‘Stupid’ penalties anger coach
It was all grins and backslaps for the British and Irish Lions in the Wellington rain, but stern faces and the riot act is set to be unleashed in Queenstown.
They aren’t much sterner than assistant coach Graham Rowntree who, after lavishing praise on his players for their ‘‘special’’ 24-21 win over the All Blacks, said tough talking was required to steel them for the Auckland decider.
In the ‘penalties awarded’ column, there were 13 to the All Blacks and eight to the Lions, as the tourists beat their hosts who played the last 55 minutes with 14 men, without Sonny Bill Williams. There was also a yellow card to prop Mako Vunipola, a red-card offence by Sean O’Brien missed by referee Jerome Garces and fellow officials, and fiery prop Kyle Sinckler’s push and shove with TJ Perenara on the fulltime whistle.
That penalty count was the biggest worry on the stats sheet, as another French referee Romain Poite prepares to brandish the whistle on Saturday after controlling the 31-31 draw against the Hurricanes.
‘‘We’ve got to sort it [discipline] out because it’s going to kill us. In the heat of the battle it’s all about what you do under fatigue. You can’t be doing it. We can keep reiterating that point to the players,’’ Rowntree said.
No one was singled out, but Rowntree agreed the coaching staff headed by Warren Gatland might need to produce the ‘‘big stick’’ when they arrive in Queenstown for rest and relaxation.
‘‘Maybe. It’s not as if it’s the same individuals. There’s a trait to what we’re doing. We just can’t be doing it. We can’t lose a test series on the back of some stupid penalties. That would be unacceptable. How would you live with that for the rest of your life?’’
Rowntree, a Lions tourist in 1997 and 2005, knows how special it is to beat the All Blacks in Wellington.
He fondly recalled being part of a six-man scrum who shunted the All Blacks in 2003, winning that test on the way to hoisting the World Cup later that year.
But, like captain Sam Warburton on match night, there was a muted tone to the celebrations after keeping the All Blacks tryless. Not till they’d finished the job at Eden Park against a wounded All Blacks would they feel it was a real achievement, joining the 1971 team as the only ones to crack a series victory in this country.
‘‘There’s a series in the balance. How many of these guys have won a Lions series in New Zealand? And what excites the guys is, there’s more to come in our game,’’ Rowntree said.
‘‘We’ve got the best rugby players from the home nations and they’ve had a taste of it. First test they were down and hurting and we got a reaction. Now let’s get this done, let’s raise our game again.
‘‘I’m expecting a massive reaction [from the All Blacks]. They don’t normally make such mistakes do they? They’ll be hurting from that as we were after last week. We’re expecting a reaction going into this game at Eden Park. They don’t lose there very often.’’ Not since 1994, in fact. That remarkable statistic at Fortress Eden continued in the first test when the All Blacks dominated their opponents 30-15, after the Blues also pipped the Lions there in the tour match.
‘‘Luckily we’ve been there recently. We played the Blues there, a great atmosphere, and the first test there, so we’ve had a taste of it,’’ Rowntree said.
‘‘We won a big game so we must be doing something right. But consistency, discipline and keeping consistent momentum in the game is a big work-on for this week.’’