LIONS’ JOHNNY ON THE SPOT
Sexton must find his form as fears grow over Farrell
THIS was the doomsday scenario the Lions were so desperate to avoid. Before this tour they would have identified Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell as indispensable, but one didn’t even make it to New Zealand and now the other is injured.
They are leading men for Saracens and England who have earned world-class status with consistently influential performances for club and country. They were nominated for the world player of the year award in 2016 and Farrell won the European prize last month.
The younger Vunipola brother was forced to withdraw from this trip with shoulder damage and that news was greeted as a savage blow to the Lions’ prospects here.
The No 8 was regarded as a primary threat to All Black supremacy — and the other in that category is Farrell. He has the full respect of the Kiwi nation as a worthy adversary, but now his participation in the Test series hangs in the balance.
Losing him would be calamitous for the tourists. The 25-year- old has been acclaimed by head coach Warren Gatland as one of the top players in the Northern Hemisphere in the last two years and that is fair comment. Since the last Lions tour in 2013, the warrior goal- kicker has developed a prodigious repertoire. His selection at No 10 in the Test team appeared a formality, given his imperious form.
That is no longer the case. The build- up to the series opener against the world champions at Eden Park a week on Saturday is destined to be punctuated by daily bulletins about the state of Farrell’s strained quad.
He is an ultimate competitor and big- game player. A one- man reassurance that the Lions will fight the good fight against these peerless opponents. If he loses his race for fitness it will leave a gaping void.
Doubts about this English playmaker will mean that it is time for an Irish one to step up. Johnny Sexton has the pedigree, as the man who pulled the strings so impressively when the Lions beat Australia 2-1 four years ago.
Gatland and his assistants will need to see that vintage version of the Leinster fly- half again tomorrow.
For so long in the months leading up to this tour, there was feverish speculation about the prospect of a Sexton-Farrell alliance at 10-12, before a combination of injuries and a loss of confidence cast doubt on the first half of that equation.
Sexton then struggled badly in the tour opener here and was not much better in the loss against the Blues in Auckland last week. However, the 31-yearold showed heartening signs of a revival in the victory over the Cru- saders six days ago — intriguingly, when operating in tandem with Farrell.
Gatland said yesterday Sexton has his ‘mojo’ back and it will help that, against the Maori All Blacks tomorrow, he will resume his Ireland half-back partnership with Conor Murray. That canny double-act plotted the All Blacks’ downfall in Chicago last autumn.
Amid the uncertainty about Farrell, it helps that the Lions have Dan Biggar as a third No 10 in good form after he performed well in defeat by the Highlanders on Tuesday. The fact that he is on stand-by to act as a bench reserve, along with Ospreys side- kick Rhys Webb, provides the tourists with the safety net of another established partnership.
Away from the No 10 turmoil, the side named by Gatland to face the Maori has the look of a likely Test line-up. Tour captain Sam Warburton is playing catch-up in the cut-throat tussle for back-row places, with tomorrow’s captain Peter O’Mahony and Ireland team- mate Sean O’Brien the current favourites to occupy the flanker places. However, a good show off the bench by Warburton may yet prompt a late debate.
Further forward, the front five could all start against New Zealand, although Ken Owens and Alun Wyn Jones may yet put pressure on Jamie George and either Maro Itoje or George Kruis. With Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies auditioning together to confirm their selection as the Lions’ Test midfield pair, the other major focus is on the back three.
This has been a problem area. Few of the candidates have made strong cases for Test inclusion. Anthony Watson ran amok from full back after coming off the bench early in Christchurch, but betrayed a lack of confidence when shunning a one- on- one scoring chance.
He will start on the wing tomorrow and he and George North must provide a greater aerial presence, to make the most of clever kicking.
Another man under scrutiny is Leigh Halfpenny. If Farrell is ruled out of the series opener, the Welsh full back will surely assume the goal- kicking duties, but the coaches want more than that — as Gatland made clear.
‘ We know how strong he is defensively, with his positioning and his kicking, but it’s the attacking threat we’re looking for on Saturday,’ said the head coach.
The stakes are high against a strong Maori team with several All Blacks, including wings Nehe Milner-Skudder and Rieko Ioane. The Lions need players to hit their stride, combinations to click and selection confusion to be dispersed. But they also need to win.
After the midweek team’s loss in Dunedin, the result really matters too. But they would probably take another defeat in exchange for a fit Farrell by June 24.