Lions team still a work in progress

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.

Howley said he had no idea what was meant by “Warrenball”, the term used to describe head coach Warren Gatland’s preference for powerful, direct running.

This week Gatland – who has led Wales to three Six Nations titles, and 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 second tour match against the Auckland 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 coaching style – the physical, direct approach favoured by Wales.

England coach Eddie Jones is one critic of such route-one tactics, commenting before the tour: “I think you struggle to beat the All Blacks like that.”

Howley said the Lions’ game plan was still evolving, but he insisted he wanted his team to play off-the-cuff when needed.

“We have to adapt and play what we see. The one thing the players have really enjoyed is rugby chaos. We are all aware of the pace of the game in the southern hemisphere.

“Clearly our game isn’t fully in place yet, as you saw by 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 Howley knows they must improve if they are to beat the Blues.

The tourists, who blamed jetlag for their sluggish opening performance, have since produced an intensity in training which Howley said had taken him by surprise.

Gatland has named an all-new side for the second tour match, captained by Wales hooker Ken Owens.