New Lions are ready to roar
Laidlaw backs Gatland’s decision to bring in 6 players
GREIG LAIDLAW has jumped to the defence of Warren Gatland over his decision to draft in six new players to the British and Irish Lions squad.
The head coach came under fire for appearing to prioritise geographic proximity over meritocratic selection by adding four Wales players and two Scots to his touring party.
Wales quartet Cory Hill, Kristian Dacey, Gareth Davies and Tomas Francis have made the short trip from Auckland to link up with the Lions, with Laidlaw’s Scotland colleagues Finn Russell and Allan Dell jetting in from Australia.
All six have been named on the bench for tomorrow’s clash against the Chiefs in Hamilton, to keep the frontline stars fresh for the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Gatland, who saw his team dump the Maori All Blacks 32-10 at the weekend, has been accused of devaluing the Lions shirt in deeming England’s tourists in Argentina and Ireland’s in Japan to require too much travel time – but Laidlaw moved to downplay those frustrations.
He said: “They are all Test match players. Warren’s made it no secret this was his plan all along. It’s something he did on the Australia tour in 2013.
“He thought it would be successful then and it did indeed work and now he’s gone down the same track.
“So ultimately it’s to look after the Test squad which is so important now at this stage of the series.
“It’s about looking after everyone to make sure we get the best performance in the Tests when they come around.”
Gatland’s Lions mentor Sir Ian McGeechan admitted the gaffer’s call-ups plan was “difficult to justify”, though, as a host of coaches and players stepped up to criticise his decision.
England boss Eddie Jones, whose side wrapped up a 2-0 series win in Argentina, said Lions call-ups should be decided on “merit rather than geography”.
Meanwhile, Owen Farrell was last night passed fit to start the Test series for a Lions team convinced it is on the verge of “something special”. Farrell missed the win over the Maori All Blacks with a muscle strain and there was concern the Lions’ most influential player could be ruled out of the Auckland opener. But Gatland said: “I’ve no doubt Owen will be 100 per cent fit. He will train Monday and could have played on Saturday. If it was a Test match he would have done. We made a decision that it wasn’t worth taking that risk.” The Lions are now fully into Test match mode, even if a couple of bench places could be up for grabs in tomorrow’s game with the Chiefs. Selection for the warm-up suggests Alun Wyn Jones, who starts on the bench, has fallen behind Maro Itoje in the Test pecking order. Sam Warburton’s absence means the captain definitely has a part to play in the All Blacks clash though it may well be off the bench. The big unknown is whether Gatland is keeping a 10-12 midfield of Farrell and Johnny Sexton up his sleeve.