When Warren Gatland named his squad for the 2013 tour to Australia it was evident that the Lions would be playing the power game that had delivered Wales consecutive Six Nations titles. As Wednesday’s announcement of the 37 players who will take on New Zealand this summer is awaited, a trip that will be considerably more demanding in the warm-up matches never mind the three Tests, the tactics are harder to discern.
The international game has moved on appreciably in the past four years. It is faster because of a greater emphasis on retaining possession, kicking is more tactical than ritual and the need for players to be able to detect space and opportunity is greater. New Zealand are the arch-opportunists but among the four home unions only Scotland have an instinct to run. England have developed an ability to attack off quick possession, struggling when teams slow their ball down, as Ireland did at the end of the Six Nations, but Wales have one foot in the past, hard to beat but lacking fluency, while Ireland’s play is prescriptive, leavened by the cunning of Johnny Sexton.
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