IN THE ZONE
Welsh fly-half Biggar so focused on challenging Sexton and Farrell
AFTER leaving at lunchtime yesterday, it will be 1am tomorrow before the Lions touch down in Auckland, via pitstops in Dubai and Melbourne.
For Dan Biggar, there will have been plenty to ponder on the long-haul flight.
To put it simply, three tens into one won’t add up when it comes to selection in New Zealand. And the Welsh playmaker will need a fast start if he isn’t to be an anonymous figure playing third fiddle to Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell.
He sounded confident enough before packing his bags that he will be a prominent presence, his week at Carton House sharing a room with Sexton opening curious eyes to the challenge ahead for recognition now these longstanding rivals from Wales and Ireland, along with England’s Farrell, are suddenly all pulling in the same direction.
‘I’ve roomed with Johnny Sexton and it has probably been the narkiest room in the hotel,’ he jested, making tongue-in-cheek reference to Sexton’s reputation as an angsty individual.
‘We have actually got on really well, so maybe it’s everyone else that is the issue. We have always got on well when I played against him and it’s just really good to get to play on the same side as him and look to challenge him as much he is looking to challenge myself and Owen.
‘What I have found really interesting, not just with Johnny but with Owen as well, is just the amount you pick up off them, having mini-chats after training and getting their opinion.
‘It’s really, really interesting how much knowledge the two of them have, how clever their brains are, how they understand the game. Sometimes, you get a different perspective on playing at No10.’
It’s insight he hopes will prove invaluable in getting a leg-up the pecking order, his attempt to bustle his way into Warren Gatland’s thinking ironically helped by Ospreys’ Guinness Pro12 season meekly finishing at the semi-final stage. Had they beaten Munster, last week would have been spent in Swansea preparing for a showpiece decider in Dublin that would have meant coming in completely cold to the Lions set-up the day before they flew out.
Instead, he was able to keep tabs at close quarters on Sexton and Farrell, whose respective Leinster and Saracens teams were also eliminated in the semi-finals of their domestic tournaments.
The value of all three tens beginning from the same starting point is not lost on Biggar.
‘You’re a little more battle hardened if you are in a final, but in terms of getting up to speed with the calls, getting up to speed with the majority of the squad, it’s a lot easier to interact and get the calls, get what the coaches are after, spend a bit of time on laptops looking at language, what is being used,’ he added.
‘It was a really good week in terms of learning. Being a No 10, it’s not an easy position coming into a new environment. You have got to make sure you are up to speed on all the calls and everything like that.’ Biggar (below) insisted it will be a clean battle for the starting shirt, with no skulduggery on his part to try and gain an inch. ‘The greater goal is for the Lions to win a Test series in New Zealand, so if there is anything my knowledge, Johnny’s knowledge or Owen’s knowledge can help the team be better on the field or win tight games by small detail with, it’s important we definitely put it out there,’ said Biggar. ‘We are three quite confident characters who aren’t afraid to speak our minds and say what we think. That will suit the team well. ‘We’re competing for the same position and want to all play, but the most important thing, rather than battle for places, is making sure we do everything to back each other up.’