British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland is about to name a 37-man squad charged with touring New Zealand in June and beating the All Blacks in a three-Test series. History and much more is against them.
This side will be called upon to play ten matches in five weeks, with the five Super Rugby franchises and New Zealand Maori on the list of opponents.
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They commence the tour against the Provincial Barbarians, which will include some real up-and-coming players, possibly the future of New Zealand rugby.
The first thing that surprises me about this tour is the 37 players, that is just two playing 15s and seven reserves, and is nowhere near enough – injuries are going to take a toll for certain. Fatigue will be an immense factor as their opponents will all play the game at a pace few Northern Hemisphere players will be used to.
Unless the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Hurricanes are severely depleted by All Blacks duty, they will all be favoured by their fans to produce serious opposition for the tourists.
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The New Zealand Maori will be formidable opponents, all Kiwis know the heart and commitment they will take to the field. The contact will at times be brutal, while the passion will mount following a Haka that will produce a crowd atmosphere second to none.
Some will say after this introduction to New Zealand rugby the Lions will be battle-hardened come the Test matches against the All Blacks, who will not have had the opportunity to play together and will be somewhat stale.
But the home side could well be facing a third-string Lions by the time these Tests roll around. The tourists will have been beaten up and if they have suffered losses, morale will be low.
Gatland is a New Zealander, I remember him playing club rugby at Murphy’s Field in Taupiri in club days. He was a hard-nosed front-row forward and has a good coaching record, but this tour seems to be a bridge too far for any team.
While I am sure the players selected will be the best available, and will be looking forward to an opportunity of a lifetime in beating the All Blacks in their own backyard, I see a different outcome.
The New Zealand public will expect their teams to dish out much pain and anguish, and send the tourists back to the Northern Hemisphere with their tails well and truly between their legs.
The NZRFU will however ultimately reap the rewards, as the turnstiles are sure wrack up huge spectator numbers and TV royalties.
Henry Honey Balls
Guest
Bod was right at the time to question the decision. He was the most obvious choice for captain and Gatland had even told him that after Warburton he was next in line. AWJ hadn't captained Wales for about 5 years at the time and was very inexperienced as captain. Gatland handled it badly. Gatland has selected Davies again despite the fact that Davies is desperately off form and there are better options in Ringrose and Dunbarr for example. Why doesnt the form argument apply now? You have to expect that Gatland will favour some players he is familiar with over others but Wales having 12 players selected when they came 2nd last in the 6 nations, had a very poor November series and unsucessful summer tour to NZ reveals a little more bias than sense in my opinion even if it was a very competitive 6 nations this year. The anti-Bod sentiment still lingers in NZ it seems.
P2R2
Roar Rookie
NZ will be playing Samoa as a warm up...
FunBus
Roar Rookie
All sides drop off in quality after the 'best' 25, by definition. The question is how much. In this Lions squad the answer is less than any previous one. In the pack in particular there's huge depth. Depending on where injuries bite, this could be the first time in a very long time the ABs don't have a significant advantage with their bench. That could be quite significant given how many games the ABs win in the last 20.
AndyS
Guest
They went with The Glasshouse? I was sure they'd go with The House of Pane...
Council
Guest
The Glasshouse is probably the best stadium in the country. Just not big enough.
Stewartie
Guest
I think plenty of us feel that way Neil. It will be amusing to observe his future denials of 'warrenball' as a concept. Does Charles Kent still have a pair of boots ?
Derm
Roar Guru
Wheteas still getting in a tizz over a tweet to some NZ fans that is still brought up months later is not whinging, right? ?
cuw
Guest
@ Poth Ale a lot of papers and people have been asking why this announcement is coming mid-week , right before major semifinals week end? there may be injuries and maybe some players will put their hand up given the best clubs are playing. also , SGH has questioned the tour itinerary , as have many others. rugger seems to be copying cricket as far as fixtures go , DUH. Henry bemoans ‘suicidal’ Lions tour http://www.planetrugby.com/news/henry-bemoans-lions-suicidal-tour-of-new-zealand/
Stewartie
Guest
StevieB, when did you last have a shoulder reconstruction as a result of opposition foul play, in the first minute of a 3 Test series, as captain of the most important team you'll ever play for? How did you cope with it ?
Jacko
Guest
RT Feb 2011 is a long long time ago and Dunedin has a decent stadium too...
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Funbus, he might want to avoid a 1st and 2nd team but without a firing combination the chances of success against the MIB is going to be that much harder. Gatland will not be able to emulate the pressures to be experienced in the tests on the training ground. He has to build combinations.
Jacko
Guest
The Brumbies won???...Far out...
Rugby Tragic
Guest
AD, outrageous it might be but you would be aware the reason for the lack of tests in the SI is due to ground capacity. Christchurch would surely have been awarded a test if it not for the earthquake disaster of Feb 2011. NZRU is making hay while the sun shines so greater tickets sales have 'justified' the 1st and 3rd Tests at Eden Park.
Jacko
Guest
But would he whinge for the next 12 years? Cruden is a pretty good replacement and Sopounga aint bad...Geez put Jordie in there...Its only the Lions
Ouch
Guest
"they did face the Oz Super sides in 13 and won them very well " Brumbies beat them, sans Wallabies.
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Ain't gonna be pretty? .... Oh TM, Yes it is :(
Jacko
Guest
Funbus do you believe that the reserves for the Lions will give them an advantage over the ABs? I dont and that tells me that the Lions drop off in talent once you get past the top 15. Sure its probably more like a top 20-25 but it surely has to drop off after that. The thing is the Super teams and other NZ teams that the Lions play will run them ragged, win, lose or draw...That will be tuesday and the tests will be saturday. And with the squad being less than 46 that means a number of players will play more often than once a week...tough ask, considering the motivation of the opposition.
StevieB
Guest
Pot hale, BOD is a massive whinger, there's no denying that, he did carry on a bit after that game even though it was proved the right decision, his anti anything NZ is plain to see, couple of months back when he was saying on twitter things like rugby was all NZ had when the Olympics had recently finished with NZ getting 18 medals and Ireland getting 2 silvers I think???
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Very jealous. Should be a fun few weeks. Enjoy!
JimmyB
Guest
Yep, inexplicable if true.