GAT’S SO TOUGH!
Tourists facing trouble
TANA UMAGA has warned the Lions that life is only going to get tougher.
The former All Blacks skipper masterminded victory over Warren Gatland tourists against what is regarded as New Zealand’s weakest franchise.
They face the best, Crusaders, on Saturday and will have to improve on yesterday’s lacklustre and ill-disciplined effort at Eden Park, where Sonny Bill Williams put on a masterclass.
“It’s tough for them,” Umaga said. “Pulling a team together in such a short time from different countries with different styles, and then playing so many games in quick succession, is difficult.
“They want tough games before they face the All Blacks, but they know how it is. I’m sure they’ll want to select certain games to focus on and, for me, those will be the Tests.”
The tourists began well but missed several try-scoring opportunities and lost their way.
Some players pushed their case for Test selection – among them Courtney Lawes, Leigh Halfpenny, CJ Stander and, most notably, Rhys Webb.
“We’re kicking ourselves, but there’s no reason to get our heads down,” said the Wales scrum-half.
“We played some decent rugby at times, but our accuracy and decision-making cost us and if you give a team like the Blues chances, they take them. Our discipline was poor and we have given away a lot of penalties in our first few games. “We can’t afford to do that against the All Blacks because they will punish us. “We’ve taken a hit, but the boys aren’t going to hit the panic button after one bad result.” Stander’s try and five points from Halfpenny’s boot were the reward for an encouraging start, but tries from Rieko Ioane and Williams put the Blues ahead at the break. There was a needless yellow card for Lions replacement Liam Williams in the second half before two more Halfpenny penalties raised hopes. But Sonny Bill’s offload allowed Ihaia West to scorch over for the match-winning try. Umaga added: “Sonny Bill is still coming back from 18 months out of the game and he’s had a stop-start season for us. “He showed his hunger to play at the top level and that must be pleasing for the All Blacks.” Dan Biggar (head) and Jared Payne (calf) were injured but are likely to recover for Saturday. LIONS TAMED: Warren Gatland has work to do