Same again for Lions but All Blacks go for broke
THE LIONS are settled and confident going into the series decider on Saturday after Warren Gatland named an unchanged match- day 23, while the All Blacks have reshuffled their back-line again.
It is 24 years since the British and Irish touring team were able to send out an unchanged starting XV for a Test. Liam Williams was cleared for selection despite missing training in Queenstown yesterday with tightness in his leg, so the coaches opted to retain all the players who earned a 24-21 victory in Wellington last weekend, to set up this grand finale at Eden Park.
There had been a fierce debate about the loosehead prop position, in light of Mako Vunipola conceding four penalties and receiving a yellow card in the second Test.
But as Sportsmail revealed yesterday, the management felt he had been unfortunate with at least two of the calls and have opted to retain the Englishman. There had been a similar debate about Alun Wyn Jones’s selection at lock, after an off-colour display in the series opener, also at Eden Park.
But he was outstanding in Wellington to justify the decision to keep him in the side and the Wales veteran will become the first player since Graham Price in 1977-83 to appear in every Test on three consecutive tours. He will also over-take Martin Johnson to become the most-capped Lion of the professional era.
Having revealed his hand last night, Gatland said: ‘It is not very often on a Lions tour that you get to pick theth same 23.23 WeW feltflt we should reward the players for the result and the courage that they showed in coming from 18-9 down, digging themselves out of a hole and finishing strongly.
‘We are all aware of how big this game is and we are expecting a backlash from the All Blacks. But the pleasing thing about the second Test is just how strong we were in the last 10 or 15 minutes, in terms of energy and enthusiasm, so we still feel there is another level in us. This is a huge chance for this group of players to make Lions history.’
The All Blacks have made further changes behind the scrum, as they seek to respond to the shock of a first home defeat in eight years. Head coach Steve Hansen has replaced the banned Sonny Bill Williams with Ngani Laumape, who partners Anton LienertBrown in a midfield pairing with just 13 Test caps between them.
Israel Dagg has been moved back out to the right wing in place of Waisake Naholo, with 20-year-old Jordie Barrett — younger brother of fly-half Beauden Barrett — named at full back. He is expected to take over the goal- kicking duties for this high-pressure fixture, despite being a relative newcomer, with just one cap to date.
In a twist which had not been anticipated, Rieko Ioane has been dropped out of the match-day 23 and his place on the left flank has been taken by the giant Julian Savea. The man nicknamed ‘The Bus’ will be striving to add to his formidable tally of 46 Test tries.
To add to the grand occasion, New Zealand captain Kieran Read will be making his 100th Test appearance. Hansen paid tribute to his skipper and set the scene for a classic encounter, saying: ‘It is going to be a cracker.
‘It’s the series we expected it to be, as the Lions have quality players. Now it’s winner takes all — and that’ll create its own unique pressures. It’s going to be interesting to see how both sides cope with it.’