Having been criticised for calling up the Geography Six, Warren Gatland is now being vilified for not playing them. His point is that he took on board the danger of devaluing the jersey and while all will be forgotten with a win against the All Blacks on Saturday, his failure to have the courage of his convictions comes as a shock. Had he emptied the bench against the Hurricanes it is likely the British & Irish Lions would have held on for a comfortable win but in using only Allan Dell, against the Chiefs, and Finn Russell, against the Hurricanes, as temporary replacements he is effectively trying to airbrush his original decision from history.
He has said they were there to act as injury cover and he can be commended for wanting to give his dirt trackers the chance to end their tour on a high, but his refusal to act in the closing stages on Tuesday was not in-keeping with the pragmatism he has shown in the past.
Sports fandom can be fickle these days and Dell has now become a bit of a cult hero after his one involvement was to help win a scrum penalty, further evidence of how little attention Gatland should be paying to background noise. He shut it out four years ago when criticised for dropping Brian O’Driscoll and he already has enough on his plate to worry about.
That said, Gatland did not seem overly concerned, despite watching his side let yet another lead slip in the third quarter – his priority is the second Test in Wellington on Saturday. The manner in which the Lions are switching off will concern him, though. In the first Test it cost them tries and while there did not appear a great deal his side could do about Wes Goosen’s try, Gatland will be furious that none of his players were alert to the Hurricanes replacement stealing a few crucial metres to make Jordie Barrett’s conversion – which brought his side back to within touching distance – that much easier.
While Courtney Lawes’s withdrawal after 53 minutes suggests he is in with a shout of starting on Saturday, a place on the bench is more likely for Iain Henderson – just as impressive apart from the tip tackle that earned a yellow card. Lawes has been hindered by a head knock against the Highlanders, otherwise he might have appeared in the first Test, but Henderson is also unfortunate insofar as he was playing catch-up after a torrid performance against the New Zealand Barbarians.
It has been reported that some members of that squad were suffering from jetlag to the extent that they fell asleep on the way to the ground. If he had been spared that match it would be hard to see him out of the lineup on Saturday considering his subsequent form. He can have no complaints, however, if the yellow card ultimately costs him – it certainly cost his 14 team-mates.
In addition to Lawes and Henderson, plenty of the midweek side have played their hearts out on the tour and a good number of them can be considered unlucky if theirs is now finished – none more so than Justin Tipuric. He was one of four back-rowers selected for this tour with Lions experience, he was Wales’s player of the autumn by a distance and in the Six Nations, as in New Zealand, he rarely put a foot wrong. He is quick enough to support those line breaks by Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies, he is a lineout threat, decent over the ball and, most importantly, as shown against the Hurricanes, he does not just look for contact, rather he looks to go through it and offload if he can. Tipuric has been unfortunate in that he has carried the can as Warburton has been allowed to get up to speed and, while it may sound counterintuitive, he has not been helped by Ross Moriarty’s injury.
Others to stake a claim include Jack Nowell, who began brightly at full‑back before moving to the wing after Robbie Henshaw’s injury – a move that brought George North into the centres. Considering the form of Te’o and Davies, no one is suggesting that North will start the second Test there but he certainly enjoyed seeing more of the ball and he does have the size to perform the No12 role in way that Gatland likes.
Speaking of “Warrenball”, as has now become widely accepted since its merits were again discussed early in the tour, there is more than one way to win a match. The New Zealand way is more eye-catching but it is no more effective than the squeeze the Lions put on the Crusaders and the Maori All Blacks. That said, there is nothing wrong with celebrating the Hurricanes’ style. A key part of their gameplan is the punch Ngani Laumape gives them from No12 (sound familiar?) but there is a lot more to his game, and that of his fellow backs, and the way they combined for his try was a joy to watch.
