2017 Still looking for that giant leap forward
THIS was a damaging defeat, but it is unlikely to tell Warren Gatland much that he did not know already.
His Lions are undercooked for a tour of the most unforgiving rugby nation on earth, and the small improvements they made from the patchy opener are far short of the giant leap required.
The Blues, remember, are the worst of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises – even if they do feature the mercurial genius of Sonny Bill Williams, the match-winner here at a rainsoaked Eden Park, where the Lions must return in just 15 days for the first Test.
The tourists began well but butchered several tryscoring opportunities, lost their way despite the scrum giving them an excellent platform and continually interrupted their own momentum with ill discipline.
Some furthered their case for Test selection – among them Courtney Lawes, Leigh Halfpenny, CJ Stander and, most notably, Rhys Webb. And despite the setback, the Wales scrum-half remains resolutely glass half-full.
“We’re kicking ourselves, but there’s no reason to get our heads down. We’re going to stay positive and look forward to the next challenge,” he said.
“It is one that got away. We played some decent rugby at times but our accuracy and decision-making cost us and if you give a team like the Blues chances, they take them. Our discipline was poor and we’ve Duffie in the air. Two more penalties from Halfpenny looked to have sealed a win for the Lions but another trademark offload from Williams allowed Ihaia West to scorch over for the match-winning try. A pessimist would say the Lions are already without hope. If they are even to challenge Steve Hansen’s side, they must shut down their midfield power. They did not manage it here. Webb said: “Sonny Bill is a monster – a special athlete and individual. He’s a world-class player. “He’s coming back into some form now and we need to stop him. Our defence has got to be strong BLUE HEAVEN: Ioane goes over for his early try and we need to track his offloads. Maybe we need to put three or four men on him!”
Williams’ display was all the more remarkable given the devout Muslim is fasting 10 hours a day to observe Ramadan.
Things do not get any easier, with the Crusaders, Highlanders, Maori All Blacks and Chiefs all to come before the first Test. Saturday’s opponents in Canterbury top the Super Rugby table and have won all 14 of their games this season.
Dan Biggar and Jared Payne were injured against the Blues but both are likely to be available for the Crusaders, when Gatland will make another raft of changes, with wing George North set to get his first start of the tour at AMI Stadium.