Lions Tour 2021: South Africa v British & Irish Lions – 2nd Test

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a week since the Lions emerged victorious in the 1ˢᵗ Test against the Springboks, what with all the talk about last weeks officiating and the mystery of Jaco Johan’s true identity, but here we are 7 days later with the Lions and Springboks facing off in the second of three Tests.

And after a week where things arguably got out of control and went too far, it’s no surprise that we saw a cagey start to the game, with the first of a number of tussles coming just minutes into the game. The hosts took an early lead through the boot of Handré Pollard but Dan Biggar soon kicked 2 penalties to put the tourists ahead, with Pollard missing jus before the end of the 1ˢᵗ quarter. Any hopes that the officials would have an easy night soon went out the window, and when Duhan van der Merwe tripped Cheslin Kolbe early in the 2ⁿᵈ quarter. Any hopes the Springboks had of exploiting the extra man disappeared within a minute though, as Cheslin Kolbe’s reckless kick chase saw him take out Conor Murray in the air, with the winger probably lucky to only get a yellow. Despite the extra space on the pitch, neither could find a breakthrough, though Pollard kicked another conversion to bring things level. As the half began drawing towards an eventual (the 40 minutes of game time took over an hour to play out) end, the Lions thought they had scored the opening try as Robbie Henshaw collected Conor Murray’s clever chip on the try line, however the combined efforts of Siya Kolisi, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am held him up in goal just long enough for the host’s captain to strip the ball free, and the Lions were forced to settle for a penalty, which sent them into the break with a 6-9 lead.

The second half last week saw an immediate shift into a higher gear from the Lions, but this time it was the South Africans who came flying out the blocks, and after the Lions failed to claim a high ball in their 22, the South Africans pulled the defence around, before Pollard put in a clever chip to the corner, which Makazole Mapimpi collected to go over for the opening try. The Boks were clearly not going to roll over and hand the Lions the series, and after Dan Biggar saw a penalty attempt come back off the post, some clever substitutions saw them begin to take control. That control paid off just after the hour as a dominant maul drove covered far too much distance before being brought down illegally, and with a penalty advantage given, Faf de Klerk put in a clever grubber from the back of the breakdown, which Lukhanyo Am managed to touch down. With Pollard adding the conversion to take the score beyond a converted try with just 10 minutes left, it looked like the game was done, but the South Africans made sure of it with some dominant play from their pack winning them 3 penalties that Pollard duly kicked for a 27-9 victory that levelled the series 1-1.

rugby south africa springboks crest no background

rugby british and irish lions crest no background

Unprepared

The Springboks were poor last week. Considering how little time they have spent together since the World Cup and how badly their preparation for the series had been affected by COVID, anyone with a brain could have expected that they would get better as the series went on. Yet despite that, the Lions chose to stick to a gameplan that saw them try to win the game at the set piece and rely on keeping the ball tight and beating the Boks in the air.

Well that failed miserably, especially as the second half went on, with Ken Owens seemingly thinking that his team were wearing green at the lineouts and Kyle Sinckler getting taught a lesson in scrummaging by Trevor Nyakane, who looked miles better than in recent outings. Meanwhile, though they may have had the height advantage, it looked like the Lions back 3 had all-but forgotten how to play under the high ball. The Lions tried to beat the Boks at their own game… and were handily beaten.

“Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact… same f*cking thing… over and over again expecting… shit to change… That. Is. Crazy.”

—Vaas, Far Cry 3

Warren Gatland has never been a coach that I have fully got behind. While I have appreciated how physically fit his teams are, he so often appears to just have 1 plan: going hard in midfield and relying on the quality of his players under the high ball and in the set piece to dominate the game, eventually creating the space out wide for his wings to exploit. However, when that doesn’t work, he so rarely seems to have a Plan B, and that showed horribly in this match.

If the Lions want to come away with the win next week, they need to take a different approach. As great as Chris Harris was today, I think that Robbie Henshaw needs to be moved out to 13 next week, with Owen Farrell coming in at 12 to provide a second playmaking option to play a more open game and move the South African defence around the pitch, with Tadhg Beirne also coming in at 6 in place of Courtney Lawes to provide a more threatening attacking option along with another breakdown threat for the Boks to deal with. Ali Price should be reinstated to the starting line-up as he will provide more variety to the game than Conor Murray, while Liam Williams and Josh Adams should be brought into the back 3.

