Profligate Lions must find power and poise to win
Tourists failed to match the Kiwis’ physicality and lacked the accuracy to capitalise on chances
Those who said the 30-15 scoreline between the British and Irish Lions and New Zealand did not reflect the game are wrong. That is what happens if you create four try-scoring chances and take two, and they create three and take three.
This was a sobering correction for the Lions, who were beaten in almost every facet of the game, and the unpalatable fact is that New Zealand were tougher. Of all the issues arising out of the loss, the physical element is the most disappointing, and is the first thing the Lions must rectify.
Up front they struggled in the set-pieces, where they had hoped to pressure the All Blacks. The Kiwi scrum was solid and their defence of the Lions’ driven lineouts effective. At neither phase did the Lions get front-foot ball.
At the breakdown the battle was decisively won by the Kiwi back row, but they were aided by the outstanding Aaron Smith and his replacement TJ Perenara at scrum-half. Both these players were sharper in thought and deed than their opposite number, and their decision-making was exemplary in terms of the way they varied the angles and width of the New Zealand attack.
The Lions’ defensive line speed had been the foundation of the wins against the Crusaders and Maoris, but New Zealand took this away by driving the ball directly off scrum, where they found space near or behind the breakdown.
This dragged in Lions defenders and advanced the offside line. When they finally moved the ball, they did so against fewer defenders and against a defensive line that was in retreat. The work-rate of the second-row pairing of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock, together with the remarkable Kieran Read, dictated the terms of the breakdown and the pace of the game. The Lions were made to play at a higher tempo than usual, and this forced errors and penalties.
It is ironic that the Lions did not struggle creatively. The all-new back three of Liam Williams, Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly, along with their centre partnership, manufactured several clear tryscoring chances and scored one of the all-time great Lions tries, with a length-of-the-field move started by Williams and finished by Sean O’brien. Unfortunately, the Lions did not put away the chances they had at the beginning of both halves. Had they got support players in the right position to finish off the breaks, the result might have been different.
This would have been so had they not conceded three tries from two moments of inattention and one dropped high ball. These errors were basic, and the Lions management and squad should be angry that they cost them a chance of winning the game. They also have cause to rue the decision to go for the corner early in the second half. Points from that penalty and a conversion from Owen Farrell of the O’brien try would have seen the Lions draw level at 13-13, and the game would have had an entirely different complexion.
Many complained that the referee, Jaco Peyper, favoured the All Blacks. The 50-50 decisions did go their way, and he missed an obstruction hold by Sam Cane on O’brien. That said, the Kiwis were simply more streetwise, and when you play on the front foot marginal decisions tend to go your way.
Peyper was not responsible for the Lions’ moments of inattention or lack of accuracy in attack, and
The Lions now know the pace at which they must play to beat the best team in the world
his officiating was not a reason for the Lions losing.
In his post-match interview, Warren Gatland concluded that the things that needed to be put right were relatively simple, but it is far easier to identify problems than to solve them. Failure to take chances has been the theme of this tour; what evidence is there that the Lions can find the accuracy and poise to eradicate this profligacy?
Gatland must be tempted to make changes, but knows he cannot make too many without disrupting the work done with the Test squad. The selection of Dan Cole would solidify the scrum. Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje would bring a physical edge up front. In the back row, CJ Stander and Justin Tipuric might give better balance, but Gatland’s thinking is apparent from the team picked to face the Hurricanes. The first Test starting XV will be retained bar the odd change, but if so they must have a sea change in attitude and concentration. They now know the pace at which they must play; the concentration required and the sustained physical belligerence needed to beat the best in the world.
The Lions team of 1993 squared their series by winning the physical confrontation – nothing less from these Lions will do.