Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
REVEALED GAT’S BIG GAMBLE
Shocks as Gatland rings changes in bid to save series: Starting XV
OWEN FARRELL and Johnny Sexton will start together for the Lions as Warren Gatland gambles on Plan B keeping the series alive. Sam Warburton returns as captain for Saturday’s win-or-bust second meeting with the All Blacks, with Maro Itoje brought into the second row. Gatland watched in horror as his team were outmuscled in the opening Test and has demanded the physical intensity be cranked up as a matter of personal and collective pride. The Lions know they have to do an infinitely better job of securing the gain-line having been bossed in the collisions at Eden Park. Which explains the decision to replace skipper Peter O’mahony (above, right) with Warburton, who is quicker to the breakdown than the AA, and swap George Kruis for Itoje, who makes more turnovers than Delia Smith. Where the risk comes is in picking Sexton at fly-half and moving Farrell to insidecentre opposite Sonny Bill Williams, as it means dropping the inform Ben Te’o. When looking to build physical intensity it is unusual to cut the player who offered greater physicality and directness than any other Lion in Auckland. Te’o (top, right) had also built a strong midfield relationship with Jonathan Davies, which is broken to accommodate two playmakers at 10 and 12. His axing will surprise All Blacks boss Steve Hansen, who last Sunday described Te’o as a “magnificent defender who is only going to get better”. Sexton and Farrell have not started a game together here and their selection evokes memories of the First Test against the All Blacks in 2005 when flyhalves Stephen Jones and Jonny Wilkinson played 10 and 12 together for the first time. Gatland will pray it turns out better than it did that night, when the Lions were badly beaten. Having had them running together behind the scenes for the past six weeks he will be confident in what his Anglo-irish pair can achieve. Sexton said: “Owen and I played 50 minutes together against the Crusaders and I think we went well. “At times he was at 10 and I was able to be his eyes and at other times I was at 10 and he was able to be mine. “It’s great when you’ve got somebody at 12 who can help you out that much.”