Tuesday 9 July 2013

HISTORY MAKERS

If you’re going to do it, why not do it in style?

The Lions rounded off what has been a rather mixed tour with an emphatic win over the Wallabies, running in five tries in a 41-16 mauling in the final test. After all the controversy over Warren Gatland’s team selection, it was the Kiwi who had the last laugh as he watched smugly from his box at the top of the ANZ Stadium.

To be fair to the Lions, they were absolutely brilliant.

All of them, every single one of them, played out of their skins and they fully deserved the scoreline that they got. Leigh Halfpenny in particular was incredible again with the boot and running with the ball too – he was rightly named the Man of the Series, he didn’t have a poor game in a red shirt.

It is a bitter pill for Robbie Deans to swallow. His job was very much under threat before the Lions series and it is safe to assume that he was told before the first test that a series win was the only thing that would save him. Now he has to answer for a lost series and I wouldn’t expect the Australian board will be too sympathetic to his plight considering the difference between the two sides in the final test. Rumours say Ewen McKenzie will take over as soon as possible, even though Deans still has a year to run. Australian rugby is struggling right now.

Nevertheless, rather than feel sympathetic for Australia, let us celebrate for the Lions who have won their first test series since 1997. While not everybody will agree with how the tour has gone about and decisions made by the coaching staff, in the end it was all correct, and in some ways it is good to see that Gatland’s final decision to drop Brian O’Driscoll was ultimately justified. Who knows how he would have felt on the plane home if he’d followed the crowd and gone with BOD instead of Davies and the Lions lost?

In the end it was a comfortable win – it was set up from the start when Will Genia dropped the ball from the kick-off and Alex Corbisiero then crashed over for the opening try of the match. You just knew that the Lions were up for it. Whether it was something that Warren Gatland said or whether it was simply the players looking for one last hurrah down under, it was close to a flawless performance.

However, while it’s all well and good applauding the Lions, let’s not get carried away. Despite the last match being close to a flawless performance, this was not a flawless tour. There have been plenty of controversies since the 37-man squad was announced back in April, none more so than the call-ups since then.

As much as we all like Tom Court and Shane Williams, their call-ups were not justified and they only joined up with the squad due to their location – Court was in Brisbane and Williams was flying in anyway. That is not the ethos of the Lions. The Lions are the best of the Brits and simply including players due to their location is not what a Lions tour is really about.

The team selected for the Brumbies match was also nothing short of ridiculous. A ramshackle back line thrown together at short notice resulted in an embarrassing loss and that was when people really began to question the tour’s viability. Luckily for Gatland his side won the tour.

Just picture the scene if the Lions had lost the final match though. They would have returned with a lot of questions hanging over their heads and Gatland would have a lot to answer for, especially with his team selections. I don’t think it would be an understatement to say that there would have been outrage at the Welsh-biased selection for the final test.

But there’s no point in dealing with ‘what ifs’ – the Lions won and return home victorious. Congratulations to them, and roll on 2017 in New Zealand!!!

THE HOUND’S TEAM OF THE SERIES
15. Leigh Halfpenny (Lions), 14. Israel Folau (Australia), 13. Jonathan Davies (Lions), 12. Christian Leali’ifano (Australia), 11. George North (Lions), 10. Jonathan Sexton (Lions), 9. Will Genia (Australia); 1. Alex Corbisiero (Lions), 2. Tom Youngs (Lions), 3. Adam Jones (Lions), 4. Alun-Wyn Jones (Lions), 5. Geoff Parling (Lions), 6. Ben Mowen (Australia), 7. Sam Warburton (Lions), 8. Toby Faletau (Lions).


Coach: Warren Gatland (Lions)

Friday 5 July 2013

FIGHT TO THE DEATH

The big match, much like all the others, has sadly been overshadowed.

The build-up to this game should have been the excitement over who would win the series and how the final game in what has been, let’s say an interesting series, would have gone. But instead there is a bit of a problem. Yet another Lions’ team selection has caused controversy, and none more than this one – the exclusion of Brian O’Driscoll.

