The phoney war is coming to an end. One more warm-up match against a tasty looking Australia and New Zealand invitational side and then into the real thing. The Lions head coach, Andy Farrell, was asked how much he was holding back for the Test series and he replied it was exactly the same amount as Australia were. I’d expect nothing less.
To give a sense of what that means, it’s not as if he’s asking players to give 80% of their capacity or that the Lions will be unrecognisable come the Test series. The framework they have been working with is the one they will use. But it’s the details where the Lions will try to hurt Australia that have been, to a degree, parked or kept back. You don’t necessarily want to show that in warm-up matches, certainly not your full hand.
In 2009, while we were playing the provincial matches in the buildup, the framework of how we were going to play got layered on and became more detailed with each game, even every day in the buildup to the Test matches. We had specific areas where we believed we could hurt the Springboks that we kept up our sleeve. That could be a kick-off, for example, so it was interesting to see the Lions switching things up against the Brumbies, going down the middle and using Tommy Freeman as the main chaser. That kind of thing, or trick moves and trick plays, I thought the Lions might hold back until the Tests.
Even accounting for the Lions holding things back, they would have been hoping for more against the Brumbies. It is a good thing no one in the camp was doing cartwheels and I get the impression they recognise that while it’s building, at some point it needs to be built. They are probably behind where I thought they would be, but none of the problems affecting the Lions is terminal.
The first thing they need to address is their tendency to start slowly. The Lions have conceded a try inside 11 minutes in four of their five matches. That feeds the energy of their opponents and the concern is that against a team with the threats the Wallabies possess, it may not be just one try and all of a sudden they are up against it and chasing the game. Fast starts need to become a hallmark of this side. They need to build pressure and sustain pressure.
The second area of concern is the breakdown because if you want to be a team who play with ball in hand it means that you want to be comfortable going through multiple phases. International rugby is all about sustained pressure, whether that is at the set piece, in your ball carrying or going through the phases. The Lions are letting teams off the hook because they are not being efficient enough at looking after the ball for enough phases.
Some of it comes down to individual responsibility and the worry is that the breakdown problems have become a bit of a pattern. The danger is that if the Lions do want to play multi-phase rugby they are starting to do some of Australia’s homework for them by demonstrating their deficiencies and the Wallabies are a very good side when it comes to the breakdown.
There has been plenty to enjoy about the Lions’ performances, but I do wonder if the general sense of clunkiness comes down to the strain the selection battle for the Test side puts them under. Farrell and his coaches will consider everything when it comes to who runs out on Saturday week in Brisbane. Some players will earn their places through experience, others through form. There will be those such as Tadhg Furlong who has been played into a bit of form, others whose form is unignorable, but there will be no guiding principle across the whole side.
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Everyone is scrapping like mad for their position and it is unfamiliar to a lot of them. Plenty of players who started against the Brumbies, when they go back to their home nation, are not in as much of a battle for their place. Worrying about selection is not something they need to expend energy on so when we’re seeing players making silly mistakes, not quite at their best, maybe it is because the pressure of selection is huge and it is unfamiliar and weighing heavy. A level of protection that is normally afforded to them has been taken away, there’s more of a pressure to perform and that’s playing out.
It is a big ask for most of the starters on Saturday to force their way into the Test team, but that will not stop them trying. A big performance from Jac Morgan could put him in at openside and the two Scotland centres will be desperate for a good showing. Owen Farrell is on the bench, but I do wonder if the Lions will regret not having Jamie Osborne already in camp and able to run out because all of a sudden eyes are on Hugo Keenan at full-back.
Most importantly, these players have to feel like they can fight their way into the Test team because these Lions haven’t lost in Australia yet and they won’t want to buck that trend.
