SHANE McGRATH
Chief Sports Writer
CHALLENGING as it undoubtedly is, brace against the hype and savour the coming drama. Melodrama marked the end of the second Test yesterday, and the preposterous nature of Sky’s coverage make many whose feelings about the Lions are generally neutral, suspect the whole event is a victory for surface over substance.
Listening to an idiotic reporter slobbering over Lions in interviews after the match hardly weakens that contention, but the 80 minutes that preceded it were, however, a gruelling refutation of criticism.
The match was enthralling; flawed and decisively skewed by the proper sending off of Sonny Bill Williams, but no less compelling for any of that.
Try, then, to stay upright amid the bluster because the third Test is now meaningful. 24 hours ago, few would have expected that.
Victory justifies Warren Gatland now, as it does any victorious coach, but the fact is not one of Gatland’s changes affected the game as profoundly as the dismissal of Williams did. It was the most important event in the match, followed by repeated malfunctions in the kicking of Beauden Barrett.
This is not to be mean-minded but realistic. Many were reaching for words like epic and classic after the final whistle in Wellington but the Lions won a match that was riveting in large part because of its flaws.
New Zealand worked gallantly to overcome the loss of a player punished for a cheap, nasty and dangerous tackle. The Lions could not capitalise until the final quarter, by which point their opponents were out on their feet.
The losing of the match for the All Blacks was in the mis-kicks of Barrett and the awful decision made by Williams to shoulder Anthony Watson in the face. The winning of it for the Lions was sourced in the same places, but with the added impact of a handful of tremendous performances.
They were led by Conor Murray, who produced the best display of any tourist on this trip yet. His try was a tribute to smart-thinking and guts, and a reward for an outstanding overall effort.
Gatland’s decision to pick Owen Farrell at inside-centre was not looking smart when Jerome Kaino ran over the Englishman, but the selection could not be stress-tested as closely as New Zealand would have wished, again because of Williams’ early exit.
Farrell and Johnny Sexton did synch well in the lead-up to the try by Taulupe Faletau, and they are sure to be yoked together for the match in Eden Park. The final judgement on their partnership will be decided there, but here they spent too little time in attacking situations.
This should not be overlooked, either. The Lions spent large sections of the game defending, badly, even though they had an extra player. The chaotic performance of Mako Vunipola almost cost them, and just as it is unlikely we will see Sonny Bill Williams wear a black jersey any time soon, so it is impossible to think Vunipola will not be punished for this outing.
The one Gatland selection that was an outright triumph was the picking of Maro Itoje. The young lock was magnificent, and the world-class designation that has been applied to him for quite some time in England is justified.
However, the recast back row, with Peter O’Mahony gone, still could not cope with Sam Cane at the breakdown.
He was the best back-rower on the field, with him and Kieran Read obliged to carry the fight without Kaino, sacrificed as a result of Williams’ nastiness.
The All Black pair won the battle for an hour, but by the end Read was spent, tossed around in tackles as if he were a tailor’s dummy and Cane was replaced, exhausted.
These are details in danger of being forgotten in the rush to hail a classic. Any win against the greatest side in rugby history, and one of the great sides in the history of sport, should be celebrated, and it is to Gatland’s credit that he oversaw the result.
But to acclaim it without recognising the context in which it was achieved is foolish – and the head
coach and his team cannot succumb to that fancy ahead of the deciding Test.
New Zealanders are truly awful losers. Read and Steve Hansen were dignified in accepting this result, but that will not be reflected across the country.
A parochial press that mistake partisanship for analysis do exaggerate the impression of a country that cannot take defeats, but losing to the Lions will have an enormous impact on the mood there.
The pressure on Hansen and his great captain will be ceaseless, but these are not men who bend to the conditions.
New Zealand learned in losing to Ireland in Chicago and came to Dublin in a mean mood. That is not to suppose their tactics will follow a similar pattern in Auckland; there is no guarantee they will try and batter the Lions the way they did Joe Schmidt’s team.
There will, though, be a response, and there is nothing to suggest the Lions will be able to cope with it.
The truth is the victory in Wellington yesterday was the product of remarkable circumstances that are unlikely to be repeated. Don’t expect to see an All Black shown a red card (and Jerome Garces deserves credit for making the correct call when he could have got away with making a softer one), and don’t imagine Barrett will kick that poorly.
That there is a Test to savour, though, is welcome. It will have a reviving effect on the very idea of the Lions in an age when the tour is squeezed by ambitious domestic agendas and the expanding Test calendar.
Plenty find the Lions concept ridiculous, and the gushing of Sky, which is cheerleading and not reporting, does not challenge that prejudice.
But there is more to it. This errorridden and overwrought contest proved it, and the hope is that next Saturday will bring supporting evidence.
Be certain of this, at least: next Saturday will bring a roaring New Zealand response. If the Lions withstand that, then the talk can turn to epics.