I’ll get to that in a minute, but firstly I must applaud Robbie Deans. Before the series began there were rumours that his job was under review, and he wasn’t the most popular person in Australia either. But after narrowly losing the first test, Deans kept faith in his players and only made necessary changes for the second test which they deservedly won, and he has retained that consistency with just one change for this game.

Compare that to Gatland and his selection policy – rotate at will. There’s no familiarity in the team and Jonathan Davies was forced to play out of position in the first two tests. I’d go as far as to say that had Australia played a few warm-up matches like the Lions then this series would be over. As far as the Lions are concerned, the tour has been directed rather poorly.

Back to BOD however, and his exclusion is almost unthinkable, let alone believable. Yes he has been slightly out of form on this tour, but in a game of such importance you would think the most experienced player on the touring squad would have to be included. But not to even be on the bench is close to a travesty, considering he is replaced by Manu Tuilagi, a player who has done next to nothing on tour so far.

The fact that there are ten Welsh players in the starting line-up has also raised a few eyebrows as Gatland appears to have gone back to what he knows best. However, whether this is the best plan is another question entirely. Certainly Mike Phillips was not on-song in the first test, yet he has been recalled, while Dan Lydiate was a surprise inclusion in the 37-man squad, I’m not sure anybody really believed he had a shot at the test side. Even Toby Faletau, as good as he is, was a bit of a shock selection considering Jamie Heaslip hasn’t done much to merit being dropped.

Disillusionment was something I talked about one week before, and if Warren Gatland has been trying to appease my fears I would say without a shadow of a doubt, he has failed miserably. Right from the very start – the original squad announcement – to now – this team selection – there has been something very wrong with this tour, and it is hard to align yourself behind it when you have no faith in its success.

As I’ve said, had Christian Leali’ifano played the entire first test then maybe Australia would have got more of their kicks at goal. This series should be over, and the game tomorrow should simply be to see if the series will be a whitewash or not. However, by sheer luck the Lions find themselves in the position where they can actually be the first touring side to win the series since 1997.

Should they take it, they will go down in history for all the right reasons. Lose, and Warren Gatland’s reputation as a coach will be tarnished. Harsh maybe, but this selection could define how he is remembered – the victorious Lions coach, or the one that threw it all away. Unless his side surprise us all, then I fear it may be the latter.

It’s upsetting as I do feel Gatland has been a superb coach over the years, just look at what he’s achieved with Wales. But since April my opinion of him has steadily declined and it’s close to rock bottom now. What the result tomorrow will do to it I don’t know yet so I will watch in interest. Gatland has a lot riding on this.

In previous years it would have been a case of the Lions weren’t good enough if they lost the series – you took that on the chin and moved on. But this year if this series goes down the drain then it is possible that you could put it down to poor team selections and team management. I hate to keep going on about this, but it’s true – Gatland will either be the hero or the villain at 1pm tomorrow afternoon.

Here’s hoping he’s the hero. Come on you Lions!

British & Irish Lions vs. Australia
Saturday 6th July, 11:00
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Third Test

Live on Sky Sports 1

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
15. Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), 14. Tommy Bowe (Ireland), 13. Jonathan Davies (Wales), 12. Jamie Roberts (Wales), 11. George North (Wales), 10. Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), 9. Mike Phillips (Wales); 1. Alex Corbisiero (England), 2. Richard Hibbard (Wales), 3. Adam Jones (Wales), 4. Alun-Wyn Jones (captain, Wales), 5. Geoff Parling (England), 6. Dan Lydiate (Wales), 7. Sean O’Brien (Ireland), 8. Toby Faletau (Wales).

16. Tom Youngs (England), 17. Mako Vunipola (England), 18. Dan Cole (England), 19. Richie Gray (Scotland), 20. Justin Tipuric (Wales), 21. Conor Murray (Ireland), 22. Owen Farrell (England), 23. Manu Tuilagi (England).

