Lions success gives England hope for World Cup 2019
IN the stock-take of one of the great Lions expeditions what stands out like Kieran Read’s sore thumb is that the force field of invincibility surrounding the All Blacks has been vaporised by the 2017 tourists. The superman myth that the All Blacks and their acolytes in the New Zealand media, and among their sponsors, work overtime to ensure is operational around the clock has been dismantled by the drawn series.
That does not mean that New Zealand’s claim to being the strongest team on the world stage is redundant, and it is certainly not part of a thesis that the All Blacks have suddenly been transformed from double world champions to no-hopers simply because they lost a Test to the Lions and drew another.
However, what it has done is reveal that the All Blacks are mortals, with the same fault-lines as any other team when they are put under pressure. Having written in The Rugby Paper’s Lions Special after the squad announcement in April that the 2017 All Blacks were beatable – rather than the invincibles they had been touted to be by friend and foe alike – it was a privilege to be in New Zealand over the last seven weeks to see a team with the character and ability to prove the point.
In the process, what the Lions have done is to give other rugby nations hope.
Hope is one of the most powerful weapons there is in sport, and it means that in the two years between now and the 2019 World Cup, teams in the Six Nations will face New Zealand with a renewed confidence that they can be knocked from their pedestal. Australia, South Africa and Argentina will also no doubt be poring over Warren Gatland’s Lions blueprint for tactical inspiration before the Rugby Championship gets underway.
What all New Zealand’s opponents will have in common is knowing that in the space of seven weeks a scratch team drawn in the end from three nations rather than four – because no Scots played in the Test series – came so close to beating them on their own soil.
That the Lions were unable to clinch the series at the end of not only a gruelling tour, but a marathon 11-month season for many of them, is not entirely surprising. There is also the small matter of New Zealand, and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere teams, being virtual club sides. Most of their players know each other inside-out having been together since their academy days in teams which are centrally controlled by their national unions – so any question of a lack of preparation time for New Zealand going into this series can be binned.
England, in particular, will grow in self belief given a hard core of 11 players who played in the Test 23. The Six Nations champions will have benefited hugely from having Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Courtney Lawes, Kyle Sinckler and George Kruis go toe-to-toe with the All Blacks up front, while similar gains will have been made by backs like Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson, Ben Te’o and Jack Nowell.
That left only four Red Rose midweek men – Joe Marler, Dan Cole, James Haskell and Jonathan Joseph – but they will also have learned not just from their tangles with the New Zealand Super franchises, but from the disappointment of not becoming Test Lions.
What is most encouraging for Eddie Jones is that his Test players found that they could not only survive in the rarefied atmosphere of a series against the All Blacks, but thrive on it. However, it would also be fair to say that with the exception of Maro Itoje – whose amazing work rate, mobility and technique saw him conduct a masterclass in how to impose yourself on New Zealand at the age of 22 – there was room for improvement everywhere.
England do not get a crack at New Zealand this autumn – with the All Black itinerary featuring matches against the Barbarians, France, Scotland and Wales – but a hard taskmaster like Jones will want them to be better players by the time the two teams meet at Twickenham next year.
For instance, while George is a genuine all-rounder his hooking is not up to scratch. The same is true of the indiscipline shown by Mako Vunipola – who was prodigious in the loose – and the promising Sinckler.
Furthermore, while Farrell’s goalkicking under pressure was nothing short of phenomenal in the last two Tests, his distribution and tactical kicking was more wayward. Elsewhere Te’o needs to work on his passing, Daly on his defensive positioning, and Watson must trust in his speed more.
If this sounds like nitpicking, the one thing that the returning Lions know is that New Zealand see the draw as a defeat – and Steve Hansen will be cracking the whip to find a new edge after becoming only the second All Black coach not to win against the tourists.
Wales and Ireland will also be boosted by the outstanding contributions made by players who are likely to spearhead their World Cup campaigns. From a Welsh viewpoint Taulupe Faletau finished the tour as a world class No.8, while Sam Warburton burnished his credentials not only as a great Lions captain, but also at openside having eclipsed New Zealand’s Sam Cane at the breakdown.
When you add Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty to the Welsh back row mix it is potent, and it is a pity that neither got the big game time they hoped for, the former due to selection and Moriarty due to an injury ruling him out early on. However, those riches should allow Gatland to concentrate on building a front five around Alun-Wyn Jones over the next couple of years to give his back-row and backs a solid base to work from.
When it comes to match-winning backs Gatland will look no further than Jonathan Davies, who was the most dangerous midfield back on either side. Before the Tests the Kiwi media were extolling the virtues of Sonny Bill Williams at every turn, but even before his sending-off in Wellington it was clear that Davies was a more complete player.
Where Williams’ back-hand offloads are effective in unlocking defences, he did not appear to have the range of skills deployed by Davies. The Welshman mixed power running with deft touches – including raking left-footed