Gatland faces several late calls but knows his game plan
The Lions coach will not switch from the no-frills style that beat the Maori, writes Mick Cleary
It used to be said that on landing in New Zealand you adjusted your watches by putting them back 25 years. Modern-day Kiwis dance to a wholly different beat but, as far as many of them are concerned, it is the British and Irish Lions who are clinging to a stone-age past in the manner in which they play rugby. Their notable 32-10 triumph over the Maori All Blacks on Saturday night was greeted not with the acclaim it merited but with a sneer that “it might have been a victory for the Lions but it was not a win for rugby”. According to New Zealand’s leading newspaper, The Herald, the Lions played “trench warfare ... one-trick rugby ... imagination isn’t their bag”.
So much for the sour-puss reaction. The Lions will look at it and realise once again that the Kiwis are not in awe of them. However, the one thing missing in the curmudgeonly analysis of the Lions’ win was the intelligent way in which they played the conditions. The series has been unlucky so far in that the heavens have invariably opened on match days. It was that way on Saturday. The Lions realised that it was a night for kick and chase, pressure defence and driving mauls, forcing errors, drawing the sting and exploiting weaknesses. The Maori
offered nothing in terms of viable resistance.
The All Blacks are smarter, an all-court side that can scrum – which the Maori did not manage when conceding two close-range tries – and can contest the breakdown as well as stem a drive.
But the nub of Warren Gatland’s deliberations will not be on what style of rugby to adopt against the All Blacks, for he has that formula to a tee, with Conor Murray box-kicking, Owen Farrell orchestrating either at fly-half or inside centre, Johnny Sexton in the No10 shirt or calling the shots himself, with the impressive Ben Te’o alongside. Either option works. Te’o has been a stand-out performer on this trip, greatly enhancing his reputation.
Murray has no doubt that the Lions are playing the game the right way. The box kick is an indispensable facet of the modern game.
“Yeah, it’s part of rugby,” said Murray. “A lot of teams kick like that. Getting the ball back is really important when you do exit your half. Yes, it’s a weapon, and something we work really hard at, but the All Blacks do it too. They do it really effectively also; Aaron Smith and TJ [Perenara] kick really well and the lads get after them. So it’s just a part of rugby.
“You adapt to the conditions and you play what you think your strengths are.”
Gatland has other issues to resolve, one a choice between two fine locks, Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje, and another in the back row between Sam Warburton, still catching up his match-sharpness levels, seeing only 16 minutes of action in Rotoruna, and Saturday’s captain, Munster flanker Peter O’mahony.
The selection for the Chiefs match tomorrow, with Jones on the bench, gives a decent insight into Gatland’s thinking. Itoje and George Kruis have the whip hand, with the Saracens duo in fine tandem form against the Maori.
O’mahony led the side for the first time on Saturday and looks set to have the honour at Eden Park. The Munster man is true to his roots: unfussy, selfless and hardnosed. The flanker also struck up a relationship with referee Jaco Peyper, who is in charge on Saturday as well. Meanwhile, Warburton is not yet at full throttle.
Whatever does unfold in selection, one thing is for sure: the manner of Saturday night’s win, its untroubled efficiency and overwhelming force, has made its mark. New Zealand know what is coming their way, and like it or not, they are going to have to deal with it.