Lions may struggle to gel, says All Blacks flanker
Lions stake all on tests
Condense the raft of challenges facing the British and Irish Lions and consensus is their greatest will be gelling as one cohesive unit throughout their torrid New Zealand tour.
The Lions must shake-off jet lag and come together ahead of Saturday’s opening hit-out against the provincial Barbarians in Whangarei – a game the tourists are not just expected to win but win well.
After the Barbarians the pressure ramps up with the Lions taking on the Blues next Wednesday, followed by the Crusaders, Highlanders, New Zealand Maori and Chiefs before the all-important first test at Eden Park on June 24.
If there is one theme, one major advantage, the All Blacks will feel they have over the Lions from the outset it is their greater depth of knowledge of each other and understanding of the way they want to play the game. No team comes together overnight.
The Lions’ preparation is perhaps best summed up by the fact eight players, including Conor Murray, CJ Stander, James Haskell, Jonathan Davies and Leigh Halfpenny, only joined the 41-man touring squad one day prior to departure.
The All Blacks, meanwhile, have held regular leadership group meetings throughout this year.
They are meticulous planners; boast a successful collective history which in turn creates a body of established trust that they can work themselves out of any situation.
‘‘Hopefully it’s a strength for us,’’ All Blacks flanker Sam Cane said.
The Lions, by and large, start from scratch. They also have to juggle venturing from Whangarei to Queenstown, ticking off regular public engagements and mid-week games along the way, while the All Blacks will set up camp in Auckland and Wellington.
‘‘It’s always a challenge when you first come back in from your Super Rugby teams where you are comfortable,’’ Cane said. ‘‘It’s important we come in and bond as quickly as possibly, but the Lions will have a big challenge on their hands because they’ve got squads playing at different times of the week so they’ll be at different stages of training, recovery and preparation. That’s something . . . I’m sure they’ll put plenty of planning into that.’’ If the British and Irish Lions win all the tests, and drop every other game you’ll hear no roars of distress from their captain Sam Warburton.
In his first press conference in New Zealand after arriving in Auckland yesterday, Warburton was blunt about his side’s approach.
‘‘Just go out and win, I don’t care how we win,’’ he said.
‘‘If we won every game 3-0, I’d bite your arm off, so it’s all about winning at this level – obviously it’s nice from a spectator’s point of view, fans . . . to have a great spectacle . . . but I’ll take a win all day long.’’
But if losses came in the provincial games, and wins in the test, that’s just fine with the leader of the pack.
‘‘One hundred percent yes. It is important you win [games outside the tests] and you do get a good feeling in the camp when you win games, but realistically these next three-four weeks, are going to be big learning weeks for us.’’
Warburton said he was itching to get started.
‘‘It’s nice to finally be here, it’s been a lot of talking from the start of the season, really,’’ Warburton said.
He was looking forward to getting the first game under the belt on Saturday and ‘‘crack on’’.
Traditionally, the All Blacks are rusty in their first June test of the year but a collision with Samoa one week prior should allow them to be much more in tune, and well ready for the Lions.