Murray Kinsella reports from Rotorua
THE ALL BLACKS gave Warren Gatland plenty of food for thought at Eden Park on Friday night, and not just on the pitch.
Steve Hansen had another pop at the Lions boss, suggesting that Gatland might not have any great surprises up his sleeve, just his arm.
On Thursday, Hansen had predicted that the Lions would call up an additional five players and the tourists are now set to do exactly that after this weekend’s Test action.
While the Lions insist it was always part of the plan – and Gatland did mention it as long ago as September – the way Hansen threw it into the public sphere made it appear that he was ahead of the story, releasing information that was the Lions’ by rights.
Hansen has also had a few snipes at Gatland in relation to his style of play and although the All Blacks coach doesn’t appear to have mentioned ‘Warrenball’ directly, Gatland did seem a little put out by that discussion when it was raised in Auckland last week.
There’s quite a lot in there and Hansen even cheekily brought up memories of the ill-fated Clive Woodward-led Lions tour of New Zealand last night when asked about Gatland bringing in those reinforcements to protect his Test match 23.
With certain sections of the New Zealand media happily lapping up Hansen’s every word and whipping it into something stronger – the New Zealand Herald is suggesting that calling up five extra players will send the tour into disharmony – it must be temping for Gatland to take the bait and bite back.
While it might be no harm for the Lions coach to do so, it must not come at the expense of a focus on the actual rugby.
Hansen clearly thinks about what he’s going to say when it comes to media dealings, but we can be certain that it is never to the detriment of preparing his players to perform at their best.
It would be easy for Gatland to be incited by Hansen’s sniping, but then the Lions boss is experienced enough to know exactly how insignificant pre-match words become if your team delivers on the pitch.
With the All Blacks having run 12 tries past an admittedly poor Samoa team in Auckland on Friday night, the Lions have to worry about what happens on the pitch.
With that in mind, today’s meeting with the Māori All Blacks in Rotorua [KO 8.35am Irish time, Sky Sport] is of huge importance, a week out from the opening Test against Hansen’s side.
The loss of Owen Farrell to injury is poorly-timed, given that it was likely we would have seen himself and Johnny Sexton partnering again in their promising 10-12 combination at some point in the game.
Interestingly, Hansen thinks that is the big surprise Gatland has been attempting to hold back for the Test series. How fascinating it would be if Farrell proves to be fit and lines out alongside Sexton next weekend.
For today, Sexton will steer the Lions’ ship at 10 and there is the core of the Test team around him. The front row of Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Tadhg Furlong has skill, energy, form and power, while George Kruis is the important lineout leader at lock.
Maro Itoje starts, but he could end up as an impact replacement behind Alun Wyn Jones for the Tests, while Sean O’Brien, captain Peter O’Mahony and Taulupe Faletau make up a balanced back row.
Conor Murray and Sexton are now the favourites to start the first Test as the Lions’ halfbacks, while the back three positions are George North, Anthony Watson and Leigh Halfpenny’s to lose.
Midfield remains the big question and today sees Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies pair up in their efforts to convince Gatland. Who knows what part Farrell might play yet.
A convincing performance and a win for the Lions would bring their rugby prowess back into focus, but victory for this revved-up and proud Māori side would only give Hansen and his media disciples more ammunition to take pot shots in the week before the first Test.
Māori All Blacks:
15. James Lowe
14. Nehe Milner-Skudder
13. Matt Proctor
12. Charlie Ngatai
11. Rieko Ioane
10. Damian McKenzie
9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
1. Kane Hames
2. Ash Dixon (captain)
3. Ben May
4. Joe Wheeler
5. Tom Franklin
6. Akira Ioane
7. Elliot Dixon
8. Liam Messam
Replacements:
16. Hika Elliot
17. Chris Eves
18. Marcel Renata
19. Leighton Price
20. Kara Pryor
21. Bryn Hall
22. Ihaia West
23. Rob Thomson
Lions:
15. Leigh Halfpenny
14. Anthony Watson
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Ben Te’o
11. George North
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Jamie George
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Maro Itoje
5. George Kruis
6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
7. Sean O’Brien
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Ken Owens
17. Jack McGrath
18. Kyle Sinckler
19. Iain Henderson
20. Sam Warburton
21. Greig Laidlaw
22. Dan Biggar
23. Elliot Daly
Referee: Jaco Peyper [SARU].
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Good to be see Tom Stewart back! Hopefully his injuries are behind him.
Not an Ulster fan but would have liked Jude Postlethwaite, Nathan Doak and / or Scott Wilson to have been included as training panelists in the Ireland squad.
