RUGBY CHAOS
Lions coach Howley vows: We’re here to bring you…
ROB Howley claimed he has no idea what ‘ Warrenball’ is and has ordered the Lions to unleash ‘Rugby chaos’ in new Zealand.
Lions coach Warren gatland reacted furiously to the notion that his tactics are onedimensional and overtly physical following claims of predictability from the all Blacks.
But gatland’s assistant Howley has been working on the antidote to ‘Warrenball’ — staging 30- man drills designed to encourage unstructured and off-the-cuff attacking play.
‘This is my third tour now and I’m not too sure what Warrenball means,’ said Howley. ‘Have we been playing that over the last few years? I’m not too sure. I haven’t got a clue what it means.
‘Rugby is dictated by speed of ball and numbers in the defensive line. It’s important we can adapt. One thing the players have enjoyed is what we call rugby chaos — 15 against 15, very unstructured.
‘Sometimes wearing Lions jerseys can bring anxiety. Some of it is down to conditions and also there’s basic unforced errors. Those are the elements we need to improve on. We’ll only improve on them by that rugby chaos — 15 on 15. We were playing an offload drill and it got pretty heated.’
The Lions left themselves open to criticism following Saturday’s limp victory over the Provincial Barbarians.
They scored only one try against a team of nurses, farmers and builders — with no 10 Johnny Sexton facing negative comments.
‘I spoke to Johnny on Sunday and Monday,’ said Howley. ’ It was tough for him but he’s a world class no 10. I suppose the word is inconsistent. Johnny admitted it. There’s an honesty between coaches and players. He’ll bounce back. Don’t underestimate his influence in the 2013 tour.’
Dan Biggar takes over the no 10 jersey for this morning’s game against the Blues and Owen Farrell will start against the crusaders on Saturday.
‘We want to be clinical and relentless,’ said Howley. ‘In not more than a couple of weeks we’re playing against the most ruthless side in world rugby. We have seen some pictures of the all Blacks and understand how they play and we need to work on elements in training.’
While most players have been focusing on improvements in attack, Robbie Henshaw has been preparing to defend against Blues centre Sonny Bill Williams.
‘I was a big fan when I was a kid and coming up against him is pretty surreal,’ said Henshaw. ‘If there’s no one with him, obviously I’ll look to come in and make a double hit to try and stop his offload threat. But you have to look at the guys who are flooding through as well.’