Are the All Blacks, who are used to flattening every team they face, actually starting to flatline, as England close in on them at the top of the global rankings?The players voted Jonathan Davies the Lion of the tour after the third and final Test on Saturday. The recognition for the Wales centre was notable for at least two reasons: he was a back on a trip when they were expected to do little more than chase kicks, and he was not from the country with the largest single representation. His defence in the second half at Eden Park on Saturday made it hard for New Zealand to achieve width and it was a series when the loss of so many experienced players...
With the All Blacks missing three golden opportunities and a questionable late decision going against them, the crowd left Eden Park feeling deflatedIt rained on Sunday morning in New Zealand. Absolutely teemed down in Auckland, so it was tough to see if the sun rose on the morning after the night before. It seemed fitting, somehow. Nature’s attempt to wash away the stain left at Eden Park by a Test that had promised so much. A game that fell flat just when we were expecting a crescendo.There was no euphoria when the final whistle blew. The crowd stunned into silence after 80 minutes of raucous support trickled away from Eden Park, disappointed it had come to this. Related: The Lions are priceless: meddle too...
The likely reduction of tour matches for the trip to South Africa in 2021 sets a dangerous precedent and overlooks the impact Lions series have both at home and abroadWhen Warren Gatland submits his report on the tied Lions series in New Zealand to the four home unions, he will repeat the plea made four years ago for more preparation time. Heads will nod in agreement but all that is set to change by 2021, when the Lions will be in South Africa, is that two matches are cut from the schedule to give the players and management an extra week together.It would be, as the former Lions wing and manager Gerald Davies said, the death of the Lions by...
The sides had grown obsessed with winning the physical contest and in the series decider it produced the most brutal match in recent memoryWhen it was all over, Sam Warburton had one word left in him: “Wow.” It echoed around the ground, the crowd quiet until they realised that Warburton did not know what else to say, and his pause was overwhelmed by raucous applause. Warburton stood silent a moment longer, then added: “What a Test match.”Soon afterwards, Kieran Read was called up from the other side of the presentation stage. The two men took the little silver trophy between them, each with one hand on one handle, and raised it together. When they brought it back down, Warburton tugged...
Critics attack his teams for playing Warrenball but as the only unbeaten Lions coach of the professional era Gatland has shown yet again he gets resultsHe would not rule it out, but nor was he chomping at the bit for another shot. Warren Gatland refused to be drawn on the prospect of another Lions tour. “I don’t know,” he said. “There’s been a lot of water under the bridge.” For now, obviously, he is just thinking about Wales, the autumn and preparing for the World Cup in two years’ time. Whether he is in position to take on another Lions tour in 2021 remains to be seen.It is a scarcely guarded secret that he has his eye on the All...