They won’t crack code, says lineout guru Kruis

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GEoRGE KRUIS claims the Lions have masterminded unbreakable lineout calls to ensure there is no repeat of the All Blacks’ 2005 code-cracking. The Lions had to change their calls on the eve of the first Test 12 years ago, when New Zealand deciphered their moves using audio picked up through TV microphones. Lock Ben Kay called it embarrassing after the Lions lost 10 throws during the 21-3 defeat, but Kruis says this year’s playbook will remain top secret. ‘We’ve got verbals and non-verbals to create a system that’s tough to recognise and durable under any circumstance,’ said Kruis. ‘There are so many different ways to call a lineout. You tweak patterns for each game but essentially we’ve built a good platform. ‘It’s like running a backs move. You might be hitting up Sean o’Brien every time but then on the third one you might go out the back because you know they’re going to bite on him. It’s all part of the puzzle.’ The Lions have been using ‘noise pollution’ to disrupt opposition throws, drowning out the hooker’s instructions so their jumpers can’t hear the calls. ‘You’ve got to put pressure on players somehow,’ said Kruis. ‘The ideal thing is to get in the air and contest, but we’ll try everything. ‘Good teams have come down here and won the ball but not provided great delivery to their nine and 10s. We want to be a great team so we want to win ball and get good delivery. They’ve got five or six good jumpers in the line and they’ll always put pressure on your deliveries.’ Lineout guru Steve Borthwick is renowned for novel training methods. He uses washing up liquid and boxing gloves to simulate difficult conditions for the thrower with England, while hooker Ken owens has developed his own techniques to perfect his work under pressure. ‘It’s easy to just stand there and hit a target against the wall — forgetting you’ve got wind, rain, jumpers going up in front of you,’ said owens. ‘I try throwing in after a one-armed tug of war, standing on a Bosu ball (balance trainer) with boxing gloves, wearing special glasses that flicker to block your vision.’ In the six warm-up games, the Lions have won 58 out of 64 lineouts — a 91 per cent success rate. It has been one of the Lions’ most potent weapons, but Borthwick warned: ‘You can go in with all the plans in the world but it’s about the ability to adapt. That’s what separates great lineouts. We coach all we can but the players’ ability to read different situations is critical.’