I was part of a great missed opportunity 12 years ago – Warren Gatland is right to make sure the lessons of it are learnedI’m a firm believer in the saying that you learn more in defeat than in victory and that goes a long way to explaining why Warren Gatland has so often referred back to the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa this time around. Twelve years on and for us as players it still feels like a huge missed opportunity so it is no surprise that Gatland is making sure at every turn that lessons have been learned from that series defeat. Related: Credit to bold Gatland for picking a Lions side on form...
For South Africa’s analysts it will feel like doing battle with an army of unknown warriors for Saturday’s first TestThe secret of top-level selection is to heighten the sense of pre-game anticipation. If the team sheet can not only energise your own players but also make the opposition feel faintly uneasy, so much the better. Warren Gatland has ticked both those boxes; now we must wait and see whether it will trick the Boks.South Africa will certainly be scanning Gatland’s selection warily. Not since Jason Robinson skipped thrillingly around Australia’s Chris Latham at the Gabba exactly 20 years ago has a Lions side looked better equipped to make a more proactive start to a series. Gatland has been bold –...
Saracens player has the footwork, pace and the catch-pass to make him a shoo-in for the first Test against South AfricaWhen I saw Elliot Daly’s name in the initial British & Irish Lions squad it was my view that he would be the starting outside centre for the Test team. With a week to go that remains my view but the makeup of the midfield remains the hardest part of the side to call and one of the crucial decisions Warren Gatland and his assistant coaches must get right.Aside from Daly, there was an absence of creativity and pace in the initial squad and I was left wondering where the creative spark might come from if Finn Russell was not...
Uplifting home-grown exploits in rugby, football and tennis have shown the value of our emotional connection to sportThere is nothing in sport quite like the unexpected emergence of an unaffected new star. It is the novelty that never wears off: the wide-eyed smile of the young athlete who can scarcely believe their wildest dreams are being realised, a captivated audience enjoying a first glimpse of talent and poise from beyond the tramlines of ordinariness. As of this weekend, this phenomenon can now be retitled the Emma Raducanu Effect. Related: ‘I’m having a blast’: Emma Raducanu vows to enjoy wildcard Wimbledon run Related: Josh Adams scores four tries as British & Irish Lions start tour in style Continue reading...
Warren Gatland has been rich in his praise of a maturing player whose skill can counter the power of the SpringboksWinning a series in South Africa is hard at the best of times, never mind during a pandemic. For a British & Irish Lions side hurtling towards a Test series like skydivers yet to locate their ripcords, it is all about making calm, correct decisions under pressure. Find a clever tactical balance and – whoosh – up goes the canopy and everything will be fine.Among the most crucial judgments Warren Gatland and his co-pilots must make is their ideal 10-12 combination. It goes without saying that a Lions stand-off is a pivotal individual around whom much revolves, particularly given the...