LIONS CAN WIN FIRST TEST IF THEY FOLLOW MY MASTERPLAN
1 BE CONFIDENT
Do not believe the hype. Ignore the criticism. the Lions have every reason to be quietly confident going into this game. they have prepared well and at no time has Warren Gatland lost focus on what this trip is all about. If every player does his job properly and does not get carried away with the occasion, there is no reason why the Lions cannot win the first test.
Gatland’s job, in a short time, has been to quickly identify the style of play he wants to adopt and the in-form squad of 23 that he wants to execute that plan. What strikes me most forcibly is how few selection debates there have been other than the back three when the injury to Stuart Hogg opened everything up. We just need the players to front up and have everyone playing at the top of their game.
the basic template is the gameplan we saw against the Crusaders and the Maori when the Lions pack imposed a vicelike grip on the game. of course, new Zealand will be more potent but the old beliefs are the same. Even the All Blacks can be contained if they are really made to suffer up front and put on the back foot.
What is really interesting, though, is the selection of an attack-minded back three. the Lions have the potential to go wider if need be and to cash in if they can dominate up front. that demonstrates a really positive mindset.
the All Blacks do have exceptional talents and in Beauden Barrett the best fly-half in the world who can make something out of nothing. It was interesting, however, that even he was stifled in a recent Super Rugby game between the Hurricanes and Crusaders, when the latter poured on the forward power and ran the show up front.
the Lions should not fret about their relative lack of tries so far. I would be worried if they were not making line breaks and chances but they are, often in quite difficult, wet conditions. they could have buried the Crusaders and won even more convincingly over the Maori but it will come. A flick of the switch could see the Lions cash in on two or three of these chances. Rugby at this level is about winning and the Lions test team has dispatched with ease the two teams who called themselves the ‘Fourth test’.
2 SPEED PLAY UP
to run around playing sevens, Barbarians-style rugby or ‘chaos’ rugby would be suicidal against these guys, so keep the tempo high at the set-pieces. take the line-outs as quickly and efficiently as possible. Do not spend ages sorting the call out, changing the numbers or asking for a new ball. Play quickly and do not give them time to think.
Equally do not get involved in any unnecessary faffing around setting up the scrum. the Lions have a superior scrum so get into that scrum as soon as possible, do not allow the clock to tick and give the All Blacks vital seconds to rest and regather themselves.
these are two areas of Lions strength and they must maximise their effectiveness, Conversely, these are the two areas where the All Blacks like to be hyper organised and not play off the cuff or be rushed. Do not give the All Blacks time to settle, especially in this first test when I believe they will still be a little ring-rusty.
their big win over Samoa was undoubtedly impressive in terms of handling and creativity but new Zealand’s front five had no sort of workout whatsoever. the Lions need to home in on that and take advantage. they must set as many challenges in the tight and at the restarts as they can, as early in the game as possible.
3 DEFENCE, DEFENCE, DEFENCE
In tHoSE two key Saturday matches against the Crusaders and Maori, the Lions conceded only one try and that was a random effort when George north failed to gather a bobbling ball on a wet surface and Liam Messam stole in.
Apart from that, two of the best back divisions in the world — on paper — scarcely threatened the Lions line and were hugely disappointing. the new Zealand teams allowed the occasion to get the better of them which was very surprising and, from a Lions perspective, very encouraging.
Forward domination was at the heart of that, backed up by stifling, physical, disciplined defence. the defence coach Andy Farrell must take much credit.
Farrell is the one member of the England backroom team from the last World Cup who should have been retained and he continues to do an excellent job for Ireland and the Lions.
there are all sorts of components to good defence but the priority is to believe in what your defence coach is saying. It is essential the players respect him so much that it really hurts when the video analysis takes place on the Monday morning and he points out a few defects in your play. Farrell is held in that high regard.
For great defence, you need line speed, technique in the tackle, courage and, above all else, communication. You need to stay vocal and keep covering for each other. this will be particularly important when Barrett employs those superb, low, cross-field kicks to his wings, forward passes as we called them with England. they are so dangerous.
4 NO EXCUSE MENTALITY
An IMPoRtAnt part of the mental game that needs to be won is to be aware that the Lions are totally in control of their own fate even if at times it might seem otherwise — and this is particularly vital if you are trying to win a test in new Zealand.
In the cold light of day, I have never been involved in a game at any level that we lost because of the referee. At the time you might rant and rave or feel aggrieved but ultimately it serves no purpose — on the pitch at the time or afterwards.
You can always trace it back to a failing of your own, a mistake or a failure to adopt your gameplan and impose yourself on the opposition.
the buck always stops with you so don’t waste any energy complaining about the officials, just adapt to the referees’ interpretation of the laws and move on. Some calls will go against you and, in such a big game, their importance always seems magnified. But it is swings and roundabouts. You win some, you lose some, so do not get flustered by the referee.
5 HANDLING THE HAKA
EquALLY I have never lost a game because of the haka! Many people get in a lather over this and the perceived imposition of having to stand passively while the aggressive challenge is laid down by the All Blacks.
Do not go there, do not get flustered by the haka. observe it with dignity but mainly just concentrate on your job ahead — head in the fridge, body on fire as the saying goes. Line up in your tracksuits to accept the challenge and then take as long as you need to jog to the touchline and strip down to your playing kit ready for action. Have a final team huddle before lining up as well.
I enjoy the haka, it is an iconic spectacle and rugby needs these special moments which help it stand out from other sports. one interesting aspect on this tour is that in some warm-up games it seems to have backfired a little on
Don’t worry about a lack of tries so far... they will come
the home teams, who do not always employ them before a match.
They become over- emotional during the haka and then play like drains for the first 10 minutes. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Both the Crusaders and Maori laid on particularly spectacular hakas but were chaotic in the opening exchanges of their matches against the Lions. The Maori full back James Lowe — a fine player — thumped the ball out on the full with his first touch and the Maori’s early play did not match their passionate haka.
6 DON’T BANK ON THE 16TH MAN
I can never remember winning or losing a match because of the atmosphere generated by the crowd, either supporting us or cheering for the other team. It is wonderful that there will be perhaps 30,000 Lions fans at Eden Park — what a testament to the Lions and the willingness of British and Irish fans to travel in support. The atmosphere will be incredible at what is probably the biggest occasion in rugby outside a World Cup final but the players will — and must — go into their bubble. The Lions will automatically feed off the energy, that is a given, but their job is to block the crowd out and concentrate on the job in hand.