The New Zealand coach Steve Hansen makes three changes to the side who crushed Samoa 78-0 for the first Test against the British & Irish LionsSteve Hansen has shown his hand, then, and it includes three changes to the side who beat Samoa 78-0 last week. At least one of them was easy to see coming. Kieran Read is back at No8 – as everyone knew he would be. But the other two have caught a few by surprise. Ryan Crotty is in at outside centre, ahead of Anton Lienert-Brown. And in the biggest twist, the 20-year-old Rieko Ioane starts on the left wing. Julian Savea, who has scored 46 tries in 53 Tests, the last of them only last...
Warren Gatland and his staff have had their selection meeting and come up with a cussed-looking team with a no-nonsense physical edge for Saturday’s first TestIt is so long since the All Blacks lost a Test at Eden Park that Maro Itoje was not even born the last time it happened. In July 1994 Wet Wet Wet were at No1 in the UK singles charts with Love Is All Around and rugby union was still, officially, an amateur game. Should the British & Irish Lions win in Auckland on Saturday it really will be a special achievement.For Lions fans in search of omens 23 years on, it could scarcely be any wetter across New Zealand’s north island than it is...
Itoje has proved a vital element in the Lions’ ‘pressing game’ and is key to trying to frustrate Beauden Barrett, so should start in the first Test against All BlacksThe British & Irish Lions sealed victory against the Maori All Blacks with a try that was spawned by their relentless defence which resembles the pressing game favoured by many of the top football clubs.Damian McKenzie – the Maori fly-half who is one of the most threatening runners in Super Rugby, where he operates mostly as a full‑back – received the ball in his 22 and was quickly closed down by the second-rows George Kruis and Maro Itoje 12 minutes into the second half, even though he was standing deep. Related:...
The Lions coach has come in for criticism in his homeland yet knows his side must resist the All Blacks’ attempts to provoke an open game in the first TestHistory, ancient and modern, points to the Lions being outroared by New Zealand. The All Blacks warmed up for the series by amassing 78 points and 12 tries against Samoa. When asked what the Lions would need in Saturday’s first Test, the Samoa captain, Kahn Fotuali’i, replied: “Luck.”As well as tries, luck has largely eluded them so far. The loss of the No8 Billy Vunipola before the tour was compounded by the thigh injury suffered by Owen Farrell in training, a Lion the All Blacks would find space for. It would...
The fly-half is a totem for the Lions and if he cannot win his fitness race for the first Test it would be a significant hit to their chances in New ZealandThe general consensus is that if the Lions are going to beat the All Blacks they will need to score three or four tries but that is a myth. They are in New Zealand to win Test matches, they are not going to play a lot of rugby, they are not going to showcase many skills and they will 100% try to strangle the All Blacks. If they execute the gameplan, built around a very solid defence, a very solid set-piece and a very accurate kicking game, then one...