Dan Biggar is regarded as the third fly-half in the Lions’ squad but the Wales international, while being one of the more introverted characters in the party that flew to New Zealand on Monday, is not lacking in self-belief and does not anticipate watching the three Tests from the stand.
Biggar is behind Owen Farrell and Jonathan Sexton in the pecking order, although an early question for the Lions management will be whether to consider Farrell as an inside-centre, the position he has largely occupied for England under Eddie Jones while playing at fly-half for Saracens, or see him as a No10, competing for a starting place with Sexton and Biggar.
“What I have found interesting is the amount you pick up off Johnny and Owen,” said Biggar, who unlike the other two is a new Lion. “We have chats after training and talk about tactics. The two have so much knowledge and it is really interesting for me. Johnny and I have got on really well and after playing so often against him it is good to be on the same side.
“I am looking forward to challenging him and Owen, and being with them gives you a good perspective on 10 play. We are not holding anything back from each other: the greater aim is to win the Test series so, if any of us has any knowledge that can help the team win games,, no matter how small the detail, it is important we put it out there.
“We are all confident characters who are not afraid to speak our minds and say what we think. That will suit the team well. We are competing for the same position and we all want to play in that 10 shirt – but the most important thing is not the battle for places but we do everything together on and off the field and back whoever is playing in all the games because we have the chance to achieve something historic.”
Biggar is likely to start the first match of the tour, which is against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in Whangerei on Saturday. Despite admitting being shy and being most comfortable in his own company, he made a conscious effort when joining the squad in Dublin last week to get to know players whose characters he was unfamiliar with.
“I am one of those who likes to keep themselves to themselves and let other guys take the banter and stick,” he said. “There are some real characters in the squad, like Ben Te’o and Kyle Sinckler, who are really good value and are important when you are away from home for six weeks. We did a lot on the field in Dublin but as significant was what we did off it.
“I made the decision when first coming down to breakfast that I did not want to sit with players from my club or country because a tour like this is about getting on with guys you did not think you would get on with: you find out they are really good blokes. So far no one has upset anyone.”
The players will have seen the other side of Biggar: as quiet as he is away from the training pitch, on it he is never afraid to speak his mind or show emotion. “You want your 10 to have a bit of authority and the confidence to push you around the field,” he said. “If you do things softly-softly, when it comes to having to put your foot down you are not taken as firmly as you would like.
“You have to find your way in and learn who can take a little bit more, a kick up the backside or something softer, and for the three outside-halves here it is about driving standards and leading the team around the pitch, whoever is playing. For those of us who aren’t, it is about backing the guy up and helping out as much as we can.”
Biggar knows what to expect in the next six weeks, having toured New Zealand with Wales last summer. “We will get a few traditional welcomes and they will try to make our life a bit uncomfortable. We have to make sure we are in a bubble when we are in our hotels, on our training grounds and at games, not letting anything from the outside put us off.
“The majority of New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams are flying and playing really good rugby. It will be a huge task for us – and not just the three Tests. The games in the buildup will be hugely important as well. They seem to have a conveyor belt of talent: they lose Dan Carter and they have Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden. The challenge is going to be the greatest of our careers and we all have the opportunity to paint ourselves in a really good light.”
