Lions ‘expose’ depth of ABs
consult with TMO Glenn Newman after he awarded the opening fivepointer to Moody.
‘‘Ben, I am comfortable with my decision,’’ Gardner said. ‘‘It was on the line.’’
‘‘You can’t check it?’’ asked Smith. ‘‘I don’t need to,’’ replied the whistler.
Smith had every right to shake his head, because replays were inconclusive.
At least Smith might have felt he had made a point, because when Crusaders No 6 Jordan Taufua looked to have scored from a magnificent lineout drive, Gardner, having initially awarded the try, went to his TMO. And it was disallowed because he couldn’t see a clear grounding.
Then Taylor scored – or that was the way Gardner ruled it – and, again, replays looked inconclusive.
So, it went on. The Highlanders had to make 100 tackles by the 50th minute, as they flung their bodies at anything that wore the opposition’s colours. The Crusaders, assisted by a penalty count that favoured them 8-3, had to execute just 38.
Discipline in such conditions is paramount, and Highlanders coach Tony Brown would have been ropable to see his side reduced to 14 soldiers when No 6 Liam Squire was yellow carded in the opening minutes for a high shot on Crusaders playmaker Mo’unga.
Squire could count himself a touch unfortunate, because his swinging arm bounced off Mo’unga’s upper chest before connecting with his head.
Prop Daniel Lienert-Brown was daft. His late charge into David Havili was inexcusable. Mo’unga missed the penalty shot, spraying water like a golfer hacking out of a small pond, but it set the tone.
The Highlanders continued to be on the back foot. All night long. ENGLAND coach Eddie Jones says the drawn British and Irish Lions series had exposed concerns about the All Blacks’ depth and has backed the Wallabies to turn around their fortunes quickly despite their Super Rugby woes.
For the Lions, Jones believes the recently completed series will be remembered as an opportunity missed.
For the All Blacks, he said it showed deficiencies in depth in specific positions.
‘‘It showed that New Zealand are probably struggling in depth a little bit in some positions, which hasn’t been the case for a long time,’’ Jones said.
Jones has questioned the All Blacks in the past, declaring that England No 10 George Ford could be better than Beauden Barrett as he openly targeted toppling the world champions by the 2019 World Cup.
With 16 of his England players on the Lions tour Jones used England’s two-test away series against Argentina in June to build depth with one eye on the 2019 tournament.
Jones admits he was ‘‘pleasantly’’ surprised by some of the squad during the series, which England won 2-0. He warned beforehand that pressure would be on his players in the Lions squad to hold their spots.
Jones also backed Wallabies coach Michael Cheika to make the Wallabies competitive again despite Australia’s horror Super Rugby campaign, where they lost all 26 games against New Zealand opposition.
‘‘It’s not great when you don’t beat a New Zealand side, but these things can change round quickly,’’ Jones says.
‘‘We have just seen South Africa . . . everyone was talking South Africa, that they are in a doom and gloom situation.
‘‘The Lions and Stormers have come through [in Super Rugby] and the Springboks beat France 3-0 [in June].’’
‘‘Australia is very similar . . . [there are] a lot of good players. It is just about getting them right, getting them mentally right, physically right.
‘‘Cheika will make sure that happens.’’ The Sun-Herald