After two turgid Tests it’s time for Warren Gatland to take a risk and trust the Scottish fly-half to show his talentIf you were to put all of the leading coaches in the same room and show them the second Test between the British & Irish Lions and South Africa, I would be extremely surprised if any of them said that is how they want to advertise the sport. Not even the Springboks.Unfortunately, it speaks to where international rugby is at the moment and puts into perspective England’s performances in 2020 when they came in for such criticism for adopting a kick-first mentality yet lost only one match all year. The pandemic has shone a light on it because without...
Warren Gatland knows pragmatism is the order of the day and is willing to sacrifice entertainment to topple South AfricaSeldom does the thin line between success and failure feel slimmer than in the tense final days of a tight British & Irish Lions series. Even by the brutal standards of elite rugby it is knife-edge territory. “As I always say there’s nowhere in between,” murmured Warren Gatland this week. “It’s agony or ecstasy.”And at international level, perhaps more so than in most sports, that increasingly means playing the percentages. It is easy enough for onlookers to suggest this series decider needs to be an uplifting spectacle for the wider sport’s sake but Gatland strongly suspects entertainment is not currently sitting...
The head coach has a history of punts which came up trumps and is banking on his bold choices outfoxing the SpringboksWhen it comes to selection for the final Test of a British & Irish Lions series, Warren Gatland has historically proved a shrewd operator. In 2013 his reshuffled Lions, containing six starting personnel changes as is also now the case, trounced the Wallabies 41-16. Four years ago the All Blacks also proved unable to seal a series most had expected them to win.It is perhaps in that context that Gatland’s last spin of the 2021 roulette wheel – and almost certainly of his Lions’ career – should be viewed. This is a head coach who has been in this...
Sense of grievance manufactured by Rassie Erasmus is more proof that Lions have not fared well in the social media age If Lions tours are supposed to spread the Gospel of Rugby, they best choose somewhere else to go. If they are to satisfy the bloodlust of the already converted, then why play anyone else? This match, like the last – indeed this whole week – has showed rugby at its ugliest and most difficult to love. Which is just how some people, well, love it.And now the dust has settled, we are confronted with what no Lions tour to South Africa has known since 1910 – a series tied up for the final Test. The mind boggles. Social media...
Smoke clears after an unseemly war of words to leave bullish coach watching Lions fall victim to his planFor Rassie Erasmus, mission accomplished. We will never know to what extent, if any, his video rant and the accompanying outrage affected the match officials. But considering it was a last throw of the dice – a means to an end to ensure both sides come back to do it all again one last time next Saturday with everything on the line and a way of firing up his players – they can be seen as a success.Perhaps the greatest shame is that if Erasmus’s outburst achieved one thing, it was to ensure that the arm-wrestle Warren Gatland predicted ensued. It was...