Three games in, Warren Gatland must now hone his partnerships
“Gatland knows that if the players are going to adapt to NZ style they all need game time”
Just a week in and already it’s a disaster, or that is what we are led to believe. The Lions have lost a game, and suddenly the whole tour is in jeopardy. Head coach Warren Gatland’s capacity to change styles is called into question and the team seem at a loss as to how they beat even the Super Rugby sides, let alone the mighty All Blacks.
The truth, however, is a mile away from all the doom and gloom reported, as the Lions move into the second phase of preparations for the first of their three-Test series which starts in two weeks.
Gatland said that his first job when the players arrived in New Zealand was to get all of them on the field, even though he would have known that it would probably lead to possible defeats.
Part of the reason was simply to give everybody a run before getting into the serious stuff – but more importantly, it was about squad mentality and building a squad, not a ‘two team’ touring party.
Gatland would have a rough idea of what his ideal Test squad looks like, but to put them in place from the start of the tour could have been very divisive as we know from past tours.
This first week was always going to be difficult starting with a provincial Barbarians side that had nothing to lose and everything to gain – even if they lost, as long as the score was close.
Yes, some were part-timers but others weren’t and the one thing about New Zealand rugby is the intensity and the fact that all teams play a very similar style of game – admittedly at a different standard – but the All Black style will not be markedly different to that seen in these early games.
Even though the Blues are currently at the bottom of the New Zealand Super Rugby conference, they, along with the rest of the New Zealand contingent, have elected for a different way of playing in an attempt to break the claustrophobic defence that dominates the modern game.
Instead of using big men running short distances trying to break tackles, they have opted to play the ball wide and at speed to run round defenders, rather than seek contact.
Although there is some movement towards this style here in the north, it is still in its infancy and Gatland knows that if the players are going to adapt and have any hope of winning the Tests, they all needed game time.
This first week is all about squad building and bringing the players up to speed as many haven’t faced the All Blacks before. As I wrote last week, the tour is all about the Tests – all other results are meaningless as it is only the Test results that define whether the tour is a success or not.
That said, I think Gatland is a shrewd operator and will use next week’s games to form his Test side as he seeks to combine those that have adapted to the demands of the new style they face.
Unfortunately, the Lions, like other combination teams such as the Barbarians and Penguins, are no longer able to do what they used to, which is pick world class players and throw them together to beat a national side.
I’ve seen many articles saying that the Lions have to capture the ‘spirit’ of the ‘71 team. Sadly that is impossible because the game has changed from amateur to professional. In the old days all players had to balance work and play and, in many ways, the Lions had the advantage of being together, training and playing for weeks on tour while the opposition carried on their normal working life, coming together just before the games. Now it is the Lions that come together just before the tour while the opposition train and play together as professionals all season.
What Gatland is doing is trying to combine the pieces of the four jigsaws (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) that make up the Lions and create a team that can challenge the current world number ones.
By giving the players the chance to show what they can do and trying different combinations, he is hoping that come the Tests, he will find the right pieces to make a winning picture.
The news that the PRO12 is thinking of expanding is both good and bad. Good because it may enable more countries to improve their game at a regional level, which will eventually improve their national teams.
Germany have been playing rugby for years, in fact, it was Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert who is said to have introduced the game. I actually played in a game for the Barbarians celebrating 100 years of German rugby and noticed a number of players who were playing at top teams. With the backing they have from Dr Hans-Peter Wild they have a real chance of improving, but it will take a while unless Wild buys a team of foreign mercenaries, which won’t help the national side.
America and Canada would benefit if a conference were played in the Americas, particularly if Argentina chose to participate.
The bad news is if it’s seen as a way to enable the South African franchises to move seamlessly from been dumped from Super Rugby into the European leagues (at the cost of smaller rugby nations) just to improve the TV deal for the current nations involved.