My verdict on Gatland’s selection
Williams and Daly shock picks in back three Itoje loses to Jones in ‘lively’ selection meeting
Peter O’mahony will captain the British and Irish Lions for the opening Test match against the All Blacks as head coach Warren Gatland sprang a number of major surprises in his team selection.
O’mahony, the Ireland flanker, captains the side in the absence of Sam Warburton, who is on the bench, in a side that also features Wales wing Liam Williams at fullback and England’s Elliot Daly on the left wing in a new-look back three.
Warburton is the first tour captain to miss the first Test in 87 years since Doug Prentice on the tour of New Zealand in 1930. Ireland’s Sean O’brien starts at openside flanker.
It is a remarkable rise for O’mahony, who owes his place on the tour to a man-of-the-match display performance against England in the final game of the Six Nations, a game he started only because Jamie Heaslip was injured in the warm-up. The Munster captain has led Ireland on just three occasions.
The selections of Daly and Williams are also equally remarkable.
Daly earned his place with an impressive outing against the Chiefs on Tuesday, with his left-footed kicking game and football nous winning him the nod ahead of George North, one of Gatland’s most trusted lieutenants.
Williams displaces the man of the series on the 2013 tour of Australia, Leigh Halfpenny, who had appeared to have secured his place by kicking 20 points in Saturday’s victory over the Maori All Blacks.
Williams, like Daly, started against the Chiefs on Tuesday and his attacking lines of running and ability to compete in the air edged out Halfpenny.
If Gatland has overlooked two of his most experienced back three players from his Wales squad, yesterday’s lengthy selection meeting concluded with him handing a start to one of his rocks, Alun Wyn Jones.
This selection is likely to have one of the hardest, given the hugely impressive performances of Maro Itoje, who has been a force of nature on the tour, bringing massive physicality as well as dominating the line-out, but Jones’s experience and unquenchable fighting spirit swayed the selection. Itoje will be primed to make a major statement from the bench however.
Jamie George starts his first Test match – having been used exclusively as a substitute for England – in a front row that includes Mako Vunipola and Tadhg Furlong while Jones is joined by George Kruis in the second row. Sean O’brien and Taulupe Faletau complete the back row.
Owen Farrell, as expected, has shaken off his quad injury to start at fly-half alongside Ben Te’o, who has just started one game for England, and Jonathan Davies in a combative and direct midfield.
Halfpenny is named on the bench along with Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb and Jonathan Sexton, as the backline cover with Kyle Sinckler, one of the tour bolters, also included in the replacements along with Ken Owens and Jack Mcgrath.
“We have picked a side based on form with a lot of players putting their hands up, especially from the Crusaders and Maori All Blacks games, and it was a lively selection meeting,” Gatland said.
“We have continuously been strong at set-piece and have been good defensively in the last two or three outings. But to beat the All Blacks you have to be courageous and play some rugby – you have to score tries and I think we have picked a team capable of doing that.
“It’s a reward for how the back row has gone. There is a nice balance there, while Peter captained the side against the Maori All Blacks and has done a good job.”
Graham Rowntree, the Lions assistant coach, said O’mahony had similar leadership skills to Paul O’connell, the fellow Munsterman who captained the Lions in 2009.
“He’s got the respect of the group, that’s for sure, by his actions and not just by what he’s been saying as a captain,” said Rowntree. “He gets on with things, it’s that Munster kind of aggression around everything we do in training, determination, almost ‘Follow me, lads’.”
The All Blacks sprang a surprise of their own with the promotion of 20-year old wing Rieko Ioane to the starting line-up at the expense of high-scoring regular, Julian Savea, who misses out altogether.
Ioane has faced the Lions twice already, impressing for the Blues and doing well in difficult conditions for the Maori All Blacks.
New Zealand will be relieved to be able to welcome back captain and No8 Kieran Read, who has not played for seven weeks with a broken thumb. There is a reshuffle in midfield with the experienced Ryan Crotty taking over from Anton Lienert-brown alongside Sonny Bill Williams.
“This was a really tough team to pick because there were a number of players in great form vying for positions,” said All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen. “There is a real understanding in the whole group that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We know this is a very good British and Irish Lions team; probably one of the best to have toured here. It will be a battle of contrasting styles, which makes it an intriguing Test to be a part of. We can’t wait.”