Clock’s ticking... but Sam knows first Test is not be all and end all
The gauntlet has now been thrown down out here, not just to New Zealand rugby but to the next group of Lions to take the field.
Not only did the players who beat the Crusaders in Christchurch get this tour back on track, but they also set the standards for others to follow.
The challenge facing the all changed team selected to take on the Highlanders here in Dunedin is to maintain those standards and keep the momentum going on this trip.
It’s also a hugely important encounter for them on the individual front.
With the first meeting with the All Blacks now just 12 days away, the Test team is starting to take shape.
And, as things stand, the XV chosen to run out at the Forsyth Barr Stadium does largely have the look of a midweek team about it.
The task facing those men is to defy that perceived pecking order and force a reappraisal.
So it’s a big game for all involved, but especially so for tour captain Sam Warburton.
He’s one man who, in theory, should be more nailed on for a Test spot than most.
But having had just 67 minutes of rugby in 10 weeks due to injury issues, he knows he is playing catch up.
Speaking yesterday, he was honest enough to admit the first Test in Auckland might come too soon for him.
He knows from experience he needs two or three games to get up to speed and to be firing on all cylinders.
It was always going to be a tight call for him to get enough rugby under his belt ahead of the Test series given the condensed nature of the schedule.
And he wasn’t helped by the minor ankle problem he picked up in the tour opener in Whangarei, which knocked him back a little bit and ruled him out of contention for a bench berth against the Crusaders.
So he’s up against the clock, but Warburton is philosophical enough to realise that starting that first Test at Eden Park isn’t the be all and end of this trip.
He knows a lot can happen in a Lions series. He has first hand experience of that from four years ago.
In the second Test against the Wallabies in Melbourne, he produced one of the finest displays of his career, only to suffer a hamstring tear late on which was to rule him out of the series decider in Sydney.
So he’s taking a sensible approach to his situation, knowing there are three bites of the cherry against the All Blacks and also knowing how important it is that he is ready when he does come up against them.
At the same time, he will be looking to put his hand up, like everyone else here in Dunedin and, in particular, provide the trademark turnovers which have thin on the ground for the Lions on this trip so far.
Elsewhere in the starting line-up, there are a number of other men who still have a realistic chance of making the Test 23. Warburton’s back row partner, CJ Stander, has made an impact in the last two games and while Taulupe Faletau looks a cert at No 8, the Munsterman could yet be a contender to pack down on the blindside.
He is used to playing there and brings a big ball-carrying clout, an all-round physicality and is just a real presence on the park.
His fellow Irish international Robbie Henshaw came on this trip as the favourite to wear the No 12 jersey against the All Blacks after an outstanding season.
But the form of the man who proceeded him in the Leinster midfield, Ben Te’o, has really shaken things up.
Te’o has been the stand-out centre so far, with his ability to break the line and get in behind the opposition making him a very tempting selection, albeit his passing game can at times let down his excellent approach work.
So Henshaw needs a big game to force his way back into the frame, with a repeat of the kind of performance he delivered against New Zealand in Chicago being required.
As Gatland indicated last week, centre is the toughest selection call of the lot and the No 13 spot still remains wide open.
The Kiwi coach is a big admirer of Jonathan Davies and his end-of-season excellence for the Scarlets suggested he was the frontrunner.
But he has only had 28 minutes of rugby on this trip, having had to leave the field against the Crusaders for a HIA, which ruled him out of
this game. So outside centre remains up for grabs, with Jonathan Joseph now having his chance to stake a claim by showing the footwork, speed and outside breaks that mark him out as something different in the role.
Similarly, full-back remains a position where there is still some debate to be had, amid numerous options.
At present, you would say the reliability of Leigh Halfpenny makes him the likeliest lad, especially with back-to-back Player of the Six Nations Stuart Hogg sidelined with a nasty facial injury.
But Anthony Watson showed what he has to offer there from a counter-attacking perspective against the Crusaders, while the equally versatile Jared Payne is the latest to get a shot at 15, having started his previous game in the centre.
Payne has a lot going for him in terms of having a typically Kiwi error-free, astute and assured nature to his game, which makes him the glue in a back line.
So if he comes through well, with no more calf issues, don’t write him out of being involved somewhere in the Test set-up.
Wing is another department where there’s room for discussion, so Tommy Seymour will want to throw his hat in the ring after a quiet tour so far.
Along with sub scrum-half Greig Laidlaw, he is one of two Scots involved in this game in this most Scottish of cities.
Dunedin takes it’s name from the Gaelic for Edinburgh and there are reminders of that link all around as you walk down Princes Street, George Street, Heriot Row, Cumberland Street and Strathallan Street.
Dunedin was founded as a Scottish settlement at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848, with the intention being to create a New Edinburgh in New Zealand.
In fact, the city was designed as something of a replica in terms of the street lay-out.
In all, some 12,000 immigrants arrived from Scotland in the 1850s.
The tales of their long journeys by boat, as chronicled in the city’s settlers’ museum, make for compelling reading and the Scottish roots remain strong today.
So hence the name of the Lions’ latest opposition, the Highlanders, who have had a decent year, with 10 wins out of 14 in Super Rugby.
Following the momentous victory over the Crusaders, the tourists celebrated by belting out a version of Highland Cathedral in the dressing room, with Laidlaw leading the way.
If this next batch of Lions can claim another morale-boosting win down here in the far south, then there would be no more appropriate celebration song.
Highlanders: Buckman; Naholo, Fekitoa, Walden, Li; Sopoaga, Hammington; Lienert-Brown, Coltman, Tokolahi, Ainley, Hemopo, Hunt, Whitelock (capt), Evans.
Replacements: Pleasants-Tate, Seiuli, Halanukonuka, Dickson, Lentjes, Renton, Banks, Osborne.
Lions: Payne; Nowell; Joseph, Henshaw, Seymour; Biggar, Webb; Marler, Best, Sinckler, Lawes, Henderson; Haskell, Stander, Warburton (capt).
Replacements: Owens, McGrath, Cole, Jones, Tipuric, Laidlaw, Farrell, Daly.