The only way is up as Gatland’s charges finally impress
Pack set the platform as tourists bounce back from midweek mauling
AS THEY sang their victory songs after another resounding Saturday statement, the Lions did not come across as divided or demoralised, as the host nation would portray them. There is life in this squad and this tour yet.
Steve Hansen, New Zealand’s head coach and agitator-in-chief, had goaded the tourists again on the eve of this game and they responded emphatically. Hansen had wondered what Warren Gatland has up his sleeve ahead of the Test series. On this evidence, he has a formidable pack, a prodigious defence, a powerful set-piece platform, a prolific goal-kicker and an increasing number of backs playing their way into prime form at the right time.
There are still rough edges but this was a result and a performance to propel the Lions towards the first Test with renewed hope and confidence. Once again, Kiwi derision served to bring the best out of the besieged tourists. Once again, they circled the wagons in the face of criticism following the midweek defeat in Dunedin and produced a stirring riposte.
Hansen had said that the Maori, New Zealand’s shadow national team, would ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at the Lions. He was way off with that prediction. In the event, the Lions threw the kitchen sink at the Maori, with considerable force. What came back the other way amounted to precious little, which was a testament to the visitors’ defensive lock-out. This was another of those matches billed as a fourth Test but when it came to it the hosts were utterly overpowered.
Gatland’s Saturday sides now have three successive victories and the last two have been notable triumphs. The shut-down of the Crusaders in Christchurch gave the Lions a prime scalp and they followed that up by stopping the Maori, who had nine All Blacks in their match-day 23, from scoring a point during the last 58 minutes of this fifth tour match.
The good news was not limited to stopping the opposition in their tracks. The contest yesterday — in as much as there was one — turned on a spell midway through the second half when the Lions pack turned the screw on their back-pedalling rivals. Maori scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow was in the sin-bin at the time but that did not fully explain the pendulum’s swing firmly in favour of Gatland’s side.
The Lions scrum had endured serious indignity last Tuesday night, when the Highlanders’ reserve forwards blasted through them to earn the penalty which brought a famous victory. The Maori reaped the whirlwind in the 51st minute. The visitors’ pack annihilated their rivals and the drive to the line splintered all resistance, leading to a penalty try.
Three minutes later, another attacking scrum brought another positive outcome. This time, the relentlessly magnificent Taulupe Faletau blasted towards the line and when he was stopped, Maro Itoje forced his way over to score.
What the Lions succeeded in doing was conquering the conditions as well as the opposition. On top of the platform of scrum dominance and line-out solidity, the rolling maul was a stand-out asset. Time and again, the red forwards held the ball in close and took it on and on.
The long-range forecast for Auckland on Saturday features rain. That would suit the Lions just fine, allowing them to fall back on the staples which have served them well in the two weekends leading into the series. Leigh Halfpenny now has a tour tally of 11 goal-kicks on target from as many attempts. His seven-out-of-seven haul yesterday confirmed beyond all doubt that the Welshman will wear the No 15 shirt at Eden Park.
Gatland had urged Halfpenny to demonstrate his attacking credentials, as well as his defence and positioning and kicking. He did that, as much as was feasible on a wet night. In addition, the coaches would have enjoyed the flashes of danger from Anthony Watson outside and the midfield potency of Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies. The former was merely maintaining his explosive tour form, while the latter produced an impressive comeback after a head injury last week.
Up front, the most significant development was Itoje’s tour de force which led to widespread predictions of him taking his place in an all-Saracens Test lock pairing alongside lineout leader George Kruis. Meanwhile, Sean O’Brien once again made his presence felt at openside flanker in a potent back-row alliance with Faletau and captain Peter O’Mahony.
The upshot is the prospect of two successful Lions captains missing the cut next weekend. Sam Warburton continues to play catch-up as he returns from injury and Alun Wyn Jones, while surely in the mix for a second-row place, has seemingly gone from probable to possible status.
Perhaps the only significant concern for the Lions was George North’s apparent lack of confidence. The giant Wales wing was a mainstay of the series triumph four years ago but at this stage he looks a long way short of such heights. Elliot Daly would be a credible alternative on the flank but it would take a major leap for Gatland to throw the England rookie into his first-choice line-up.
There was a glaring contrast between what the All Blacks produced in their 78-0 rout of Samoa on Friday and how the Lions played 24 hours later. The British and Irish attacking machine lacks the precision and fluency of its Kiwi counterpart but earthy values of power and work-rate, aggression and kicking class may make this a contest after all. This tour is still alive.