The High Five: Hurricanes vs British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions have completed their mid-week schedule on the 2017 New Zealand tour, playing out a thrilling 31-all draw with the Hurricanes in Wellington at a sold out Westpac Stadium.

There was plenty of exhilarating play in what was sometimes an ill-tempered and rugged affair as both sides threw everything into their respective efforts.

Here’s the High Five from the Hurricanes and Lions match:

Lack of composure costly
In some ways, this would count against both sides, but it was particular costly for the Hurricanes. A rash of early penalties and soft turnovers in the first half sucked any momentum from their game as ill-discipline, poor kicking and decision making proved costly.

They conceding two tries to the Lions in the first half through errors, one an intercept which ended in a try to the flying Scot Tommy Seymour and another from a contestable high kick which they were not able to take and the bounce of the ball favoured the Lions for George North to dot down.

Converting a few of those penalties saw a halftime lead blow out to 23-7 and while the Hurricanes managed to construct an early comeback in the second half, reducing the deficit to six, a charge-down from lock Iain Henderson saw the Hurricanes under pressure inside their 22 and robbed of their early momentum in the second half.

Halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi was sin-binned for a high tackle and the Lions managed to add eight points in the period he was off. It looked game over at 31-17 with the Lions seemingly in control.

However, it would be the Lions’ turn to apply pressure to themselves. Henderson was pulled up and sent to the bin himself for an awkward clean out on Jordie Barrett and it was the Hurricanes who took full advantage, scoring two quick tries to unbelievably tie the scores up while the Lions were a man down.

But again, with all the momentum heading into the last five minutes and seemingly entrenched inside the Lions 22, a clean out by Ngani Laumepe was deemed a neck roll and the Lions were able to clear their territory and mount a last-ditch effort to no avail. A drop goal attempt from Dan Biggar fell short and both sides were left wondering what could have been.

What’s up with the bench Gats?
As the match wore on and the Hurricanes were mounting their comeback in the last 20 minutes, it became noticeable that coach Warren Gatland was slow on the draw with his reserve bench. So slow, in fact, he only used four of them, all of them original picks for the tour as the balance of his well discussed and disparaged ring-ins were left languishing on the pine.

While the Hurricanes had a noticeable lift with their reserves, the Lions were left to hang on, I assume Gatland was seemingly only intent on using the ‘ring-ins’ for injury cover only.

Does it matter in the scheme of things? Probably not, but it would seem a tour win was wasted and I wonder what the reaction would have been if the Lions had lost.

Biggar?
Dan Biggar was one of the best on field for the Lions. He was composed and controlled and certainly seems to be the Lions’ best ten on form this tour, as Roar regular ‘Highlander’ pointed out on the match blog. It does make one wonder if the Lions’ ten jersey is being fought out between the wrong blokes.

Of course, the standard of the opposition has to be taken into account; Owen Farrell and Jonny Sexton have lined up in some of the bigger matches to date, including the first Test, but it would appear that Biggar would be worthy of consideration.

(AAP IMAGE/Adam Binns)

His defence is another particular highlight as fringe All Black squad member Ngani Laumepe (who averaged 12 metres a carry against the Lions, ridiculous numbers for an inside centre) would seek him out time and time again yet he held firm for the majority, including one important strip on the same player who gave the Lions one last chance to snatch a win at the end of the match.

Test Lions?
Outside of the already-mentioned Biggar, it was interesting to see who else from the Lions may have put their hand up nice and high for consideration.

While many were interested in how lock Courtney Lawes performed, he was outshone by his locking partner Henderson, who was everywhere and into everything last night, strong with ball in hand and showing some nice handling skills to boot. His yellow card may have counted against him, but his overall work rate and aggression would have caught the coach’s eye.

George North was another who adapted well during the match. He was forced into midfield on occasion after the injury to second five Robbie Henshaw and carried strongly all night, his additional size potentially a valuable addition to the Lions Test side.

Space for a third Barrett?
For such a young man, Jordie Barrett certainly looked right at home at this level. He was solid at fullback and dangerous with ball in hand, and is versatile enough to cover first five.

He played a hand in a few of the Hurricanes’ tries and I wonder if he did enough to at least come under consideration for the utility spot on the bench for the second Test, with what seems to be plenty of consideration for Aaron Cruden to start and older brother Beauden moved to fullback? It would have perhaps left the midfield vulnerable – and that may be why selectors opted for Israel Dagg at fullback and Cruden on the bench.

Laumepe also can’t have done his chances any harm with a powerful display with ball in hand and seemingly ideal for a bench impact role.

Earlier games against the Lions have certainly helped sway the All Black selectors in earlier matches on tour and I wonder if these two Hurricanes have managed to do the same, if not for the second Test then perhaps the third.

So the Lions have now completed the non-test component of their tour, securing four wins, two losses and one draw in the process in what seems a whirlwind last month on tour.

With their passionate and brilliant supporters in tow, they can now focus solely on the Test matches remaining, the first in Wellington this Saturday night which is a must-win situation for the tourists in order to keep the Test series alive. I cannot wait!