Forget Warrenball, day for these Lions,

FORGET Warrenball, rugby chaos is the new buzz phrase on this Lions tour of New Zealand.

Warren Gatland’s style of play has very much dominated the debate in the build-up to today’s match against the Blues at Eden Park here in Auckland.

The Kiwi coach visibly bristled at the team announcement when it was put to him there’s a perception in some quarters his teams can only play in one way – physically and direct.

That style has, of course, long been dubbed Warrenball, a term first coined by former England backs coach Brian Smith, who Gatland name-checked during his spiky response.

It’s a label the Lions boss clearly has little affection for and you sense he is irritated at having to repeatedly justify his coaching philosophy given his successful track record.

He insists that far from being instructed to play by numbers and smash and bash, his charges are in fact being encouraged to express themselves on this trip, back their skills and deliver the X-Factor.

And that was a theme taken up by his attack coach Rob Howley, who said he didn’t have a clue what Warrenball was, when questioned on the subject, turning the focus instead onto “rugby chaos”, a phrase he used six or seven times.

He explained it as an unstructured approach which the Lions have been working on in training to prepare them for the specific challenges which are presented in New Zealand.

“It’s about putting some principles in place and having a framework whereby the players have the ability to play what is in front of them,” he said.

“Rugby is dictated by speed of ball and numbers in the defensive line and it’s important we are able to adapt and play what we see.

“The one thing which the players have really enjoyed is what we call rugby chaos, 15 against 15. It’s very unstructured.

“We’re all aware of the pace of the game in the southern hemisphere and it is really important we get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“That is the challenge for us as coaches, learning about our players on a daily basis, and putting them under pressure, whether it is time on the ball, fatigue or numbers.”

Essentially, Howley appears to be talking about playing with speed, intensity and width, playing what you see in front of you and maybe loosening the shackles.

“That’s the nature of the game, that’s rugby in the southern hemisphere,” he said.

“That’s how the majority of international sides play, from chaos, unstructured.

“The majority of the game now is from kick returns and turnovers and it’s the ability to react in those situations and not get left behind, to be ahead of the game. That’s in terms of your support lines and handling skills.

“There are different pictures over here, the way the game is and we’re trying to get up to speed with those pictures, hence the rugby chaos.

“The players on this tour are quality, the best of the best, and we want to let them show their talent.

“Warren Gatland has mentioned the X-factor that we’ve got and we feel we’ve got a hugely talented squad.

“We’re very fortunate to be working with these guys and we want them to go out and play what they see and that’s what the message has been over the last three weeks.

“You need to get numbers around the ball sometimes to look after it, so there’s a bit of structure there, but ultimately it’s playing with some talent and playing smart, intelligent rugby.

“The players are enjoying it as the rugby chaos doesn’t go on for too long and it’s about intensity and the speed of the game and the speed of the decision-making and getting the ball to the wide channels.

“When we sat down in selection, we said we wanted to play from one touchline to the next. That’s the key to us.

“Obviously it’s in its infancy at the moment, but the more we keep working at it the better we will get and we’ll see improvement game by game.”

Howley acknowledged the framework wasn’t in place for the opening game against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei where the tourists lacked a clinical edge during a hard-fought 13-7 victory.

“I’m fortunate to have worn the Lions jersey and that brings enthusiasm and excitement, but it can also bring anxiety,” said the former Wales scrum-half.

“There was the deluge of rain, the conditions and some of it was down to that.

“There were also simple, basic, unforced errors. Those are the elements we need to improve on and we will only do so by that rugby chaos, 15 on 15.

“The challenge is to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“We want to be clinical and ruthless. In a couple of weeks, we are playing against the most ruthless side in world rugby. We might only have two opportunities in a game and if that happens, we need to be clinical.”

He revealed the search for chaos has led to a few lively moments on the training paddock.

“We did an offload drill yesterday and the contact was explosive. It got pretty heated,” he said.

“We’re mindful of injuries, but we are mindful of putting players under pressure as well. So there’s a fine balance.”

And finally, what about Warrenball?

“I don’t know what Warrenball means. I haven’t got a clue,” he replied.

“All I can say is this is my third Lions tour as a coach, under Sir Ian McGeechan in 2009, then in 2013 and now and I’m not sure what Warrenball means.

“I dunno, have we played that over the last few years? I’m not too sure.”

So we now all wait to see how