LIONS HAVE TO GO FOR BROKE
Pack must front up for vital second Test ...and superstar Itoje is waiting for the call
JONATHAN DAVIES did not look like someone who had just been involved in what Steve Hansen hailed as ‘one of the best Test tries I’ve ever seen’. The Welsh centre was a picture of dejection.
He has known glory with the Lions and this was pure agony, barely alleviated by the long-range magic trick just before half-time at Eden Park which earned such a profound tribute from the All Blacks head coach.
It was a masterpiece made in Llanelli; Liam Williams’s daring break from his own 22, Davies providing the link and taking Elliot Daly’s return pass before sending Sean O’Brien over the line to bring the house down.
From start to finish, it was a dazzling demonstration of accuracy and ruthless precision. Sadly for the Lions, it was a mesmerising one-off. On the whole, they couldn’t finish what they started and that, along with the emphatic loss of the physical contest against a fired-up Kiwi pack, was the reason why they are now in New Zealand’s capital city facing a win- or-bust scenario in the second Test.
Davies appeared haunted by what had taken place as he said: ‘It was a great try, but we probably left three more out there and that is the most disappointing thing. We created chances, but we didn’t finish them. We need to be more clinical against the best team in the world.’
On a personal level, Davies was in an exclusive club, as a Lion who upstaged his opposite number. Perhaps only Williams and Jamie George could be included in that exalted category, with Ben Te’o and Mako Vunipola achieving head-to-head parity. The Scarlet at No 13 for the visitors outshone Ryan Crotty, carving open the All Black defence from as early as the second minute.
That was when the first costly missed opportunity occurred. Davies blazed through in midfield and released Conor Murray on a diagonal run to the line, but when Owen Farrell’s flat pass reached Daly, he twisted around Israel Dagg but couldn’t free his arms in the tackle to touch down.
It was a half chance, but the Lions needed to take it — and every other opportunity that came their way. In the 29th minute, Daly burst clear out wide, but was unable to pass inside to Williams or Davies, who were in space with a clear run-in ahead of them. These were the fine-print details which were ultimately decisive in a match that was still in the balance with 25 minutes to go.
After the break, when the Lions were rampant, Te’o — who was largely magnificent in attack and defence — ignored an overlap on the right and another vital chance was missed. On more than one occasion, Warren Gatland’s forwards were primed to unleash lineout drives from close range, but were disrupted and denied.
The inescapable truth was that the British and Irish side were outmuscled and outplayed. There was a gulf in the execution of skills and decision-making under pressure.
New Zealand’s big carriers had the clout to bust tackles and cross the gainline, but also the dexterity and awareness to release men in support. In contrast, too many isolated Lions were tackled and conceded turnovers.
SATURDAY night was when the shattering loss of Billy Vunipola from the touring party came home to roost. What Gatland would have given for the England No 8’s ability to blast through heavy traffic and off-load. The Lions need to return fire with their carrying at the ‘Cake Tin’ in Wellington next weekend, which means that tomorrow’s game against the Hurricanes is a platform for Courtney Lawes and CJ Stander to push their claims for Test selection.
The inquest must be urgent and wide-ranging, but with a focus on the back five in the pack and the half-backs. The Lions locks were eclipsed. And while the lineout was again a triumph, Alun Wyn Jones seemed dazed and off the pace after an early collision, and George Kruis was largely ineffectual against the towering brilliance of Brodie Retallick and the hard graft of Sam Whitelock.
If they are intent on throwing the kitchen sink at the hosts to keep the series alive, the Lions must go for broke. The bold call would be to pair Maro Itoje and Lawes in the second row, with Sam Warburton reinstated as captain in the back row alongside O’Brien and Taulupe Faletau.
Warburton remains short of match sharpness, but his breakdown influence is sorely needed as that area was Sam Cane’s personal domain in Auckland and the Lions couldn’t slow down the All Blacks’ express-pace ruck recycling.
That in turn meant they tackled themselves to a near-standstill at various stages.
The tourists’ most telling results on this trip — wins over the Crusaders and Maori — stemmed from stifling defensive pressure and the control exerted by Conor Murray’s aerial onslaught. But the Irish scrum- half was less commanding on Saturday, while the rush defence was negated by the Kiwis’ direct game-plan, utilising hard runners in narrow channels. The Lions will review and adapt, but the suspicion must be that Hansen will shift the goalposts with an expansive approach in the next Test.
BRITISH and Irish hopes now depend on whether the pack named by Gatland on Thursday can deliver a wounded-animal response which swings the pressure pendulum back the other way. Davies is adamant that these Lions, with backs to the wall, can keep the series alive.
‘It is a test of character,’ he said. ‘It is do or die now. You can’t be afraid of it, you’ve got to embrace it. We have to win the second Test and there is a sense in the camp that we can beat the All Blacks.’
That is a big claim — and it will take the biggest performance of these players’ careers to make it come true.