Sorry Sam, you’ve got no place in decider

Former Lions halfback Austin Healey says Warren Gatland should ‘‘roll the dice’’ and drop British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton for the deciding third test.

Many critics felt Warburton was one of the Lions’ best in the series-squaring second test win in Wellington.

But Healey favours replacing flanker Warburton with his ‘‘faster’’ Welsh compatriot Justin Tipuric.

‘‘Most people’s first instinct would be to keep the same team for the third test,’’ Healey wrote in his Daily Telegraph column. ‘‘If you have beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand then surely you deserve another crack? I’m not so sure I would buy this.

‘‘New Zealand we know are going to be an awful lot better, not least if they play with 15 men for the full 80 minutes.

‘‘The challenge for Gatland is to find a way of matching or bettering that improvement. Does he trust those same players to deliver that or does he make changes?

‘‘In my opinion he should roll the dice. This may sound like heresy but he should replace Sam Warburton with Justin Tipuric. I don’t think Warburton had a bad game, but he was not at the level that Sam Cane was. Certainly, he did his best to get to as many breakdowns as he could and he was slightly slowing down the ball before he tired in the last quarter.’’

Healey said Tipuric was ‘‘that bit fitter and faster’’.

‘‘Defensively he barely misses a tackle and that extra speed would create both attacking and turnover possibilities. It would be a huge call to go with a different captain for the third straight test but that may be the difference.’’

Healey said he would like to see New Zealand-born midielder Ben Teo’o involved in the third test, ‘‘whether at outside or inside centre’’.

‘‘But a lot of that will depend on the weather and certainly every Lions supporter should be praying for the rain in Wellington to head north in seven days’ time.

Healey loved how the Lions showed the All Blacks ‘‘precisely no respect on the pitch’’ during their test victory in Wellington.

‘‘In Wellington we witnessed their collective refusal to be bullied again. Their attitude was ‘you know what we are going to give you a taste of your own medicine’. I loved it,’’ Healey wrote in the Telegraph.

‘‘They were properly getting into the All Blacks’ faces, standing over them, ruffling their heads. Maro Itoje epitomised their snarling attitude, Mako Vunipola and Sean O’brien were not far behind.

‘‘Yes the discipline could have been a lot better. Conceding 13 penalties is not in the manual of how to win a test match. But the point was the Lions were prepared to play right on the edge rather than let the All Blacks march all over them.

‘‘If you watch the game back and freeze frame every breakdown you will see so many off-the-ball incidents from New Zealand. The Lions were far from saints in that regard, but that’s what I liked.’’

Healey believed Vunipola’s yellow card for a late, dangerous cleanout of Barrett was harsh because it’s what ‘‘Sam Whitelock does every game’’.

The former England star added: ‘‘Vunipola’s only mistake was to do it in the open where it was so obvious.

‘‘Of course you would like the penalty count to come down, but if anything the Lions need to ramp up the aggression even further because there will definitely be a ‘Blacklash’ coming next week.’’