TIME TO STORM THE FORTRESS
Confident Lions can strut into history
THE Lions will go to New Zealand’s Eden Park fortress tomorrow confident they can be the first visiting team to win there for 23 years.
Having named a daring line-up for the series opener against the world champion All Blacks, Warren Gatland radiated positivity after training yesterday.
The tourists’ moment of truth is almost upon them and they are approaching it with a timely strut. They go into the first Test with momentum, confidence and genuine hope. A venue where New Zealand last lost in 1994 — when the game was still amateur — holds no fears for these British and Irish crusaders and the Kiwi in charge.
‘Those sort of records are there to be broken and at some stage it’s going to happen,’ said Gatland. ‘Some people take 100-odd years to break a record (Ireland, in their quest to beat the All Blacks) then they get lucky enough to do it. We have been improving week to week and we are in a good place.’
Gatland’s optimism is on the loose following four tour wins to date, culminating in Tuesday’s demolition of the Chiefs in Hamilton. Everywhere he looks, the man aiming to mastermind only the second Lions series victory of all time against these opponents sees the glass half full.
The tourists can catch their formidable rivals cold in the first clash of the series and Gatland said: ‘They must be feeling that way. They arranged the Samoa game because they feel potentially they’re going to be a bit underdone.’
New Zealand have left out tryscoring phenomenon Julian Savea, and have hurried the return from injury of captain Kieran Read and centre Ryan Crotty. Gatland said: ‘I’m not sure, looking at their bench, that it is as strong as it has been in the past. We were surprised by Crotty being selected at 13 and Savea, who has been a constant for them, being replaced.’
The upbeat mood also reflected a commitment to upbeat tactics, providing the weather allows it. If the thunder in the skies around Auckland has cleared by kick-off, there is scope for lightning bolts of brilliance on the pitch — possibly not just from the home side.
‘I don’t know if it’s going to be enough playing a set-piece orientated game to try to grind them into the ground,’ said Gatland. ‘We’ve got to score some tries.’
The Lions’ selection generated its own controversy, with much being made of the close call at lock, where Welsh veteran Alun Wyn Jones was preferred to emerging English superstar Maro Itoje.
The head coach put it down to the ‘toss of a coin’ and conceded that Jones faces a ‘fight’ to protect his place. There was also emphasis on adding dynamism from the bench to combat the All Blacks’ trademark, last-quarter surge.
The stage is set for an almighty collision between two imposing and accomplished packs. The Lions will hope for scrum parity, at least, and perhaps a slight edge at the lineout. New Zealand are lethal if given space, so the visitors will need aggressive line- speed in defence. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said: ‘I hope we’ve got plans to deal with it, because it’s coming. They’ve had a lot of success with their line-speed and ability to dominate up front.’
If the Lions feel confident and bullish, so do the All Blacks, with very good reason. They do not lose in this city. They haven’t even lost in their own country since 2009. They are a magnificent team, awash with once- in- a- lifetime motivation.
‘You can feel the enthusiasm and the real hunger in the hotel with the players,’ said Hansen. ‘They’re really up for it.’
Among countless intriguing match-ups, one that stands out is the inside centre showdown between ex-rugby league rivals Sonny Bill Williams and Ben Te’o. It is going to be hard-carrying, bighitting, off-loading warfare.
One place inside, Owen Farrell will be hell-bent on shaking Beauden Barrett from his pedestal in a meeting of World and European players of the year.
In every area, the occasion will feature class and high- stakes intensity. Those present and millions watching from afar will know the significance of the outcome — an extension of home rule or a giant stride towards historic glory and rugby immortality.
Hansen is a laid-back character, but he acknowledged that so much hangs on this first Test of three. ‘It’s pretty important for both of us,’ he said. ‘There’s nowhere to hide, is there? It’s advantage to the team that wins the first one.’
Head and heart align in sensing that the advantage will belong to New Zealand, but that conviction has faded over the past fortnight.
There is no inevitability about the result — not now.
The hosts are rightly favourites, but the triumph of the Lions to this point is developing fast and emphatically enough to create doubt and anticipation and even a flicker of local trepidation. They are ready to storm the fortress.