Even the best-laid plans can be instantly scuppered and the British & Irish Lions are suddenly on red alert over the fitness of Owen Farrell. A thigh strain sustained in training has ruled the fly-half out of the match-day squad to face the Maori All Blacks on Saturday and time is not on his side before the first Test against the All Blacks one week later.
Farrell is reported to have a grade one quadricep tear, which is at the lesser end of the scale but the last thing the Lions need is a kicker and playmaker with a bad leg. For all the attention given to Peter O’Mahony’s selection as captain against the Maori, the two names uppermost in Gatland’s mind are currently Farrell and the tour captain, Sam Warburton. If neither start the first Test for reasons of injury and form respectively, the Lions’ stock of on-field leaders will be conspicuously depleted.
As yet there is no official indication when Farrell may be fit again, with Dan Biggar coming on to Saturday’s bench, but even more pressure now rests on Jonathan Sexton, whose best chance of starting the Tests at No10 had previously rested on Farrell playing at 12. Barring a swift recovery for the Saracen, this weekend’s midfield combination of Sexton, Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies are on standby to feature against New Zealand as well.
Gatland, one suspects, was planning on Farrell, Te’o and Davies forming a 10-12-13 partnership in Auckland and hoping a late rush of form from Warburton would secure him a place ahead of O’Mahony or Sean O’Brien. The two Irishmen and Taulupe Faletau were so impressive as a back-row combination, however, in last Saturday’s win over the Crusaders that Warburton may find the first Test arriving a few days too soon.
Gatland, by his own admission, is currently tempted to leave the trio intact. With O’Mahony also set to remain the on-field captain even when Warburton comes on, the ground is certainly well prepared for the Test skipper and the tour leader to be separate individuals. “He [Warburton] is well aware of the competition at the moment,” confirmed Gatland. “He fully understands that loose forward trio went outstandingly well against the Crusaders. But one of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is because this tour isn’t about Sam Warburton, it’s about putting the squad first. So if he’s not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night, he will fully understand that.”
Little room for misinterpretation there. Similarly, before Farrell’s fitness issues emerged, Gatland did not mince his words about Sexton: “I think Johnny needs some more rugby. I thought he was really good coming off the bench the other day but Johnny knows his last two games before that weren’t his best games of rugby. He was down a little bit on confidence but, at the moment, he’s got a bit of his mojo back.”
In almost the same breath, even so, the head coach left the door ajar for a second-half renewal of the 10-12 axis that went well in Christchurch after Davies departed early with a head knock. “That combination was pretty seamless,” agreed Gatland, emphasising the need to have different variations up his sleeve. “We’ve got to make sure we’re not fully showing our hand. We’ve got to keep some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what the final squad might be.” The way things are going that might not be necessary.
Gatland’s opposite number, Steve Hansen, will certainly expect to see most of this side trotting out at Eden Park. Anthony Watson, for now, appears to have jumped ahead of Liam Williams on the wing while the No15 jersey looks to be Leigh Halfpenny’s to lose. Te’o might not have been everyone’s Test inside-centre before the tour but has looked more comfortable there to date than Robbie Henshaw. Maro Itoje has also been invited to prove he can offer more than Alun Wyn Jones; Gatland will be inclined to revert to the Welshman alongside George Kruis as his starting Test lock combination but that could yet change should Itoje has a stormer.
Rhys Webb and Dan Cole, assuming full fitness, must also be contenders to replace Greig Laidlaw and Kyle Sinckler on the bench, although the latter is proving one of this squad’s most engaging, enthusiastic members. If Ken Owens and Jack McGrath are to leapfrog Jamie George and Mako Vunipola respectively, meanwhile, they are going to have to buck the evidence of this tour so far.
On a beautiful sunny day beside Lake Rotorua, Vunipola was also prominent on the list of suspects after the backs finished their session to discover some mischievous forwards had either tied together their training shoe laces or removed them completely. Smiles were soon wiped off faces, though, when the NZ Maori’s squad was unveiled a couple of hours later. With the quicksilver Chief Damian McKenzie at fly-half, Nehe Milner-Skudder and the equally elusive Rieko Ioane on the wings and the dangerous James Lowe at full-back, the Lions will be in for a breathless afternoon if they allow their opponents any time or space. McKenzie, even if closely policed, has the pace and skill to outwit the most aggressive rush defence with a clever chip or two. The Lions cannot hold too much back if they want to emerge victorious.
British & Irish Lions L Halfpenny; A Watson, J Davies, B Te’o, G North; J Sexton, C Murray; M Vunipola, J George, T Furlong, G Kruis, M Itoje, P O’Mahony, S O’Brien, T Faletau. Replacements K Owens, J McGrath, K Sinckler, I Henderson, S Warburton, G Laidlaw, D Biggar, E Daly.
Maori All Blacks J Lowe; N Milner-Skudder, M Proctor, C Ngatai; RIoane; D McKenzie, T Kerr-Barlow; K Hames, A Dixon (captain), B May, J Wheeler, T Franklin, A Ioane, E Dixon, L Messam. Replacements H Elliot, C Eves, M Renata, L Price, K Pryor, B Hall, I West, R Thompson.
