's 19-16 loss to the Springboks in Cape Town#LionsTour2021 #LionsRugby #BoksvLions #CastleLionsSerieshttps://t.co/2cvdLYlIRi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 7, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments