CARELESS TALK COSTS TRIES

Wilkinson warns Lions to let their rugby do the talking or risk another Blackwash like the 2005 nightmare

JONNY WILKINSON has urged the Lions to let their rugby do the talking in New Zealand to avoid a repeat of the 2005 horror show. Twelve years on, the memory of the 3-0 ‘Blackwash’ – and how the Lions contributed to their own downfall on and off the pitch – still burns in the mind of England’s World Cup winner. Warren Gatland’s squad arrive today and Wilkinson’s message to them is straight and to the point – in contrast to the way the 2005 tour was spun until the players didn’t know what they were doing. “One of the greatest things to take forward from 2005 is that the only thing that matters is rugby,” said the Red Rose legend. “That’s how you communicate and negotiate with the New Zealand public. Through rugby. “It’s not through what you say or anything else, it’s how you play that speaks. You don’t get to say, ‘We’re the Lions and this is what we’re about’. “Your voice is in your performance, so you need to gear everything towards that.” Sir Clive Woodward hired spin doctor Alastair Campbell to help him run the show in 2005. It didn’t go well. Woodward claimed his was the best-prepared Lions team ever, yet the forwards went into the First Test unsure of the calls and lost 10 lineouts. He ignored players in form and picked on reputation, claiming his Lions would handle the pressure and the Kiwis would not. As for going after All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, day after day, over his tour-ending tackle on Brian O’driscoll, the Lions learned the hard way the folly of baiting New Zealand. Wilkinson says Gatland’s priorities need to be a clear game plan and a squad all pulling in the same direction. “In that short space of time, it is about understanding general principles, choosing combinations and then feeding the energy so the guys are ready to go,” he explained. Wilkinson illustrates his point by comparing the 2005 Lions with the historic win Woodward’s England enjoyed in New Zealand in 2003. “We went down to 13 men that day in Wellington, but we were so together and sure of each other that we just dealt with it,” he said. “A few years later, we were there with a full squad of amazing guys from different teams packed into the Lions, went out for the First Test and it was like chaos I’d never seen. “England could deal with 13 against 15 in New Zealand because of the glue that comes from being sure of who you are and what you are doing. “But, with 15 men and all that build-up in 2005, we were literally all over the place. We had 12 of us in rucks at times and I was defending against five people. They pulled us apart. “If these Lions go into the game with a very solid platform but excited about attack, then I think they will do incredible things. If they go in with a complicated plan, I think they will get pulled apart.” Land Rover is a proud Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019 and has a heritage in supporting rugby at all levels from grassroots to elite. Follow @Landroverrugby