If they stick to more for the same next week, it could be a long 80 minutes for Lions fans.

Stroke of genius

Sometimes when you look back at a match, it is possible to pick out a handful of moments that proved crucial to the result. One of those today came in the 55ᵗʰ minute, as Jasper Wiese was replaced by Lood de Jager. The Leicester Tigers back row was preferred at number 8 over Kwagga Smith in the continued absence of Duane Vermeulen as he was considered a more physical option, but struggled to make a positive impact on the game, struggling under a couple of high balls and giving away a couple of penalties.

However as if missing Vermeulen wasn’t bad enough for the Boks, they then lost superstar flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit after 20 minutes, as he had been struggling with an injury for about 15 minutes following an awkward landing after a tackle from Duhan van der Merwe. With du Toit going off and Kwagga Smith coming on, the Springboks found the lineout a real struggle, as they were down to just 2 jumpers in Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth, while Courtney Lawes at 6 provided the Lions with a 3ʳᵈ jumper to utilise alongside Maro Itoje and Alun Wyn Jones.

And then came the big call, with Wiese going off and de Jager coming on at lock, moving Mostert to blind side flanker. Now Mostert may not be an obvious option at 7 for the Boks, but has experience of playing on the blindside and the tireless engine to do a job there, but while it may have taken away a bit of mobility in the loose, it considerably added to the set piece. Replacing Wiese with de Jager not only added extra ballast in the scrum, but it also gave the Boks their third lineout jumper again. With de Jager on, the Boks took control of the set piece, and there was no way back for the struggling Lions.

Man in the middle

This was a very odd week of build-up for the match. While the talk before the first Test was about the late call-up of South African Mariusz Jonker as TMO, this week saw things go to a completely new level, with Rassie Erasmus highly critical of Nic Berry’s performance last week, culminating in a 60 minute video highlighting a number of perceived mistakes from Berry that went against the Boks.

With so much pressure it was clear that everybody would be scrutinising this week’s referee Ben O’Keeffe’s performance even more than usual. Refereeing is a thankless task at the best of times but the New Zealander took on the task and did himself proud. While he did seem cautious to make a big call without consulting TMO Jonker and his fellow officials, and while there were some calls that could certainly be argued (most notably Am’s try and Kolbe only receiving a yellow card), O’Keeffe was very clear in talking through the incidents and how he and his team were coming to their decisions.

Will people say that he and his crew were influenced by Rassie Erasmus during the week? Of course. Is it true? Potentially? But should we see a repeat of this week’s criticism, only this time from the Lions? I sincerely hope not. But with next weekend’s Test now becoming the decider, expect to hear come comments from both camps as they try to get the advantage.

Lions Tour 2021: South Africa v British & Irish Lions – 1st Test

The day Lions fans had been looking forward to since the Lions ended a tied series with New Zealand finally arrived: the day of the First Test between South Africa and the Lions. Unfortunately, the COVID-19pandemic robbed Cape Town Stadium of fans and reduced the quality of warm-up, but the First Test got off to a huge start, with the Lions immediately putting their hosts under pressure, only for Tom Curry to allow them to relieve pressure by advancing in an offside position as they tested Cheslin Kolbe with a high bomb into the 22. After this, the game turned into a close arm wrestle for control, with the Springboks taking the lead through 2 Handré Pollard, while Dan Biggar added one in reply. However, the tourists’ ill discipline continued and allowed the Springboks a lineout in their 22, from which they demolished the Lions pack and released a break to the line, only for Maro Itoje to win a crucial turnover penalty. The Boks may have been denied a try, but soon extended their lead with 2 penalties, but the Lions started building into the game and winning some penalties of their own, though both Biggar and Elliot Daly missed from range. With the clock ticking down on the half, Robbie Henshaw made the first real break of note in the game, but Willie le Roux recovered well to dislodge the ball as Henshaw was looking for a pass, and the teams went in at the break with the score at 12-3.