AUSTRALIA
15. Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels), 14. Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs), 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs), 12. Christian Leali’ifano (ACT Brumbies), 11. Joe Tomane (ACT Brumbies), 10. James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels), 9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds); 1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs), 2. Stephen Moore (ACT Brumbies), 3. Ben Alexander (ACT Brumbies), 4. Kane Douglas (NSW Waratahs), 5. James Horwill (captain, Queensland Reds), 6. Ben Mowen (ACT Brumbies), 7. George Smith (ACT Brumbies), 8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs).

16. Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), 17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds), 18. Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), 19. Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds), 20. Ben McCalman (Western Force), 21. Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs), 22. Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels), 23. Jesse Mogg (ACT Brumbies).

Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Chris Pollock (NZ), Craig Joubert (RSA)
TMO: Vinny Munro (NZ)

Assessor: Tappe Henning

Tuesday 2 July 2013

ALL TIED UP

Sydney will be the destination for the deciding test in the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour after Australia defeated the tourists 16-15 in Melbourne on Saturday.

You can’t help but feel slightly sorry for Warren Gatland’s players though. Like last weekend in Brisbane, they played very well and with a lot of belief. However, unlike last weekend, this time around they came up short, epitomised by the last-minute penalty from Leigh Halfpenny which fell agonisingly short and summed up the Lions’ match. I put this loss down to two factors.

Firstly was the presence of Christian Lealiifano. After missing most of the first test (well, pretty much all of it) through injury, Lealiifano played an integral part in the Wallabies attack, but most importantly he did what James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale did not do enough of last weekend – land his kicks at goal.

Where Beale fell short and O’Connor was off the mark (puns intended), Lealiifano excelled slotting over all four of his kicks and providing Australia with eleven of their points. It gave the home side the momentum they were lacking in Brisbane and meant they weren’t relying on another late penalty to snatch a victory.

I may be sounding biased here, as the avid readers will know that I am a Brumbies fan, but I’d say Lealiifano was the man of the match in Melbourne. He really made the difference between the two sides – his running lines in attack were superb and he linked up brilliantly with Adam Ashley-Cooper in the midfield, while the aforementioned kicking was crucial for the Wallabies to stay in touch with the Lions.

The second thing was the presence of Craig Joubert as referee. While many criticised Chris Pollock for his interpretation of the breakdown in the first test, Joubert has been equally criticised by fans for his whistle-happy nature as he gave 25 penalties in the match, which equates to a penalty every 3 minutes and 12 seconds. Nobody wants to see a match that is ruined by a ref who blows up every little infringement.

Obviously referees are there to stop players from disobeying the laws of the game, but whenever a referee penalises players too often for small offences then it destroys the flow of the match and not only does it frustrate the fans, but also the players too. With 25 penalties you would also think that would warrant a yellow card for one team but there wasn’t even a warning for either side. Two completely different interpretations from two completely different referees.

Romain Poite will referee the final test, and he will be different to both Pollock and Joubert as he brings a northern hemisphere slant to the game. This should suit the Lions who are used to the way Poite will referee the match. However many said Pollock would help the Aussies, and that didn’t turn out too well for them. Don’t think that a northern hemisphere ref will benefit the Lions massively.

Joubert’s style put the Lions at a disadvantage. In a game where the Lions looked to use Leigh Halfpenny’s boot to keep them ahead of the Australians, Joubert’s harsh style resulted in too many penalties outside of Halfpenny’s range which meant instead that Jonny Sexton had to put the ball into the corner and then rely on the drive from the line-out maul. The fact that the Lions did not score a try tells us how successful that method was.

As for the Lions themselves, well they’ll have to pick themselves up again and get back to work this week. Any chances of a series whitewash have been extinguished and to simply win the series then they’ll have to perform even better than they have the last two weeks. They ran it too close in Brisbane and they ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline in Melbourne. If they aren’t careful then they could end up on the wrong side of the series scoreline too.

The return of Jamie Roberts and Alex Corbisiero could be essential for both the Lions’ attacking threat and their scrummaging potential too which may swing the balance in their favour. Certainly the Wallabies are beatable, especially if the Lions can match them up front. With no warm-up match this week however, the players have done all they can and Gatland will choose on what he has. Expect a team not too different to the one that started the first test.


So to Sydney we go – will the Lions roar, or be tamed?