BROKEN LIONS? YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH
Lawes insists Gat’s men can bounce back... as long as they can match the technical wizardry of awesome All Blacks
COURTNEY LAWES insists the Lions’ First Test loss to the All Blacks was not simply a failure of attitude.
The England lock came to the defence of his squad-mates following head coach Warren Gatland questioning their mindset and attitude after they were outmuscled at Eden Park.
Lawes is charged with getting the tour back on the front foot this morning when he starts for the Lions against the Super Rugby champions Hurricanes in the final midweek match.
At stake for him is a place in the 23 here on Saturday, where the series will either conclude or be sent back to Auckland to be decided seven days later. For the touring party as a whole, the mission is to send a defiant message that losing the opening skirmish has not broken the collective spirit.
“Saturday is a final, there’s no second chance for us, we must front up,” said Lawes. “There will be a reaction. We’re not happy with a loss.”
Gatland has taken a calculated risk by getting stuck into his players in the hope of firing them up to a level of intensity that even the world champions struggle to match.
“You have to challenge the players mentally for that physical challenge,” he said. “Sometimes it’s an attitude thing, getting off the line and winning collisions.” Lawes gets Gats’ point, but reckons the Lions need to show technical improvement as much as mental and physical.
“I’m not sure whether it’s to do with attitude,” he said. “Everyone wants to get off the line and hit people, especially when you’re in that kind of game. It’s about being able to create the opportunities for yourself and people around you to make big hits.
“You need to first understand what is coming at you and what New Zealand did was something we hadn’t seen before.
“They started quick and didn’t play into our hands. It was a clever strategy because just running off the scrum-half meant we couldn’t get any line speed.”
The tactic enabled the All Blacks to boss the collisions and harvest quick ball and, by not over-committing to the ruck, they had numbers outside.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily that we got absolutely dominated up front and they smashed us in the scrum and whatever,” Lawes added.
“They didn’t knock us over left, right and centre. They’ve got good footwork and hit good lines. That meant they got over the line.
“So we need to target first and second phase to stop that momentum. Do that and it’s very hard for them to generate quick ball.”
Lawes, 28, may have featured in Auckland had he not been concussed against the Highlanders and then picked up a hip injury.
“He’s been unlucky,” Gatland agreed. “But he’s one of the players that has a chance to impress. He has done really well so far, so let’s hope he has a good performance.”