The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Blues’ cutting edge too much for the Lions
Rugby writer Steve Scott has his say on shock tour defeat -
AUCKLAND BLUES 22 BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS 16
Warren Gatland has moved to downplay fears around Jared Payne’s continued calf strain struggles after the Lions suffered a 22-16 defeat to the Blues.
Payne carried his calf issue into the Lions tour, and was a late withdrawal from the tour-opening 13-7 win over the Provincial Barbarians.
The Ireland centre shook off that issue well enough to start against the Blues, but limped out of the contest in obvious pain, although head coach Gatland insisted Payne is not an undue concern.
Dan Biggar failed a head injury assessment after taking a heavy hit, but Gatland also insisted the Wales fly-half’s problem is not a big worry either.
“Jared Payne had a tight calf but we knew about that,” said Gatland. “Jared’s had that calf (problem) for a while, so the pleasing thing is he’s got through 50 to 60 minutes.
“We knew at half-time it was a bit tight, but hopefully the calf will strengthen up.
“Dan Biggar failed an HIA but the medics aren’t too concerned about that. And Rhys Webb just has cramp. So at this point we’re reasonably happy with where we are on injuries.”
Sonny Bill Williams’ devastating offload set Ihaia West careering through the bisected Lions’ backline to score the winning try just moments after Leigh Halfpenny’s penalty had handed the tourists a 16-15 lead.
Head coach Gatland bemoaned the Lions’ profligacy on the penalty front and challenged his squad to shape up.
The next stop for the Lions will be to face the Crusaders in Canterbury on Saturday, a team boasting a flawless 14 wins from 14 matches in Super Rugby this term.
“The big message from Andy Farrell to the players was the penalty count,” said Gatland. “The first two games we have been a bit soft in that area and we’ve got to be hard on ourselves as players and coaches to tighten up.
“We need to be tough on ourselves, there were a lot of momentum swings because of penalties we’ve given away, it’s some you’d consider soft or needless.
“We’re still not as fresh as we will be in a few weeks, to make sure that when we face the All Blacks we’ll be strong in those areas.
“The All Blacks will only just be coming together as well, so perhaps they will be a bit cold.
“It was a moment of magic that won the game tonight, but we’ve got to be better at stopping that offloading game.
“I thought generally we did that well but it’s one moment. We’ve learned a lot from tonight and about the opposition.
“There’s so much strength in depth in this country that these Super Rugby sides are really not very far away from the All Blacks.
“And they have been playing together and gelling for seven months, so these are big tests that will help us move forward quickly.”
CJ Stander snaffled the lone score for the visitors – who introduced Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw with five minutes left – with Halfpenny adding 11 points with the boot.
Lions: Halfpenny, Nowell, Payne (Williams 47), Henshaw, Daly, Biggar (Sexton 35), Webb (Laidlaw 75), McGrath (Marler 53), Owens (Best 68), Cole (Sinckler 54), Itoje, Lawes (Henderson 75), Haskell (O’Mahony 53),Tipuric, Stander.