Shane has answer to ridiculous comments

LIKE the majority of rugby fans, I was in shock at reading Irish and Lions back-row legend Sean O’Brien’s criticism of Warren Gatland and Rob Howley’s coaching methods in New Zealand this summer.

What on earth was to be gained from Sean saying such things after such a successful tour, in which he was one of the stars, and involved in probably the greatest try scored by a team from these islands since the great Gareth Edwards try for the Barbarians against the same opposition in 1972?

But then to cap it all, we had some extraordinary input from that renowned rugby sage, Billy Vunipola, who suggested that the Lions would have whitewashed the All Blacks if English coach Eddie Jones had been head coach.

I nearly choked on my beer when I read that one. Laugh out loud or LOL as my children are fond of saying!

I believe the time-honoured rugby adage of “what goes on tour stays on

tour” to be sacrosanct. However, the cat was out of the bag, and pundits and fans from every corner of the rugby firmament now wanted their say.

The most sensible views I read came from Welsh and Lions legend Shane Williams in his weekly column in The Rugby Paper. Shane sympathised with Sean’s obvious frustration and desire to have done even better, but reminded him of Gats’ and Rob’s pedigree.

I particularly enjoyed reading his reminder of Rob’s achievements as both Welsh and Lions attack coach, which Shane of course witnessed first hand over many years. As Shane reminds Sean and the rest of us, Gats and Rob have on their CVs three Six Nations titles, and a World Cup semi-final for Wales, and a comprehensive Lions series victory in Australia in 2013.

Shane also has the perfect riposte to Billy’s ridiculous comment, which “just took the whole debate to realms of fantasy. Has anyone ever beaten the All Blacks in every game in a series on their home soil?”

I suppose Shane could have just said, “LOL” to that one. R Terry James Brentwood, Essex