Lessons to be taken from the north
OPINION: Judging by the results from the northern hemisphere in the last few weekends, the British and Irish Lions will be able to put a big, physical and skillful squad together for their tour to New Zealand next year.
Ireland have beaten the All Blacks, as well as Australia and South Africa this season. England have beaten Argentina and South Africa and will probably beat Australia this weekend. They have now won 12 games on the trot.
Scotland have defeated Argentina and lost by a point to Australia. Even Wales have got the better of Argentina and South Africa.
All of those results make you wonder just how good All Blacks are and can they really expect to win the three test series?
They were obviously by far the best of what has turned out to be an average group in this year’s Rugby Championship. But now they have been beaten for the first time in 111 years by Ireland.
More problematic though is the way in which the All Blacks played in the second test against Ireland and last weekend against France. Sure, they won those games with plenty of guts and endeavour but they lacked of confident attacking strategies and showed a serious lack of skill and tactics with the ball in hand.
Coach Steve Hansen has stated that the ’’evolution of the All Blacks playing style will continue’’ and nothing more certain is required to keep ahead of the pack.
They were under a lot of defensive pressure up north which they countered in heroic fashion. But it will not cut the mustard if the Lions gel under Warren Gatland.
It must now be time to shake-up the coaching roles. Wayne Smith invariably has his aspect of play performing at the top level, so he should move in to the ball in hand components and fine tune the strategies, tactics and skill level in those areas.
Passing behind the front running players, popping off to the player on the shoulder and cross kicks may suffice as the staple diet but the extra edge with players threatening and maneuvering the opposition requires a lot more savvy and a clearer understanding of the specific requirements.
Scrummaging also needs a jolt in the arm. Whether there are changes in the front row with the inclusion of a couple of rugged scrummagers or a change of the voice at the scrum machine, something needs to happen.
Placing an increased importance on simple disciplines during the game would help within this mini unit as well.
The one player who has not been adequately replaced in 2016 has got to be Ma’a Nonu.
The choices available were adequate but they were not Nonu, so it will be interesting to see if Sonny Bill Williams steps up and reaches the hype that has surrounded his career in rugby.
One assumes he will be at the camp in January.
In 11 Lions tours to New Zealand since 1904, the visitors have only left these shores with one series victory in 1971.
This was under an astute Welsh coach Carwyn James and a playing personnel that was superior to the All Blacks .
The playing personnel of the 2017 Lions will be of an extremely high standard. With the TAB throwing up $5 for a 2-1 series win, a small wager just might be a good investment.