@Andrew: Doak is overdue (imo)
@Thesaltyurchin: Not as a training panellist though. He’s got as many caps for Ulster as Cooney has minutes for Leinster.
@Thesaltyurchin: his pass – as Gordon D’Arcy alluded to on the IT podcast, is so slow, it has to be seen ‘live’ to be believed. I don’t think he’s ever going to be included in an AF influenced selection. Must be awkward given his dad’s position.
@John Morris: Last season Ulster fans would have agreed with you, and it has to be taken into account it was behind a weak pack with opposition regularly slowing down ball. This season and since RM came in has been a different story has been playing better than Blade (who may not even be Connachts 1st choice SH at present) this season, outplayed him in the recent interpro, but wont get picked up by southern media as vast majority are only intrested in the 4 games Ulster play against Leinster and Munster each season.
@John Morris: I would say both him and his Dad are far too professional to let it be a thing
@Kingshu: wouldn’t agree with your last comment .. have always tried to keep up with Ulster Rugby (from Wicklow) but the SA period a few years back really alienated me. That and the parochial home commentators on TV! Seriously though, a healthy UR supplying players to Ireland is what most fans want to see again. Hopefully, RM may be at the start of that journey, he’s from a great Wicklow family.
Jake Flannery back too. Hope he gets a good stint injury free, had a dogged few seasons.
Great to see Lyttle back, hoped hed return sooner, think we’ll need him to end of season at least, quality player and too good to drop out of professional rugby. Murphy as previously said, I think will be 1st choice before season end, but can’t overplay him so young. Think this could be the start of a 5/6 game winning run for Ulster. Big game for Flannery as pecking order is up in the air, could go to 2nd choice or 4th choice. If Cooney is leaving prob need a new SH, Shanahan is good 3rd choice, dont think McDonald has really shown at Ulster or Connacht, would be good to see Armstrong.
@Kingshu: I see Matty Dalton, another returnee, has signed up for a year after his trial. That, plus Tredders being on the bench for Europe, lends some support to the rumours of Kieran heading back across the water.
Big game for Ulster. A win would give them a decent shot at the Challenge Cup which is quite winnable. That would bring confidence into next season
@TL55: It is a very big game in terms of it leading into a run of winnable fixtures. Failing to put away Exeter reserves would be extremely disappointing. A nice away trip for us to look forward to, when the likes of JS, Stu and JH should be available, would be great.
Has Jack Dunne been injured or is he just not getting a look into the side ? Fine player I thought when he was at Leinster
@Barry Leahy: Think he’s had an ankle injury. First appearance since October.
It’s great to see Rob Lyttle back. I do think SH is going to be an issue going forward. I find Doak’s progress very frustrating, his pass isn’t the only slow thing going on, he’s slow into the scrum, slow out of the scrum, slow at ruck time and gets caught in possession a bit too often. I do realise it isn’t always his fault but there’s an all round lack of urgency to his game that will be hard to turn around. You can see he’s really working on the speed issue and I hope he comes good. I suspect JC’s place kicking averages are way down this season, and I wonder is that why he’s not starting?
@Dave Campbell: Just my opinion but I’m curious about the thoughts of others.
@Dave Campbell: His place kicking hasn’t been at its brilliant best but I reckon it’s probably not that. He missed a bit of rugby with the hammy and then Doak had an excellent game in Galway, shooting out of the line defensively which wouldn’t suit John. It also seems likely that it’s his last season and, whilst he’s still got a big role to play, it probably makes sense for Doak to get the nod more often than not.
Lads is there any way to download the Rugby Weekly Extra podcast to listen to it offline? Lying long haul tonight and want to listen to it. Thanks
@Patrick Kennedy: If you are a subscriber you should be able to it. I don’t use the 42 app, I have a separate podcast app (pocket casts) that manages everything in the back
ground. Hopefully someone here knows if you can do it in the 42 app
@Carlos Mendoza: Great tip. Might try it. I find it very frustrating listening to them through the app whilst driving because I have to start again every time I stop.
@Patrick Kennedy: I download and listen to the podcast on the Overcast app. If, in the 42App, you go into Account, then Manage Podcast, you’ll get a link for the Rugby Weekly Extra podcast, which you can then copy in to your podcast app. It’s a while since I did it, so can’t remember if this worked smoothly – if not you’ll need to contact the 42 Subscription Team (who’ve been helpful to me in the past)
@Kevin Ryan: That worked perfectly, thanks a million!