Things were immediately different after the break, with the Lions looking much more focused and earning 2 quick penalties to set themselves up with a lineout 5 metres from the hosts’ line. Luke Cowan-Dickie found his jumper, and as the maul came together and span around, the English hooker was given the easiest of rides over the line for the opening try. With their lead cut to 2 points, the Springboks thought they had found an immediate answer as Damian de Allende released Lukhanyo Am down the left wing. As cover came across, the centre kicked downfield and Willie le Roux won the race to dot the ball down, only to be adjudged offside by TMO Marius Jonker. Just minutes later and the Boks were breaking down the same wing again, with Pieter-Steph du Toit cleaning up a wild pass from Pollard and releasing Makazole Mapimpi. As the wing came under pressure, he chipped back infield, and when du Toit failed to collect the ball (with Jonker deeming there was no knock on) he collected his own kick and, with Stuart Hogg holding him up on the line, offloaded to Faf de Klerk to put the home team back ahead. The Springboks had only played 1 Test match since winning the World Cup (unless you count the strong South Africa “A” team that recently faced the Lions), and that lack of Test match fitness appeared to show as the second half went on, leading to the team conceding penalty after penalty. Dan Biggar kicked 3 penalties to take back the lead, before a tip tackle from replacement Hamish Watson allowed Pollard to pull the Springboks back within 2 points. South Africa thought that they had scored again with 10 minutes remaining as a poor pass from Kyle Sinckler was shovelled on under pressure, with the ball eventually being dotted down by de Allende, but they were again denied by the TMO, who confirmed that there had been a knock on just prior by Cheslin Kolbe. As the clock ticked down Owen Farrell extended the lead to 17-22 with a penalty, and after the hosts claimed the restart, Maro Itoje released the building pressure with a timely strip just after the clock entered the red, and Stuart Hogg put the ball into touch to secure a 1-0 advantage for the tourists in the series.

Tipping point

One moment that is sure to get some scrutiny over the week (and probably some words from Rassie Erasmus) came in the 64ᵗʰ minute as the Springboks were awarded a penalty for a tackle by Hamish Watson. Willie le Roux had gone up for a high ball, and while the Scottish back row successfully timed his tackle to ensure the fullback was on the floor, he then lifted his legs and took him beyond the horizontal position, with le Roux hitting the ground shoulder-first and going off injured.

This is a tackle that we have seen for years, and the way it has been refereed is that coming down beyond the horizontal is a penalty, with a landing on the shoulder a yellow card and on the head a red, so by all intents and purpses this should have been a yellow card. However referee Nic Berry called it just a penalty in live play and TMO Marius Jonker chose not to intervene during the gap in play as le Roux received treatment.

Now I do have a little sympathy for Jonker. As a South African, he should have been nowhere near this Test, but was called up as a late replacement for Brendon Pickerill. Though I’m sure Jonker would treat this like any other Tests, he must have been aware that every call or non-call would be picked up by either South African or Lions fans as him favouring his nation or overcompensating to avoid calls of bias, and there had already been a couple of controversial calls that had not been helped by poor camera angles, so I can only think that he decided Berry’s initial confidence at the time was enough to stay silent. r perhaps he realised that the Boks were lucky to not have lost a an to the bin for the sheer number of penalties they had given away up to that point in the half, so thought to even things out.

Whatever the reason, the Boks should have had a man advantage going for 10 of the remaining 15 minutes, which could have changed the game, as neither Mapimpi nor Cheslin Kolbe were really given any space by the Lions the few times that South Africa tried to do anything with the ball.

I can’t imagine that there will be any further ramifications for Watson, as the tackle did not look worthy of a red, but the Boks will now have to hope that Willie le Roux can recover sufficiently for the next Test.

Mauled

The Springboks are well known for their aptitude at the lineout—both offensively and defensively—and the maul. So to see the success that the Lions had here was a shock to say the least.

But it came from clever recognition from the tourists. With the Lions looking to get the ball on the move quickly, the Boks countered by having lineout jumpers Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth set up to cover the back and middle of the lineout. In doing so, it left Ali Price having to throw a longer pass to get the ball out to the backs, but what it did do was surrender the front of the lineout to the tourists.

