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The British & Irish Lions’ defeat by Argentina will have been shaken out of their system even before the jet lag. It is not difficult to draw a line under it. The tour starts when boots are on the ground in Australia and listening to the noises coming out of the camp, I’d be amazed if Andy Farrell is voicing the same frustrations after Saturday’s match against Western Force.
The handling errors against the Pumas stood out. I don’t mind so much those that were committed in aerial contests – though there were a lot in open play as well – but I think what really frustrated Farrell is that Argentina appeared to be playing with more urgency at the breakdown and when it came to feeding off the loose scraps.
The first match is always difficult. There is so much goodwill, so much energy behind the first Lions game of a tour that it can be hard not to force things, not to get carried away with a determination to impress. Bear in mind that Argentina are ranked fifth in the world and the Lions will not face another challenge like the Pumas until we get into the Test series.
Clearly there was a desire to move the ball and keep it alive – and I always say that what we see on the pitch is a reflection of what has been worked on in training – but some of the decision-making let the Lions down. Whether it be a two-on-one on the edge that Marcus Smith ought to have spotted, or Duhan van der Merwe’s failure to pass inside to Alex Mitchell. The expectation on Saturday is that the Lions demonstrate better decision-making and better accuracy, all underpinned by improvements according to Farrell’s frustrations – namely hunger, desire and energy.
I’m encouraged by the team that Farrell has selected and while I don’t think it will be the Test team, I would have no problem with this XV lining up against the Wallabies. I like the blend of the backline, with pace, creativity and power and the fact that there is plenty of familiarity given the number of Leinster and Ireland players selected can only be a good thing.
Last week there were certain similarities in what the Lions were trying to achieve in attack with how Farrell’s Ireland go about things and that makes obvious sense. I would say that Ireland have the best attacking framework and structure of the four home nations so it stands to reason. When I talk about structure it can sound like a negative thing, like it can be constraining, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
Excuse the analogy but when I was doing Strictly Come Dancing, I thought that ballroom dancing would be really quite boring because it was all about “the frame”. What I soon realised is once you’ve got the frame built and set, it effectively just becomes a pillar in the foundation. What you do within that frame – shoulders back, traps down, elbows high, fingers pointing, neck long, chin to 45 degrees – once you’ve got those principles in place, you can do whatever you want. So when it comes to the Lions’ attacking structure, it looked similar to that of Ireland but that doesn’t mean there is no room for players to act on instinct. A good example was Mitchell’s pass out the back when recovering near his own line and I’d have liked to see a bit more of it. I was a bit surprised there was no attempt to tap and go, to up the tempo that little bit more.
At this stage it is too early to read too much into combinations and what implications they might have for the Test team. It will only become apparent by the third match of the tour in Australia. Maro Itoje isn’t playing Saturday but that’s likely because Farrell wants to see him lining up alongside another second row and the time is not yet right for that.
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That said, this is certainly an opportunity for Henry Pollock, who had a mixed introduction off the bench against Argentina, while it will be interesting to see how Tadhg Beirne fares in the back row after the lineout troubles against the Pumas last week.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the Lions should beat Western Force emphatically. They are the worst-ranked Australian team in Super Rugby whereas the Lions are now fully stacked, barring the odd injury niggle and Farrell will want them to go out and deliver a statement. The noise has already started coming from one or two former Australia players, claiming even that the Wallabies will whitewash the Lions.
I love it when the noise starts but that is quite simply an incredible claim. I don’t mean to get all Chris Whitty, but we have to follow the evidence and it simply doesn’t exist to suggest the Lions will be whitewashed. Bold statements like that do, however, signal that the tour is up and running.
