Trophy tug-of-war, a timely word with the ref and why the Lions tour is special
SAM Warburton has just completed his second tour as Lions captain, once again leading by example both on and off the pitch, saving his team from defeat with his quick thinking in the final minutes of the last Test and serving as a real ambassador for the game throughout the six-week trip.
Rugby correspondent SIMON THOMAS was on hand in Auckland as the Wales flanker met the press for the final time before heading home. Q: How do you reflect back on this Lions tour now, with the Test series having ended up tied? A: The tour has been a success from engagement with fans in New Zealand and back home and I’m sure the viewing numbers were through the roof. Everybody seemed to enjoy it. The two sets of players were joking with two minutes to go, saying what a game of rugby to be involved in. It’s been a special series to play in. Obviously, as players, you always want to win, but I guess we have done the Lions jersey proud and I am sure people will be looking forward to the next tour in four years time. Q: Does this feel like a greater achievement than the series win in Australia four years ago, given what you have had to go through? A: It’s a difficult question. Probably not because four years ago was a win and it was pleasing to win. There’s a slightly different atmosphere. It’s always great to win a Test series and we were under so much pressure to win four years ago because people would have questioned the Lions if we had lost that series. That was a really important series to keep the hopes of the Lions alive, to keep people excited about these tours because from a playing perspective they are so special to play in and completely different to anything you ever experience in international rugby. Q: Would you like a rule change so we don’t have a drawn series in future? A: That’s a tough one. I was expecting to go again. I didn’t actually realise it was a drawn series. I was ready for 20 minutes of extra time. I was trying to drink as many electrolytes as I could because I was cramping up, but then I realised everyone was shaking hands and I thought: ‘oh, it’s a drawn series.’ You never think it is going to go down to that situation so I never looked into what would potentially happen. If I had to I would probably have tossed a coin and gone for the win, with extra time or golden point or something. I think it would have made for an amazing climax. I think it would be nice to see a winner. Q: What was your message to the players before kick-off? A: You will have to watch the DVD! I just think those games bring out the biggest players and the toughest competitors and that’s what we are all there for in the big arena like that. That’s when the big boys step up I guess.
People ask me about pressure, I read a great quote from Michael Johnson which stuck with me. He said “Pressure is just the shadow of great opportunity”. That’s how I see it. Don’t be afraid of what you could lose.
Be excited about what you could achieve. You’ve got to be brave in those games, got to be able to take chances and make things happen. That is pretty much the message for us. When you get in the real big games you don’t want occasions to blur for players. You still want them to have a go, play with freedom and instinct. Q: But was it one of you more emotional, passionate speeches? A: I probably didn’t say as much as I normally would because I felt very emotional before the game. You think of all sorts – my family, my little girl, my wife, all the things you sacrifice to get here. Little things.
Sacrifices with your diet, your sleep, your lifestyle. When I chat to youngsters, I always say to them, being a professional rugby player is a lifestyle. It’s not about the five or six hours you’re at a training ground each day, it is what you do off the field, how you look after yourself. So when you have been committed for four years and you get to a Lions series, all that effort goes into one 80-minute game of rugby and you just want to do yourself justice. Certainly that is where the pressure comes from internally as a player. Those are all the things you think about as a player before the game. You just want to make all your family, friends and fans proud of you. Q: Can you just explain how your conversation with Romain Poite went with that penalty call? A: It’s a shot to nothing at that point. I just asked him to check for the accidental offside. It’s worth asking the question. The whole game he was pretty receptive at having a look at things which he might not have caught at first sight. A lot of referees in the past, they make a call and they stick to it. This series they’ve been really good at having a look.
If you question something 10-15 times a game, they won’t acknowledge what you’re saying but I think less is more in those situations. Luckily he listened to the question and had a check again.
When you think back to the World Cup when that happened with Scotland and Australia and they kicked the penalty, the Scots were angry with that and I remember thinking there’s got to be an alternative because it’s not a penalty offence in my opinion. I’m glad it was a scrum instead. Q: Will a shirt from this series go up on your wall at home? A: My second Test shirt will go up. I had the pleasure of swapping with Kieran Read after that game as well and he’s a player who I think is one the best players I’ve played against ever. I was honoured when he asked to swap shirts. I don’t put many in the house but I’ll frame both of them and I’ll be proud of that Test victory last week.
I’ve got one shirt from the first Test four years ago, the victory, and the victory in the second Test. I only put winning shirts up. Q: Were you and Kieran having a tug of war with the trophy at one point? A: No, we took it and I just joked around, I said ‘who has it, you or me?’
We started messing around, tugging it back and forth but we said the right thing to do is just put it back on the stand. It was a difficult one. But it was a nice touch from the New Zealand boys, when we got the lads in for a photo, Jerome Kaino said ‘should we mix the lads together?’ and I thought that was really nice.
It’s a little bit cheesy I guess but rugby was the winner. People make up rivalries, but we know these players. I played against them in three Tests last year, three Tests this year, we chat quite a lot and their all top blokes, real nice guys. It was really enjoyable on the pitch, you have a bit of niggle sometimes but most of the time you’re helping each other off the floor and we’ve got a lot of respect for each other so there’s a lot of good friendships between the two dressing rooms. Q: Can you speak a little about Owen Farrell stepping up and kicking those crucial penalties? A: These last two games in particular he has been brilliant from the boot.
That takes a lot of courage to do that. You can just tell he has got nerves of steel and you know he is going to bang it over.
Out of all the guys I’ve played with, there are certain guys you would like to be in the trenches when the chips are down. He is definitely one of those