And the Lions took full advantage of this, throwing the safe front balls, setting up the mauls and quickly putting as much pressure through that one side before the Boks could get significant numbers around the side, which resulted in the Lions spinning the maul around to put the majority of the home pack out of the game, which led to Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try and a few other strong surges at the maul, while a number of others were stopped illegally by the Boks.

Expect a different defensive strategy from the Boks next week, as they won’t be able to afford to keep giving the Lions such an easy platform to build off.

Changes for number 2

While the Lions may have won the game, there was certainly room for improvement, so don’t be shocked to see Warren Gatland make some changes for the second Test.

In the front row, I expect to see Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tadhg Furlong to keep their starting spots after strong performances, but with Wyn Jones coming back in after being ruled out of this game with an injury. Maro Itoje was arguably the best player on the pitch for the Lions and when he keeps his discipline is one of the best locks in the world, so he will keep his spot alongside talismanic leader Alun Wyn Jones. In the back row, Tom Curry got on the wrong side of Nic Berry but I expect him to keep his spot alongside Jack Conan and Courtney Lawes, who did what was asked of him despite the feeling that Tadhg Beirne could have done that and more.

In the halfbacks, I expect the partnership of Ali Price and Dan Biggar to continue. Moving into the centres, I expect Robbie Henshaw to retain his place, but move outside to 13 to accommodate Bundee Aki, as Elliot Daly was unsurprisingly unable to replicate his strong performances against a more physical midfield. In the back 3, Duhan van der Merwe had a solid game, but I expect him to lose his starting place to Josh Adams, who will have had an extra week to get his emotions in check, with Anthony Watson and Stuart Hogg keeping their spots.

On the bench, I don’t expect many changes, with Ken Owens and Kyle Sinckler holding their spots, while a great performance in the scrum from Mako Vunipola will elevate him to the bench ahead of Rory Sutherland, who was meant to be the replacement in this game before Jones’ injury elevated him to the starting spot. to complete the cover for the pack, Hamish Watson and Tadhg Beirne will keep their spots, as I don’t envision any citing for Watson. After solid performances off the bench, Conor Murray and Owen Farrell will keep their spots, while I think that Liam Williams‘ ability to also cover fullback will see him just hold out van der Merwe for the 23 shirt.

Who do you think will feature next weekend?

A Tour to Remember

In a summer chock full of sport, the 2021 Tour de France remained one of the premier events in the calendar. 228 teams set out from Brest in late June, and after 21 stages that covered 3414.4km and witnessed plenty of riders leave the race early following crashes or to prepare for the upcoming Olympics, Tadej Pogačar defended his title won on the final day last year with a dominant ride. The Classifications finished as such:

General Classification:

Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) – UAE Team Emirates – 82h 56′ 36″
Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) – Team Jumbo–Visma + 05′ 20″
Richard Carapaz (Ecuador) – Ineos Grenadiers + 07′ 03″

Points Classification:

Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) – Deceuninck–Quick-Step – 337 points
Michael Matthews (Australia) – Team BikeExchange – 291 points
Sonny Colbrelli (Italy) – Team Bahrain Victorious – 227 points

Mountains Classification:

Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) – UAE Team Emirates – 107 points
Wout Poels (Netherlands) – Team Bahrain Victorious – 88 points
Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) – Team Jumbo–Visma – 82 points

Young Rider Classification:

Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) – UAE Team Emirates – 82h 56′ 36″
Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) – Team Jumbo–Visma + 05′ 20″
David Gaudu (France) – Groupama–FDJ + 21′ 50″

Teams Classification:

Team Bahrain Victorious – 249h 16′ 47″
EF Education–Nippo + 19′ 12″
Team Jumbo–Visma + 1h 11′ 35″

From strength to strength

Where else could I start my look back at the Tour, other than with it’s maillot jaune. Tadej Pogačar only took the yellow jersey on the final day of actual racing in 2020, but in this edition he was dominant, taking and holding the white jersey for best young rider from the first stage to the last, while he took the yellow jersey on Stage 8 and within just 2 stages had opened up an unassailable lead of over 5 minutes over his nearest contenders on GC.

