HEAD-TO-HEAD: LIKELY LIONS FIRST TEST SIDES
NEWS that Jerome Kaino could miss the first Test because of injury against the Lions is sad for the veteran New Zealander, but the certainty is there will be other casualties on both sides before the series starts in June.
Bolters such as the talented Jordie Barrett, brother of Beauden, are also staking serious claims for All Blacks selection, while Sonny Bill Williams continues to push forward his case for inclusion in the hosts’ midfield.
Warren Gatland has now named his Lions squad, surprisingly with Owen Farrell at fly-half, though the Kiwi has stressed he could be prepared to use the talented Saracen in midfield.
So what are the likely sides at this point and how do they compare?
MARK ORDERS assesses the teams that Steve Hansen and Gatland are likely to pick and weighs up who will have the edge in the individual battles... Jordie Barrett 8 v Leigh Halfpenny 7 The 6ft 5in brother of Beauden Barrett is a dazzling attacker who has been terrorising defences for the Hurricanes and he can also kick goals from 50 metres, a talent that may persuade Steve Hansen to accommodate him and switch Ben Smith to wing, especially if there are doubts about Israel Dagg’s fitness.
Master goal-kicker Halfpenny is courageous and intelligent and a fine reader of play but needs to put his attacking game in gear.
Ben Smith 9 v George North 8 Blessed with fast feet and an ability to think just as quickly, Smith is arguably the best back-three player in the world, an individual who can conjure special moments on demand.
North at his best — think the game with Ireland in the recent Six Nations — would trouble any defence in the world and he is a big-game player, but he can allow his standards to waver. Sonny Bill Williams 8 v Jonathan Davies 7 The All Blacks may go for the gifted but youthful Anton Lienert-Brown if Williams is deemed short of rugby, but at his best SBW is elite quality, with an offloading game to die for.
Davies’s game may not come with tinkling bells, but don’t underestimate him: he is a proven operator at the highest level who showed in 2013 he could lift his performance level to serious heights.
Ryan Crotty 7 v Owen Farrell 8 Crotty is another All Black midfield man who isn’t assured of his place, but he has emerged as a top-quality organiser, a player who doesn’t stop yapping during a game.
Farrell is a winner to his core. He is in the squad as a fly-half, but Gatland may choose to accommodate him at inside centre for the Tests. Wherever he plays the outstanding Saracen will be an asset.
Julian Savea 8 v Liam Williams 8 Savea is not without defensive weaknesses but at full tilt in attack ‘The Bus’ can be hugely difficult to stop, a Lomuesque runner who scores tries for fun. Williams’s first job is to win a place ahead of Elliot Daly, Tommy Seymour and Anthony Watson, but he was an unqualified success for Wales in New Zealand last summer and is fazed by nothing. Beauden Barrett 9 v Jonathan Sexton 8 Barrett is World Player of the Year for a reason. There are better goal-kickers, but no more creative influence at No. 10 in the world game. He can change a game in the blink of an eye and is the catalyst for so much that is exciting in All Black rugby.
Like Farrell — and indeed Dan Biggar — Sexton is a leader. He has craft and a burning will to win, but he has suffered a number of injuries in recent years and the All Blacks will look to test his durability.
Aaron Smith 8 v Conor Murray 8 At his best Smith is a gem of a player but he is still working his way back to
form after a difficult second half of 2016. Murray was oustanding in Ireland’s win over the All Blacks in Chicago and brings a serious physicality to proceedings. Joe Moody 8 v Tadhg Furlong 8 When breaking through into the Test arena, former wrestler Moody was known as “the next tank off the rank”. He can scrummage but has skills around the field as well. Furlong had a superb Six Nations with his strong set-piece work. Dane Coles 9 v Ken Owens 7 Coles is an extraordinary player. He handles like a back, gets around the field like a flanker but has the core skills of a top hooker. Ken Owens was the best hooker in the Six Nations by some distance, the closest the Lions have to Coles with his bustling energy around the field. Owen Franks 8 v Mako Vunipola 8 In the World Cup semi-final against Australia in 2011 Franks was among the first three New Zealand forwards to the breakdown on 40 occasions, and he can also scrummage, handle, and defend, a worthy successor to Carl Hayman. Vunipola has a huge work-rate around the field and has made marked improvements to his set-piece game. Sam Whitelock 9 v Maro Itoje 8 Whitelock doesn’t stop on the field, thinking nothing of racing 80 metres in pursuit of a kick ahead and then doing what’s required at the next scrum. In the boilerhouse, few work harder than the Crusader. Itoje figured at blindside during the recent Six Nations but excels at lock, too, with his ability to achieve multiple turnovers a huge plus. Brodie Retallick 9 v Alun Wyn Jones 8 What a player Retallick is. He is 6ft 8in and touching 19st but he has the brains and handling skills of a back. Jones didn’t do himself justice in New Zealand last summer, but if you are looking for a warrior with vast experience who is capable of competing at the highest level, he is your man. Ardie Savea 8 v CJ Stander 8 Injury seems likely to rule Jerome Kaino out of the first Test but the Kiwis have options, one of which would be to accommodate Savea at blindside. He is more than just a top-quality handler who has razor-sharp awareness on a rugby field: he is also as a tough customer who can take a knock. Stander’s USP is his relentless ball carrying — he took play forward 103 times in the Six Nations — with the Munster player seemingly unable to understand the concept of the backward step. Kieran Read 9 v Billy Vunipola 8 Read is another creme-de-la-creme operator, a thinking No. 8 who has an extraordinary range of skills that make him the pre-eminent player in his position in the world, while Vunipola is a human bulldozer who can be relied on to make it across any gain-line. Sam Cane 7 v Sam Warburton 8 Cane was left with the impossible job of following The One and Only, aka Richie McCaw, and has generally done as well as could be expected.
Justin Tipuric’s form in the Six Nations was of Lions Test standard, but Warren Gatland isn’t a two-opensides type of guy and has tended to give the openside nod to Sam Warburton, who, let’s be honest, isn’t the worst.
In fact, he’s quite outstanding himself in a different sort of way and Gatland is likely to look to the immensely strong Cardiff Blues man to lead the Lions effort at the breakdown.
New Zealanders have huge respect for Warburton after his efforts at the 2011 World Cup, and he is good enough to justify it.