With everybody busy today blowing smoke in the direction of the Lions backsides after they demolished the Waratahs minus Wallabies stars last night I think it’s an appropriate time to remind people that Robbie Deans isn’t the only coach under pressure in this series.
When Warren Gatland announced his 37-man squad back in April there were some murmurings in England that he had favoured his own Welsh players.
Eight straight losses for Wales and Gatland definitely didn’t seem like a recipe for picking a large Welsh contingent.
Sam Warburton had been picked and made captain on the back of one good game, albeit a 6-nations-winning pantsing of England. The other contenders for Captain were the Irishmen Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell.
O’Driscoll was always going to be a stretch, because at 34 years old there were question marks about whether he was a definite starter. Also against O’Driscoll is the recent trend away from having a back as captain.
It’s much more difficult for a back to manage the breakdowns with the referee when they have to sprint over to talk to the ref before sprinting to get back into the defensive line.
For mine Paul O’Connell was the obvious choice as captain as he rarely has a bad game, has loads of leadership experience, and was always going to be a Test starter. When putting together a short-term team like the Lions, a lock as captain is perfect because you take out the added pressure of playing in the backrow.
Warburton took the first steps to playing himself back into form against the Tahs, but one good game against club opposition doesn’t make a Lions captain.
Hooper or Gill, Palu, and whoever plays six, will be a huge step up, and I think that Warburton would have benefitted from being unburdened by the captaincy.
Now I can hear the northerners laughing as I say this and Aussies groaning and telling me to shut up, but I think that the Wallabies could be strong in the scrum (touch wood). With the exception of Adam Jones at tight head none of the other front rowers have stood up and the Lions’ scrum has struggled.
Now I’m not going to pretend I know much about scrums, but one thing is for sure, it has not looked like the Lions best weapon so far against the second stringers.
After the Reds replaced Ben Daley in the 23rd minute the scrum was pretty even with the Lions edging them in odd one. Again, at Allianz on Saturday night, while the Lions dominated the scrums, it was hardly convincing, with both front rows coming apart constantly.
Gatland obviously wanted more than just scrummaging from his Lions props and the more mobile props like Stevens, Healy and Vunipola got the nod over the known scrummagers. It seems strange that the Northerners have brought mobile props and the Aussies have a big fat scrummager but that is the situation.
Benn Robinson has been the form scrummager of Super Rugby this year with the Waratahs’ scrum dominating all comers, including the Crusaders and Bulls, and I can see the Wallabies gaining parity at the least.
One thing the English fans won’t forgive is losing in the scrums with Sheridan and co. watching on from the sidelines, or their homes back in their English summer..
It remains to be seen whether Jamie Roberts will play any further part in this series, but Gatland’s decision to bring only four centres could cost him dearly, especially with doubts about the fitness of Manu Tuilagi.
Wales and Gatland have developed their game plan around Roberts’ crashball style, and this game plan has been very unsuccessful against the Wallabies.
There has been a lot of talk about Deans using Pat McCabe and Rob Horne in the centres, but I think eight straight victories against the Welsh should have put this to bed a long time ago.
Horne again showed the best way to defend in the centres against the Welsh is to hit them hard and stop them in their tracks behind the gain line. Deans would have been very impressed by Horne’s effort in defence, less so by his wayward pass to blow a big overlap.
It will be very interesting this week to see how both squads respond to the Roberts’ injury. If both Roberts and Tuilagi are out of the first Test it gives Deans a huge get out of jail free card. It allows Deans to break with tradition and play a second ball player at 12, a move that would take a lot of pressure off James O’Connor.
While the scoreboard suggests that the Lions backs were brilliant last night, Gatland will be very worried about how, for the second Saturday in a row, a B team has found way too much space out wide.
The Lions forwards did a great job of sucking the Waratahs defenders in, but they didn’t have as much competition at the breakdown as they will next Saturday. There won’t be many three-man overlaps against the Wallabies.
The reality is that the two squads are very even and nobody knows what’s going to happen on Saturday night. The Wallabies haven’t played for seven months and are notoriously rusty at this time of year. In saying that Suncorp is a fortress for the Wallabies and they will be very fresh and mentally ready for this series.
The Lions haven’t played any quality opposition yet and injuries could be a problem for the first Test at least. If I can be allowed one bold prediction it will be that the Sydney Test won’t be a dead rubber.
The Lions supporters see this series as a must-win. They feel the Wallabies are there for the taking and they don’t want to wait 12 years to get another crack at the easy-beats of the south. If the wheels start to fall off there will be backlash.
So while the Lions and their supporters are pretty chuffed at the moment, make no mistake; Deans isn’t the only coach under pressure in this series.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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