Of course, he did benefit from some of those who were expected to be his closest rivals out of contention within days due to injuries picked up in the early crashes, while Jonas Vingegaard lost most of his time when he was still riding as a domestique for Primož Roglič before being given the leadership, but he was still incredibly strong, dropping Richard Carapaz with ease with over 30km still remaining on Stage 8, while rarely looking troubled when anyone else attacked.

He may only be 22, but he is already one of the strongest climbers in the peloton and an elite time triallist. He will certainly face tougher tests than he did this year, but the idea of him matching—or perhaps even beating—the current record of 5 Tour de France victories seems a possibility.

The Manx Missile flies again

If you asked someone who the greatest sprinter in road cycling was, Many would say Mark Cavendish. The Manx Missile looked odds on to break Eddie Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins.

Then things started going wrong. He was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus in 2017, which left him below his best for a couple of years, while he left the 2017 Tour early due to injury following a crash with Peter Sagan. Then in 2018, his race once again finished prematurely as he missed the time cut on Stage 11. As time went on, it looked like we had seen the last of Cav at a Grand Tour.

And then came the unlikeliest of chances. A late injury to last year’s green jersey winner Sam Bennett ruled him out, and with Fabio Jakobsen unavailable, Cavendish was brought into the Deceuninck–Quick-Step line-up at the eleventh hour. Of course, Deceuninck–Quick-Step are arguably the best team out there when it comes to focusing on the green jersey, with incredible work throughout the stages and strong lead-outs from Michael Mørkøv, and it didn’t take long for Cav to start repaying their efforts, with a win on Stage 4, the second sprint stage of the race. The day before had seen Caleb Ewan leave the race following a crash, and usual green jersey contender Peter Sagan never really looked in the running this year, but you would question if even Ewan could have stopped Cav as he grew in confidence, winning at Châteauroux (the site of his first Tour de France stage) and then again in Valence before finally equalling Eddie Merckx’s record in Carcassonne.

cycling tour de france 2021 mark cavendish stage 13 win number 34 record equalling

cycling tour de france 2021 mark cavendish stage 4 win

With his dominance in the sprints, the only worry was that he would miss the cut-off in the mountains, always a weakness for him, but something that he was thoroughly unprepared for this year due to the late call-up. And it’s safe to say that some of the other sprint teams did everything they could to make his job harder, refusing to form the classic sprinter grupettos. And this led to the incredible scenes of him being paced and shielded up the mountains—including a double climb of Mont Ventoux—by the majority of his team, ensuring that he never missed the cut-off, while some of his fellow sprinters were less successful.

And so it seemed like destiny that we reached the Champs-Élysées with Cav knowing that his next stage win would see him set a new record But this year’s race saw the finish line slightly higher up the road following a slight incline, and when Cav took a risk by going off Mørkøv’s wheel early, he found himself boxed in and the win went to the incredible Wout van Aert. But make no mistake, Cav remained the hero of the Tour, a green jersey winner at the Tour 10 years after his last win on the classification, and an inspiration to everyone to never give up.

But now, not even a week after the Tour has ended, the thoughts must already be turning to next year. It was certainly clear that Cav felt early in the race that this would be his last Tour, but with Bennett expected to return to Bora–Hansgrohe, it feels like the opportunity may be there for one last ride from Cav. And what a race that would be, with Cav and Bennett going toe to toe on each sprint stage. It’s safe to imagine that if Cav set the new record, he would be doing so by a matter of millimetres!

I for one hope that we get to see one more ride from Cav to see him finish the job. But if this is it, I will be thankful for the memories, and await his name being announced on the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist.

Watch this space

Every year, the Grand Tours tend to throw up one or two names that fans should keep an eye on going forward. While Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel enhanced their reputations on this tour, the name who really stood out by the end was that of Team Jumbo–Visma’s young Dane Jonas Vingegaard.

While you would have expected Richard Carapaz to be the greatest threat to Tadej Pogačar, it was in fact Vingegaard who proved the more dangerous, looking much more comfortable sticking with the Slovenian, while actually dropping his rivals towards the summit of Mont Ventoux. And even more important, he’s another top tier time triallist, which will give him the chance to compete among the very best on GC. Beating Carapaz by over 90 seconds is impressive enough, but his 5 minute gap to Pogačar came mainly from the early stages, which saw him riding as a domestique for the injured Primož Roglič. Had the team immediately switched the leadership to him, who knows how things could have gone?

