With the British and Irish Lions squeaking a 24 – 21 win in the second test against the All Blacks in Wellington, rugby fans around the globe are getting what they have been asking for – a decider.
The Test series of the year, that comes once every 12 years, has become a true contest with both teams heading to Auckland, Eden Park, to go to battle to make history. They will be joined by more than 20,000 Lions fans from the home nations who will be there to roar their team towards glory.
Let’s leave all the facts and figures to others and get straight to the chase, the rugby. Momentum is currently with the Lions as they spend the first part of the week relaxing in Queenstown, Central Otago, but I would imagine the All Blacks will be itching to hear the whistle blow for the beginning of the Test match. An All Blacks team coming off a loss is a dangerous beast as Warren Gatland, Lions’ Head Coach, alluded to when he said, “yes, we have poked the bear… “.
We can only imagine what the training will be like in the All Blacks camp this week but I know no one will have enjoyed the loss and it will create an edge to the All Blacks’ game on the weekend. Momentum may be currently with the Lions and that will give them confidence on the training paddock this week right up until the game begins and then it will mean nothing.
If luck in sport is a commodity then I fear the Lions may have used all of their lucky tokens up on the weekend with a couple of refereeing decisions that could’ve gone differently had the referee been listening to George Ayoub, the Television Match Official (TMO). During the yellow card incident that saw Lions’ prop Mako Vunipola make contact with All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barret’s head the TMO was asking for the referee to view the incident again. Had French referee, Jerome Garces, seen that the initial contact was with the head the colour of the card would have been the same that Sonny Bill William’s saw in the 25th minute. As All Blacks’ Head Coach, Steve Hansen stated in his press conference, “there is a process for these decisions and we must accept the decisions and respect the process, there is no point whining about it.”
Selections are another key area that will be watched this week with interest. I believe the changes to the Lions’ team will be minimal with maybe Mako Vunipola starting on the bench after an ill-disciplined display in Wellington. The Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell combination appeared to have worked in the halves although it is difficult to get a real gauge against 14 players. There are selection issues for the All Blacks with another centre combination set to start after Sonny Bill Williams was handed a four week ban for his red card on Saturday night. The options are Anton Lienert-Brown, Malakai Fekitoa, Ngani Laumape and Jack Goodhue all vying for the 12 and 13 jerseys. Lienert-Brown and Fekitoa have started three Tests together while the other two are yet to start a Test with Goodhue still yet to pull an All Blacks jersey on at all. Experience in big games will be a huge factor and although both Laumape and Goodhue have promising All Blacks futures now may not be the time to throw them in the deep end. All Blacks right wing, Waisake Naholo, left the field on Saturday to have a concussion test which he passed but he didn’t make it back onto the field as he had been knocked out. Is his position safe or will they look to freshen up the back three? Israel Dagg, the All Blacks fullback, did not have his most inspiring evening in Wellington so the question is, do the All Blacks bring in Jordie Barrett to start at 15?
Time and patience will give us all the answers regarding the above selection questions and only on Saturday will we know the extent of the ‘Black lash’. What we do know at this point is that only a Test series can provide this type of drama. There have been calls from the northern hemisphere that this should be the last British and Irish Lions to New Zealand because it is too grueling for the players. I agree the buildup was too short but that scheduling comes from the Lions management. They played their first game 72 hours after arriving in the country so that is an area that needs to change but if you ask any of the red shirted fans that braved the elements in Wellington to roar their team to victory if Lions tours to New Zealand should continue, I think we know what the answer will be.
If you were to ask any of the players if they would like the tours to continue into the future I know they would all be part of the next tour in a heartbeat. As Sam Warburton, Lions tour and Test captain stated matter of factly, “To be a Lion is to reach the pinnacle for all of the players in Britain and Ireland, of that there is no doubt”. So now we all look to Eden Park, this Saturday to see the best of a generation from the northern hemisphere play the best in the world in their own back yard. In the words of All Blacks open side flanker, Sam Cane when asked about the deciding Test he gave only two short words. “Game
on!”.
