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Awesome All Blacks’ warning for Lions
ONCE his rampant All Blacks had delivered an ominous warning to the Lions about what awaits them at Eden Park next Saturday, Steve Hansen seized another prime opportunity to goad the tourists.
In their first Test for seven months, New Zealand prepared for a three-match series against Warren Gatland’s British and Irish squad by blowing away the cobwebs and thrashing hapless Samoa.
Hansen, New Zealand’s head coach, called it a ‘pretty good start’ — an understated way to describe a 12-try demonstration of attacking brilliance.
Still, he was right to cast doubt on the significance of the result, as the Lions will present a far more intense challenge in Auckland in seven days.
He even tried his hand at diplomacy, by saying: ‘This team has to be way better in everything we do if we want to compete against the Lions.’
But it did not last. Hansen could not resist tossing a few more verbal grenades, adding yet more spice to the build-up to the series.
Asked if he expected to see anything different from the Lions in their tour match against the Maori in Rotorua today, Hansen said: ‘Well, he (Gatland) keeps telling us he’s got something up his sleeve other than his arm, but we’ll wait and see. He’s starting to run out of time.
‘We’re finished for the weekend. We’ve got no injuries and now we can get really excited about what is ahead, which is the Lions.
‘They are playing against a Maori side who will throw the kitchen sink at them. Then all the banter is out of the way and we are into it. I can’t wait.’
There was more. When questioned about what it would mean if the Lions lost Saracens centre Owen Farrell, who is struggling with a leg injury, Hansen added: ‘He would be a massive loss. Farrell is a worldclass player, right up there. We were thinking he would be playing at 12.’
The previous day, Hansen had spoken about the Lions’ plans to call in reinforcements. Now that the squad number is due to temporarily rise to 47, he suggested it was a ‘smart play’ by Gatland.
But there was another sly dig as he said, in reference to the Lions’ 45-man squad in 2005: ‘He’s brought over as many as Clive Woodward brought over now. He was probably proven right, so they should have been brought at the beginning.’
Despite the emphatic nature of this Kiwi victory and the Lions’ stop- start campaign so far, the All Blacks are still braced for a monumental collision next Saturday.
Sonny Bill Williams, who marked his first Test appearance since the 2015 World Cup final with a try, said: ‘We have to understand that it is a different beast coming.
‘It would be easy for us to see their past performances and think we are just going to roll them, but come next week it is just going to be another level.’
Samoa captain Kahn Fotuali’i was asked what the Lions must do to compete with this supreme New Zealand side and he said: ‘Defend well. If you turn the ball over, they will capitalise on it. The Lions have got a tough job ahead.’
The All Blacks scored 12 tries and by the end were in full Harlem Globetrotters mode.
Their skills are breathtaking to behold — although that view may not be shared by those who were watching at Lions HQ in Rotorua.