An underwhelming first night does not always mean a major production is in trouble. Even the most gushing West End impresario, however, would struggle to claim the 2017 British & Irish Lions launched their tour of New Zealand in emphatic style. Having been in the country just three days, they played like a team whose minds and bodies were still somewhere north of the equator.
Jetlag was clearly a factor, along with the ludicrously short amount of time the entire squad have spent together. Then again, everyone knew that would be the case 12 months ago, once it became obvious the domestic finals would again be played a week before the first Lions game. On this occasion it is less the players who should be blamed for underperformance and more the administrators who keep permitting these conflicts of interest to arise. Add it all together and what should have been a gentle loosener against scratch opposition developed into something altogether less comfortable.
For a while it looked as though the unthinkable might happen against a bunch of part-timers whose ranks included a sheep farmer, a shopkeeper, a nurse and a fruit picker. The Lions have lost their opening tour game three times – in 1903 and 1924 in South Africa and in 1971 against Queensland – and they will be suitably grateful for the small mercy of victory, undistinguished or not. Aside from the pre-match fireworks, the evening’s brightest sparks were probably Ben Te’o, Kyle Sinckler and Taulupe Faletau who all showed up well. Sadly, at least half a dozen others did their chances of making the Test team no good at all, for all Warren Gatland’s insistence this performance was no big deal. Jonathan Sexton’s form urgently needs rebooting and not many New Zealanders went away overly impressed.
Little went right from the outset, with the home side looking much the brighter team and deservedly leading 7-3 at half-time. Only after Owen Farrell replaced the out-of-sorts Sexton on 48 minutes, and his fellow Saracens Mako Vunipola, George Kruis and Jamie George were thrown into the fray, did the Lions edge ahead through a face-saving try in the 52nd minute from Anthony Watson. The last quarter, with Rhys Webb also making a difference at scrum-half, proved marginally less uncomfortable.
With a desperately tough schedule ahead, Gatland will be particularly concerned at the lack of penetration up front and the failure of his backs to outshine a team composed of players from below the top tier of New Zealand provincial rugby. His only real consolation was the excellent performance of his talented son, Bryn, at fly-half for the Barbarians. Otherwise, he has a raft of issues to address before Wednesday’s first midweek game against Auckland at Eden Park, with the unbeaten Super Rugby leaders, the Crusaders, to follow in Christchurch next Saturday.
Then again, it could always have been the craftiest of double bluffs. If it was, it worked spectacularly. There are no shortage of harsh judges in New Zealand and some were already dismissing these Lions before the game had reached the half-hour mark. “Hogg, you’re the worst full-back ever seen in New Zealand, you muppet,” yelled one wag. “Why isn’t Susan Boyle playing?” It is going to be an extremely long six weeks if the Lions do not improve very, very quickly but, equally, credit should be given to the sprightly Barbarians.
Drawn from lower-ranked New Zealand provincial sides, they have been waiting a long time to show these Lions what they can do and were a credit to the coaching of, among others, the former Bath and Saracens winger Joe Maddock. Their captain and hooker, Sam Anderson-Heather, scored a good first-half try and the full-back, Luteru Laulala, may now find himself fielding inquiries from interested suitors. By comparison, the Lions looked as leaden as the skies around Whangarei in the buildup to the game.
Looking at the pristine surface it was hard to believe the biblical pre-match weather had been the primary topic of conversation. A lack of moisture is rarely a problem in this part of the world but even by local standards the 24 pre-game hours of torrential rain were extreme. Had the fixture been played on Friday evening, both sides would have needed snorkels. History, instead, will record a Lions victory in front of a sell-out crowd, with both sides failing to take decent chances close to the line.
The Northland public would have liked to have seen their one-time local favourite Jared Payne, only for injury to intervene and deprive him of a return to the so-called “House of Payne”. In the event they saw Te’o, who spent part of his youth playing north of Auckland in Silverdale, lay down a challenge to the other No12s on the trip with a smoothly composed performance that supported Gatland’s assertion there is much more to the centre than running straight and hard.
Overall, it was yet another iffy opening game to set alongside the broiling 2013 affair in Hong Kong and the rusty 2009 fixture against a Royal XV in Rustenberg. On both occasions the Lions went on to either win or threaten to win the series, while even the illustrious boys of 1971 lost their opening fixture en route to New Zealand. Not necessarily the end of the world, then, but absolutely nothing to be enthused about either.
