Cometh the hour, cometh the man
PETER JACKSON analyses the numbers to reveal the major Lions contributors
Of all the Lions in action during the New Zealand campaign, only one completed six matches from start to finish – Taulupe Faletau.
Out of a grand total of 43 on active service throughout surely the most captivating six weeks in Lions’ history, Bath’s indomitable Welshman stands on top of the pile. A total of eight hours’ playing time shows that he did not miss a single minute.
Anthony Watson, went closest to matching him for ever-presence, five full appearances plus three-quarters of one after making an unscheduled appearance in the 20th minute against the Crusaders as an early substitute for the luckless Stuart Hogg.
Four others joined the Bath pair in playing every minute of every Test – Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Liam Williams and the Lion of Lions himself, Jonathan Davies. While Faletau reaffirmed his status as the ultimate 80minute man, an Anglo-Irish pair of props proved once again that figures are not all they seem.
Jack McGrath and Kyle Sinckler each made seven appearances, one more than Faletau. Ireland’s loosehead averaged 26 minutes per match, having been given just one start all tour.
England’s tighthead fared marginally better, an average below half an hour per game illustrating his value as a tour de force from the bench. In doing so, Sinckler gave the definitive version of the impact player.
The series proved, among many other things, that Test matches are getting longer. Total playing time for the three internationals stretched to an average of 98 ½ minutes, more than three minutes per game longer than the previous series in New Zealand twelve years earlier.
That figure included the long stoppage during the opening Test in Christchurch caused by the notorious spear tackle which put Brian O’Driscoll out of the tour with a dislocated shoulder. Mercifully, the series just ended passed without any serious injury and yet every match took considerably longer to complete than in 2005.
The obvious explanation can be found in three letters, TMO. My records show that the number of incidents referred for video inspection or called for by the Television Match Official, the