This is only his second Grand Tour, but things are looking very positive for him, and with a team as strong as Team Jumbo–Visma, with domestiques like Sepp Kuss, Tony Martin, van Aert and George Bennett, it’s just a matter of time before he is given the chance to lead a Grand Tour from Stage 1. Don’t expect it to be too long until we see him on the top step of a Grand Tour podium.

Lions Tour 2021: Stormers v British & Irish Lions

With the first official Test between the British & Irish Lions and South Africa just a week away, the tourists played their final warm-up match, against the Stormers in Cape Town. The Lions welcomed back Stuart Hogg and Robbie Henshaw—who have been out of action for a large part of the tour—while also giving a debut to injury replacement Marcus Smith, and perhaps it was this lack of familiarity in the back line that took the team a while to get going, with it taking almost 15 minutes for them to threaten the Stormers line, Luke Cowan-Dickie being adjudged to have committed a double movement. Tim Swiel eventually opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a simple penalty, but the tourists were building into the game and when Tadhg Furlong broke through the line just before the half hour, the Lions took advantage of the front foot ball to put Adam Beard over just a couple of phases later. This improving performance continued in the scrum, which had been an early struggle for the tourists, and when they kicked a scrum penalty to touch 10m short of the line, the maul spun infield to release Luke Cowan-Dickie for a try that his barnstorming performance deserved. The Lions were getting on top of the game, and finished the half with another try as a long pass to the blind side from the ever-dangerous Ali Price left the tourists with a 3v2 overlap, which they converted to put Jonny Hill over in the corner, with Marcus smith going 3/3 in the half for a 3-21 lead.

It was more of the same after the break as the Lions were taking control and the Stormers were struggling to complete their tackles. A clever inside pass from Marcus Sith found Daly on the angle and he offloaded to release Jack Conan, who ha an easy run from halfway. Over the next 15 minutes, Tadhg Beirne twice got across the try line, but lost control grounding the ball under pressure their first time, while the second was called back for a forward pass in the build-up, but after making a raft of changes around the hour mark—including the introduction of returning tour captain Alun Wyn Jones—the team re-settled and got back to scoring ways as Zander Fagerson pushed over from close range with a pick and go. The Stormers finally saw themselves get some possession and territory entering the final 10 minutes, but lost control as they pushed for the line, and when the resulting scrum saw the Lions win a penalty, Marcus Smith found a gap to break from his own 22 into the Stormers half, where he fixed the covering defender and released Louis Rees-Zammit for a try. There was still time for one more score, though, and when the Lions broke down the left wing through Duhan van der Merwe, a series of offloads in a tight channel eventually saw the ball come to Sam Simmonds with free air in front of him, allowing him to score his first try for the British & Irish Lions, while Smith completed a wonderful performance with a perfect day off the tee to make the final score 3-49.

The sky’s the limit

What an incredible couple of weeks it has been for Marcus Smith! The 22-year-old finished off a wonderful season by being on the winning side of one of the greatest Premiership finals extra, before getting his first England caps (arguably later than deserved) with starts against both the USA and Canada. Things didn’t stop there though, as when he was removed just after the hour against Canada, he was informed that he had been called up to the Lions party, as Finn Russell would be missing time though injury.

Despite only 2 senior international caps to his name, Smith was given the start in this match against the Stormers and clearly trusted enough to go the distance, with no replacement flyhalf on the bench. While he had a slow start to the game as he adjusted to the conditions, he went on to have a fantastic game! Yes, there were a couple of handling errors, but e was far from the only one to struggle with the impact of the greasy surface at Cape Town, but these were far outweighed by the good that he did, with a great range of passes and kicks and playing a crucial role in a couple of the tries and going perfect off the tee.

But this is what we have already come to expect from the young Harlequins star. What was more surprising was to see the way Smith reacted to being targeted in defence, getting involved and racking up the tackles rather than shirking away and leaving the duties to his back row and centres. Marcus Smith has sent a message to everyone with the speed of his rise in the last month and the consistent quality of performance. Could he cap off a crazy summer with a Test cap? Injuries happen on tour, and if he carries on with that quality in training, I wouldn’t rule it out!

