To stop another heavenly All Blacks display, hard men must take them to hell
HOW to solve a problem like the All Blacks. Whatever the solution — if there even is one — it seems likely to involve extended periods of tank-emptying effort. Certainly, the areas in which many predicted the Lions would dominate became weaknesses, as the lineout maul produced very little and the scrum was mullered.
Without wishing to display that most unappealing of behaviours — postevent wisdom — it did seem unusual to start the First Test with Mako Vunipola and to bench Jack McGrath.
Vunipola is a magnificent player but, of the two, he is by a mile more likely to impact a match over half an hour than his Irish mate. Clearly, at loosehead prop at least, Warren Gatland chose to play the best player from the start which, ultimately, seems reasonable.
However, it was clear that, as the final quarter developed, the New Zealand heavies had more juice in their legs. There are ways to augment their fatigue but we’ll get to that in a minute.
One reason tthe set piece is so important is ththat it presents the cleanest opportunityoppo both to exhaust the opposition and to create forward momentum. GGet your set piece right and the oppositionoppo are immediately working hharder than you, having to run backwards and around to afaffect a breakdown or to tacktackle a ball carrier. Add to thithis the psychological advantagead gained by a dominantd forward pack anda it becomes vital.
The New Zealand sscrum did a fantastic job. TThis is not the world’s mmost powerful scrum bbut it is a very clever and a very fit one. In fact, ththeir scrum, along with somsome deft handiwork from KieraKieran Reid, created a try from its very base. But how?
MaMany people talk about inteinternational rugby being a levelevel above European rugby in teterms of pace but this First Test seemeds a level above the interninternational game known to many oof these Lions. This is not an insult;insu the Lions are incredibincredibly fit and strong. It is merely ana observation that, in brutal terms,te they were run to pieces.
So relentlessrelen and so accurate was the AAll Blacks’ close-quarter carrying, footworkf and handling that the LionLions barely had a chance to breathe. So rapidr and vicious was the All Blacks’ recyclingr of the ball that the Lions neverne stood a chance. No one in red wasw consistently able to stem that floflow of ball served on a grassy plate for Aaron Smith and the hot-stepping, ballistic All Blacks never stopped coming. It looked like there were 30 of them, and their skills in the tight were otherworldly.
Fans love to lambast commentators for praising teams such as New Zealand too much but that seems practically impossible now. They had a plan to crush the Lions pack’s will by making them work so hard that, by the time a maul or a scrum came around, they were so exhausted that all it took to reduce their aggression in attack was the prospect of there being another three quarters of an hour to go. Goodness me they looked fit.
It takes some real thought to identify ways in which the Lions may win on Saturday, an unforeseen All Black capitulation aside. One way is to return the favour but with a British and Irish twist…
I once played in a game against a big French team whom we knew wanted to shred us in attack. My coach’s only message to me was: “Make this bloke [my opposite number] work so hard that his eyeballs drop out. You’ve got 40 minutes to take this bloke to hell.” What he meant was, every single chance I got to maul or scrum against this guy — a key player for them — I was to give everything to make him work. It didn’t matter that every scrum wasn’t a hammering, it mattered that he couldn’t run after 50 minutes and got subbed.
This weekend, I would consider telling the Lions’ front five they have 40 minutes to rip into their opposite numbers with all the venom they can muster. No pacing, no tactical angles and no resting. Only then might we see this collection of Kiwi specimens start to move less freely.
Swapping the odd player won’t make sufficient difference. What’s needed is a switch in mindset. The technique will take care of itself, the All Blacks need to be made to work.