If you were to put all of the leading coaches in the same room and show them the second Test between the British & Irish Lions and South Africa, I would be extremely surprised if any of them said that is how they want to advertise the sport. Not even the Springboks.
Unfortunately, it speaks to where international rugby is at the moment and puts into perspective England’s performances in 2020 when they came in for such criticism for adopting a kick-first mentality yet lost only one match all year. The pandemic has shone a light on it because without fans you strip away the matchday experience and so the scrutiny on the product, the quality of rugby, becomes all the greater.
That has been accentuated on this Lions tour. Supporters haven’t been allowed to travel so there are no three-hour braais before the match, no safari trips during the week, all fans are exposed to are the matches and when they are as turgid as the two Tests have been so far there is nothing to deflect from that.
The alarming thing for me is that if you look at the quality of rugby on show at the moment, it really isn’t very different from where we were 20 years ago. The 2003 World Cup was similar, 2007 and 2019 – both won by South Africa – were carbon copies of each other. Rugby is such a copycat sport that whenever a team has success, everyone else analyses how they’ve achieved it and looks to borrow from that style. So when it’s South Africa enjoying success with their suffocating gameplan, lo and behold that becomes the trend.
There are probably two or three teams in that top tier who will play a more aesthetic brand – New Zealand, France and maybe Australia – and we need a real alignment from the leading coaches, referees, World Rugby and players. Two years out from a World Cup, what do we want the game to be?
There are obvious mitigating factors to why South Africa have not exactly been expansive given how few matches they had played in the buildup and the same could be said for the Lions. Their approach to the second Test felt to me like an attempt to defend their first Test victory rather than to go out and win the series but perhaps it was also an admission that they have just run out of time and run out of games to implement an expansive attacking gameplan.
A lot of it comes down to risk and reward, which brings me on to Finn Russell’s presence on the bench. We know he can change a game, he is unpredictable, he strikes fear into defences and he can create something from nothing. He can be perceived as a risk because of his unpredictability but I’m not sure he is with that level of talent. With Warren Gatland having that option to turn to I see this squad selection as a hybrid approach to the expansive game the Lions initially wanted to play and the more pragmatic style that has in some ways been forced upon them.
I go back to what Gregor Townsend said when the initial squad was announced. He talked about a squad who could test the Boks with thought, precision, pace and dynamism. That made perfect sense at the time but after the first Test in which the Lions’ superior fitness got them through, I didn’t see that in the second Test. They got drawn into trying to beat the Boks at their game and the scoreline reflected that it’s very hard to do that.
The worry for the Lions is that if we look at the two Tests and the South Africa A game, they have scored only two tries, both from very short range. That needs to change but while you can just about change your defensive system in the space of a week, it’s much harder to do that with your attack. You either change the whole gameplan, your systems or your personnel. It’s probably easier to change your personnel above anything else which is why I believe Russell has a crucial part to play in this match. The last 20 minutes is likely to be crucial and the stage may well be set for him.
Equally important for the Lions is to keep the tempo high. They are well aware of it and after that has been the message all week, the key is to get the referee onside early on. Show him that you want to play a fast game, gain some momentum and make him realise that South Africa’s attempts to slow the ball down are preventing a quick game from ensuing. If they can’t get that momentum, if South Africa dominate the gain line, the referee will allow them to play the game at their pace.
Finally I look at the aerial contest and how important Liam Williams’s role is. He backs himself, he is fearless and he is better than most when competing for the ball in the air. Just as important, though, is Williams having the confidence to run the ball back from deep. If you get bogged down into a kicking battle then teams have several men in the backfield which means there has to be space somewhere. If Williams runs from deep, it keeps the South Africa defence honest and challenges them. We saw what he is capable of against New Zealand four years ago and a repeat of that would certainly give Lions supporters something worth watching.
