I’d stick with Mako but only if he stops the crazy penalties
CUT out the penalties and the Lions can make glorious history on Saturday. Carry on offending and the All Blacks won’t let them off the hook a second time. That is the big message this week and Warren Gatland will be hammering it home.
Conceding 13 penalties is totally unacceptable, with 10 of them resulting in shots at goal. And the majority of them against a team down to 14 men following the dismissal of Sonny Bill Williams.
That was precisely the time the Lions needed to be playing with extra precision and accuracy, not less.
That is the stuff of nightmares for a coach and could easily have cost the match and the series. So, although the sight and sound of the fans celebrating after Saturday’s win will live with all concerned forever, now isn’t the time for complacency.
Happily the players seemed to realise that and in the post-match interviews scarcely acknowledged the win. They’re already focusing on the decider and producing a more disciplined performance. That’s very encouraging and well done to Sam Warburton, who immediately set the tone with minimal celebration at the final whistle.
But how to stop the penalties without dousing the fire and fury? Make no mistake, the Lions pack were a much more aggressive and physical unit in Wellington than they had been the previous week, but with that came the indiscipline.
It’s a balancing act because when you increase the physicality, when you start looking for more turnovers and try to impose yourself at scrum time, the risk of conceding penalties increases. I would sit everybody down in Queenstown this morning and ask my video analyst to take us through every penalty conceded. Look at every incident from every angle. Then I would ask the offender, in front of his colleagues, to explain his actions and take us through his thought processes.
A few will have been genuinely unlucky and occasionally a player will concede three points rather than risk the possibility of seven. You can rationalise those penalties but the majority are down to unintelligent thinking under pressure.
It might be quite a painful session but the Lions need to get to grips with this.
They have been working all tour on keeping the penalty count down but still haven’t reduced it to an acceptable level. Unless it changes it will cost them the series. Actions must speak louder than words. Ireland conceded just four penalties when defeating the All Blacks in Chicago and that must be the benchmark.
The Lions have a big advantage here. Jerome Garces was the referee on Saturday and his fellow Frenchman Romain Poite will take charge this week in Auckland.
They are two of the world’s best referees and the Lions should know their modus operandi by now and must make this advantage work for them.
I would get a big poster displayed in the team room: ‘How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as a Lion who wins a series in New Zealand or do you want to be on the plane home knowing you gave away one stupid penalty that cost everyone the chance of creating history?’
This is serious stuff but the penalty count is now fundamental to the deciding Test.
Would I drop players purely for their lack of discipline? Probably not. The All Blacks will come at the Lions like never before on Saturday and, given that, I would want Mako Vunipola lining up
despite the four penalties he conceded. Similarly the only weakness anybody has spotted in Maro Itoje’s game so far is that he leaks a few too many penalties.
He is bright and must address this. I would be eyeballing both players all week and asking: ‘Is your head right?’ I believe both will respond positively.
Meanwhile the decision — made months ago — to spend a few days in Queenstown has attracted comment, not least because historically that has been where squads have let off a little steam.
England attracted adverse publicity when they were there at the 2011 World Cup. They won’t be any less under the microscope.
I have no worries about the decision, though. There is no midweek game and a full week in Auckland ahead of possibly the biggest game of their lives could drag. A change of scenery could work nicely but the Lions know what is required and the work they must do.
The positive of just squeezing through in Wellington is that nobody is under any illusions about how much more difficult it will be at Eden Park.
The Lions must bring even more of their attacking flair into play. They scored two fine tries and look at their very best when they are playing attacking rugby.
The role of some of the more experienced heads from the midweek side is also important. The playing side of their tour is over but it’s important they remain an integral part of the group.
I’ve said from the start that the 2017 Lions have struck me as a close unit and they still need the energy and support of those not involved in the Tests.
It must be great to be part of this group whether you are playing or not. It could be the week of your sporting life. History beckons but everybody needs to keep asking the question: ‘How do you want to be remembered?’