It is at times like this, with a major Test series poised at 1-1 before a decisive finale, that top-level coaches earn their money. On the one hand the British & Irish Lions need no extra motivation for the biggest game of their lives, on the other they must take the field on Saturday with precisely the right mindset. It is part art, part science, particularly in the final week of an 11-month season.
Some head coaches, on the eve of a “cup final”, like to trust in the months of hard training their players have already banked and change nothing. Others come into their own immediately before the biggest occasions, either through gut selections or in how they tweak their team’s preparations. On Lions tours, where the alchemy has to happen quickly or not at all, it helps to have one of the latter sort.
Related: Angry All Blacks still trying to get Wellington out of their minds | Andy Bull
We’ve run this blueprint with Warren Gatland a couple of times … whenever we’ve done it we’ve performed well
Continue reading...