LIONS KICK OFF:
GATLAND HAS THE PLAYERS – BUT CAN HE WIN THE TACTICAL BATTLE?
WARREN Gatland insists there’s no special plan in place when the British and Irish Lions face the haka later this month.
When Wales faced one of the most iconic rituals in sport in 2008, they refused to move first following its conclusion at the then-Millennium Stadium, resulting in a stand-off with the All Blacks that sent the atmosphere into the stratosphere.
The last time the Lions were in New Zealand in 2005, they consulted Maoris to find a meaningful response to the haka and they formed a semi-circle with captain Brian O’Driscoll and the youngest member of the team, Dwayne Peel, stepping out to face it.
At the conclusion of the haka, O’Driscoll threw some grass in the air and most of the New Zealand public and media saw that as a mark of disrespect.
Wales and the Lions came off second best on both occasions and Gatland says there will be nothing out of the ordinary this time.
“There’s no plan for the haka, we’ll just face up to it,” he said.
The tourists will face the haka outside the Test matches for the first time when the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs all throw down the Maori challenge ahead of the warm-up games.
Gatland believes it will benefit the men in red because they will become familiar with the ritual and it will become ‘regular preparation’ ahead of the three-Test series.
“The nice thing is that players are going to get an opportunity to face the haka on more than one occasion,” he said.
“For me the experience, the more times you face up to it, you don’t mind it, it’s a motivational thing; it’s not intimidating.
“And I’m pleased my players will face it more than once. You become familiar with it. It becomes part of regular preparation for a game.”
In the past, the fired-up players have been known to over-step the mark during their one big shot at the best these shores have to offer.
Duncan McRae’s brutal pummeling of Ronan O’Gara in 2001 instantly enters your mind when the thought of over-zealous acts is brought up.
And it’s not just restricted to the midweek games. Keven Mealamu and Tana Umaga ended O’Driscoll’s ‘05 tour with a spear tackle that was, at the very best, dangerously reckless.
But Gatland insists he doesn’t expect this tour to spill over in a similar fashion.
“It’s not something that’s crossed my mind at all: in my experience of New Zealand teams, they play to the limit, they play to the edge but I don’t think they go out there with the purpose of trying to injure players or trying to injure people,” said Gatland.
THE anticipation ends tomorrow as the British and Irish Lions begin their gruelling tour of New Zealand. This is as tough as it gets; minimal preparation time and a ridiculous schedule against the most formidable opponents on the planet.
Yet, expectation is high. Ireland proved that the All Blacks are fallible and England would fancy their chances against them too.
Throw in the best players from Wales and the odd Scot and surely the Lions have the quality to win.
I think they do. I think the Lions have enough power, skill and mental fortitude to beat the world champions.
I also think that it comes down to which players they pick, what style they play and how successfully they respond to adversity.
In other words, I think this comes down to Warren Gatland.
The head coach has had a whole year to come up with a plan that will win two matches. That’s what any Lions campaign is about. Win the Test rubber and it’s a successful tour.
If the Lions can’t win the provincial matches it’s unlikely that they’ll suddenly come good in the big ones, but losing the odd tour match is by no means a disaster.
What Gatland should have done during his break from Wales is formulate in his mind how he is going to set up his side to win the Tests. He will know what he wants from each position so that each element of his game plan can be executed.
The big question for us watching is what that game plan will look like. Will it be Warrenball, with slightly bigger and better players? Will it be more like England’s intricate midfield style or Scotland’s counter patterns?
Gatland has had the options open to him to choose any mix of players to play in whichever way he wants.
He has the wonderful opportunity to implement his ideal pattern – a dream come true for any coach. We will see what Gatland dreams of!
The first insight into what we can expect from the Lions became apparent from the squad selection. No George Ford, no Finn Russell, no Gary Ringrose. But when Gatland admitted that Jonathan Joseph was included only as a last-minute after-thought, I think you can begin to build up an idea of how he sees the backs functioning.
Gatland has also hinted that he is looking at either Owen Farrell or Jonny Sexton at fly-half, next to two powerful centres. This points more to the Warrenball style of rugby.
If the Lions are going to opt for power rugby, then they will need to have a pack of forwards to win the collisions and control the set piece. It will be a major concern therefore that so many of the Lions forwards were completely outplayed in their final matches before departing.
The Scarlets props made Jack McGrath and Tadgh Furlong look very ordinary in the Pro12 semi-finals and, a week on, the Munster back-row were anonymous against the same opposition.
The Exeter pack completely outplayed Saracens’ eight in their semifinal which contained four Lions, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje and George Kruis, each of which are likely to be in the Test 23.
Furthermore, Vunipola was substituted for crimes against scrummaging. None of this suggests that the Lions are going to be able to overpower New Zealand up front.
If there is parity up front then you can expect the Blacks to score a shedload of points, in which case the Lions will have to outscore them to win. You can only do that if you are set up to go for tries in the backs and a footballing 10-12 combination has been most effective in doing that this season.
I would stress that it is not an unreasonable strategy to try to physically dominate New Zealand. It is the reason why they have feared the Springboks over the years. The question is whether the Lions have the power to do that up front? Otherwise, the speed of the game will be too much for them.
By controlling the ball with powerful runners it serves two objectives; it deprives Steve Hansen’s side of the ball for chunky periods and secondly it slows the game down, making it a battle of collisions rather than of open, unstructured rugby.
The only previous coach to win with the Lions in New Zealand was of course Carwyn James. He was a coach who knew how to beat the Blacks. He did it with the Lions and the Barbarians, but most impressively with the Scarlets.
He finished with a record of played six, won four, lost one and drawn one.
It was these victories for James that secured his legacy as one of the greatest coaches and thinkers the game has seen.
Warren Gatland has many achievements as a coach at club and international level. He has one Lions triumph under his belt, but this will be his defining moment.
He has the players to win it, but does he have strategy to be remembered as a truly great coach? We will find out in six weeks’ time. Gwyn Jones is a member of S4C’s presentation team for the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Catch extended highlights of every game on S4C, starting with NZ Provincial Barbarians v Lions at 8.35pm on Saturday. Also, watch RGC 1404 v Wales live from 6.45pm this evening (English commentary available). S4C will also show every Wales game in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Up next is Wales v England at 5.15pm on Sunday.