Sloppy Lions must learn their lessons – and quickly
THE Lions snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in their second outing against an eminently beatable Blues outfit, leaving this tour of New Zealand teetering on the edge of a precipice.
The reality Warren Gatland’s squad faced after this reverse is that they required a momentum swing against their next opponents, the Crusaders, to halt the slide triggered in Auckland.
With the tour itinerary becoming progressively demanding in the build-up to the Test series, the Blues served up a sharp reminder of the deep reserves of resolve and character the Lions will need to stay in the running.
It will also require that they learn at a rapid rate and improve out of sight. A limited Blues side showed them that it is no good dominating possession if you cannot apply the finishing touches.
With Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje punching over the gain-line the Lions were the stronger side in contact, and at the setpiece, but their lack of attacking guile and precision – reflected in their inability to match the Blues in off-loading out of contact and creating gaps – lost them a game they should have won comfortably.
In their second outing, in front of the biggest crowd the Blues have had since years Super Rugby began in 1995 the Lions improved on their stuttering opener against the NZ Barbarians in Whangarei. However, they are going to have to learn quickly that to win in New Zealand they will have to do it marching up a steep gradient.
To give the New Zealand Super franchises their due, their playmakers are more comfortable with chancing their arm and looking for the miracle pass than the majority of their Lions counterparts.
After plenty of failed attempts, including a couple by local luminary Sonny Bill Williams, he was at the centre of the try six minutes from time which clinched this win for the Blues.
Although Williams got most of the credit with a reverse scoring pass to Ihaia West, the main inspiration behind their late match-winner was Steven Luatua, the Bristol-bound No.8. What made Luatua’s backhander so lethal was that it was delivered in heavy traffic with such precision that Williams had breached the Lions line instantly.
When he linked with West the quicksilver Blues bench fly-half finished with elan, slicing past Johnny Sexton and then wrong-footing Leigh Halfpenny to score the decisive try.
The crowd were in raptures as West added the extras, but soon sobered-up as the Lions launched a last ditch offensive.
The problem was that the Lions had undermined their own efforts the entire evening with indiscipline and inaccuracy, and with the match in its last throes and a converted try required to secure a one point win both elements surfaced again.
Joe Marler was the first to get it wrong when, despite a whistle-happy display by French referee Pascal Gauzerre, he crawled forward from a pick-and-drive rather than post the ball and was penalised with the Lions only a couple of metres from the line. When the home side then returned the favour by sealing-off at a ruck as they tried to run down the clock, the Lions had one last gilt-edged chance.
Having already scored through CJ Stander from a close-range driving maul in the first-half the Lions forwards knew they had the firepower to do it again, and Sexton kicked for the
corner. However, they were scuppered by a lack of precision as Rory Best’s line-out throw sailed over Itoje’s head to be snared and kicked into touch for the last time by the jubilant Blues.
It was not the only time the locals enjoyed the rub of the green. With the score at 10-5 to the Lions – with Leigh Halfpenny converting Stander’s try and kicking a penalty to overhaul Reiko Ioane’s early touchdown – and the match on the cusp of halftime, the Blues were the recipients of a couple of gifts.
The first was a penalty given against Stander for a seat-belt tackle on Luatua, in which the referee totally overlooked the fact that the Blues No.8 was on his knees when one of Stander’s arms momentarily made contact above the chest.
The injustice was compounded when Stephen Perofeta’s kick cannoned off an upright and Jack Nowell was judged by the TMO to be the last player to touch it, even though Blues sub TJ Faiane also went up for the bounce.
The only thing that was certain from the replay was that Williams was the first to dive and get downward pressure, and, with Perofeta converting, it was enough to secure Auckland a 12-10 lead at the interval.
The other mishap for the Lions was that Dan Biggar suffered a head-knock after a tackle just before halftime which saw the Welsh fly-half stay off after a head injury assessment, which resulted later in a six-day stand down period.
Where Biggar had succeeded in pegging back the Blues, his replacement, Sexton, was less successful, and with West kicking a 52nd minute penalty the Blues led 15-10.
By that juncture Jack Nowell had been forced into making a try-saving tackle in the corner on Reiko Ioane, and it was the locals making the more incisive running.
The Lions cause was hampered further when Liam Williams came on, only to get himself sinbinned for the second of two careless high ball challenges on Matt Duffie.
Even though this robbed the Lions of momentum, no sooner had Williams returned than they squeezed two penalties out of the Blues – the second after shunting and splitting the home scrum – with Halfpenny kicking both for 16-15 lead with ten minutes remaining.
Three minutes later a Sexton hoist, which lacked height and depth, was run back by Duffie.
It set up the inspired move that saw the Blues snatch the game from the Lions through West’s try – and with it a painful reminder that the Lions have to be ruthless for the full 80 minutes rather than in fits and starts.