Howley hits out on ‘Warrenball’
I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE TERM MEANS Bristling Lions may take their anger out on the Blues.
British and Irish Lions attack coach Rob Howley slapped down talk of “Warrenball” tactics yesterday as he admitted the tourists were a “work in progress”.
“Warrenball” is the term used to describe head coach Warren Gatland’s preference for powerful, direct running.
This week Gatland – who led the Lions to victory over Australia in 2013 – has bristled at suggestions that he only had one coaching style.
“I don’t know what ‘Warrenball’ means,” Howley said ahead of today’s match against the Blues.
“I haven’t got a clue. We want to bring a southern hemisphere-style rugby chaos to our game. The players are enjoying the speed and intensity in training.
“Our gameplan is in its infancy at the moment, but hopefully you’ll see us improve on that when we play the Blues.”
The Lions, bidding for only their second Test series win over the All Blacks, started their tour slowly with a 13-7 win over the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians on Saturday.
Gatland fired back: “What do you mean by one type of game?” when asked this week if he had only one style – the physical, direct approach favoured by Wales.
England coach Eddie Jones is one high-profile critic of such route-one tactics, commenting before the tour: “You’ll struggle to beat the All Blacks like that.”
Howley said the Lions’ game plan is still evolving, but he insisted he wants his team to play offthe-cuff when needed.
“Our daily programme involves playing 15 on 15. The one thing we need to do is have a framework whereby the players play what’s in front of them,” he said.
“We have to adapt and play what we see. The one thing the players have really enjoyed is rugby chaos, it’s very unstructured.
“We are aware of the pace of the game in the southern hemisphere.
“Clearly our game isn’t fully in place yet, as you saw with the performance at the weekend. We know we need to improve in the next couple of weeks.”
The Lions threw away at least three try-scoring chances in their opening match and must improve if they are to win. – AFP