>> Flutey: Lions must keep ball alive – or die
As the only man to play for and against the British & Irish Lions, Riki Flutey gives Jon Newcombe his unique insight ahead of the trip to New Zealand
RIKI FLUTEY believes that the depth of talent within New Zealand rugby at the moment means there will be no resting place for the Lions throughout their arduous 35-day schedule.
With five games against Super Rugby opposition on top of the threeTest series against the All Blacks and one against the Maori, following what should be a routine warm-up game against a Provincial XV, Flutey thinks this tour will be the toughest yet for the men in red.
He said: “When the Lions came over in 2005 a couple of NPC teams were there and thereabouts and gave them a good shot, but now they’re coming in and playing next tier up, the Super Rugby teams.
“They are going to be tough matches for the Lions because the skill level that the professional players are bringing here in New Zealand (across the board) are ahead of the game.
“When you look at all the Super Rugby teams now, how they move the point of attack and don’t create a ruck by keeping the ball alive, it is very impressive. The Sonny Bill Williams out-of-the-back offload is now a stock draw and pass nowadays in New Zealand – even my nine-year-old is doing it!
“Also, because of the way all the Super Rugby teams are counter attacking now, the Lions will need to kick smart – either by finding some grass or the seats in the stand.”
Flutey, the former London Irish and Wasps playmaker now working as an account manager in NZ for a building supplies company, has questioned whether the Lions have the ability to match their opponents with ball in hand.
“I’m interested to see what type of attacking game they’ll bring. I know their defence is going to be awesome because, the whole time I was over there (in England), we had defensive coaches and the amount of detail they put into that is the same as what us growing up here in New Zealand put into our attack.
“They’re going to be big and physical which is what they always are, but they are going to have to keep the ball alive, because when the All Blacks see an opportunity to attack that breakdown, they’ll attack it and turn the ball over, and I’m not sure they Lions will be able to do that for 80 minutes. The first few games will tell us a lot.”
Flutey came on as a second-half replacement for Wellington when the Lions last visited New Zealand in 2005, before moving to England and winning 14 caps for his adopted country – including one against the All Blacks – and then one for the Lions, in the third Test against South Africa in Johannesburg, less than a year after he’d made his international bow.
A knee injury nearly cut short his tour but he battled on to replace Jamie Roberts in the 2009 finale. He said: “To play a Test for the Lions in front of that many people was an awesome feeling. I came off just after half-time but had a couple of decent involvements and we won (28-9),” he said.
While the series was lost 2-1, the tour was regarded as a success, certainly in comparison to what had happened four years earlier.
Karaoke-loving Flutey believes the team bonded early, following an allnight drinking session at the team hotel prior to departure, paving the way for a harmonious off-field atmosphere.
“The English boys, they went to bed quite early – around 1 o’clock. There were only a couple of Scottish boys and they were there and thereabouts but the Irish and Welsh boys, jeez they can drink. They didn’t want to be the first to bail out and go to bed. I think we were kicked out at 6am when people were arriving for breakfast.
“As the Kiwi guy, the outsider, it felt quite nice to be connected to those guys and enjoy each other’s company. Ultimately, we weren’t successful in terms of winning the series, but how we came together that night, was absolutely massive for us.”
“The Sonny Bill offload is now a stock draw - even my 9-year-old is doing it”