Guess who’s back

While Smith was drawing plenty of attention, even more was being directed towards a man at the opposite end of his career, as tour captain Alun Wyn Jones returned to the touring party just weeks after a dislocated shoulder against Japan that should have seen his tour over. Coming off the bench just before the hour, the lock made up for lost time with a great performance, testing his previously injured shoulder with some solid defence and also having some lovely touches in attack. Right now, it’s hard to imagine him not being at least in the 23 for the opening test next weekend, and a place in the XV certainly seems possible.

But should he even be on the tour right now? When the Lions’ touring party was announced, 37 names were announced. Clearly, this was an indication that they felt that this many players was enough to make it through the tour, on the proviso that an injured player could be replaced. And that is exactly what happened with Jones and Justin Tipuric, who were both replaced after the Japan game by Adam Beard and Josh Navidi. Yet now, the touring party is up to 40 players, with Jones retuning to the party, Marcus Smith’s callup despite Finn Russell staying with the squad and the call-up of Ronan Kelleher—who is unlikely to even feature in a match now that just the Tests remain—purely because it was decided that a fourth hooker on tour could come in handy.

Once you have picked your squad, new players should only be coming in to replace outgoing players, or it is simply watering down the distinction of being part of the British & Irish Lions. Smith’s arrival in South Africa should have been partnered by Finn Russell going home, while Jones (once replaced) and Kelleher should only have gone out to South Africa if other players got injured and needed replacing.

Of course, Warren Gatland has previous for this, with the decision to call up the “Geography 6” mid-way through the tour of New Zealand 4 years ago. With moves like this, the honour of a Lions call-up is being diluted. Is this due to a foreign head coach not quite understanding how special the honour is, or is this a sign of the way rugby is changing. Only time will tell

The 23

Last weekend following the second match against the Sharks, I tried to predict the starting XV for the first Test against the Springboks. Now, with all of the warm-up games played, I’m looking to revise this line-up, but also go a step further by predicting the entire 23 that will be named on Wednesday.

Before I start, I want to make very clear that this is not my picks for the 23, but rather what I believe Warren Gatland will go for.

WYN JONES: Rory Sutherland didn’t have the best of times at the scrum in this game (albeit against a prop who was often scrummaging illegally) and as such I think that Wyn Jones will take the starting spot in preparation for likely facing Frans Malherbe
JAMIE GEORGE: It was a choice between the 2 Englishmen here, but with a number of more dynamic options elsewhere in the XV and due to a selection at lock, the more defensive Jamie George gets the start here
TADHG FURLONG: Any coach would love the chance to pick between Furlong and Sinckler. Both bring so much to the team, but the Irishman’s carrying just gets him the starting spot
MARO ITOJE: The Saracen was a star of the New Zealand tour and has been great once again, especially in the lineout. Picking him and George together also creates a lineout partnership that has plenty of experience at both club and national level
IAIN HENDERSON: Don’t be shocked if Alun Wyn Jones ends up starting, and I certainly expect him to take the spot in the later Test, but the Irishman has done a solid job through the tour and offers an engine on offence and defence
TADHG BEIRNE: Picking the Munster star at 6 provides an extra lineout option and an incredible engine. Beirne will tackle all day long, earn a couple of turnovers and also bring some dynamism to the attack
HAMISH WATSON: It’s a real shoot-out between Watson and Curry for the 7 shirt, but with Beirne a legit turnover threat, the tireless tackling of Hamish Watson becomes more of an option, while he also has the ability to always make a metre or two in contact
TAULUPE FALETAU: None of the 8s have really separated themselves from the others on tour, and if Tom Curry had spent some time at the position in a match I would have selected him here to create a super dangerous back row. However, I have instead gone for Faletau whose classy reliability is something Gatland knows well from his years with Wales
CONOR MURRAY: The Munster halfback wouldn’t have even made my touring party had I been picking, but with selections being made elsewhere in the backs, a tactical kicker is needed at 9 and Murray is the one who is most likely to provide that for you
DAN BIGGAR: Owen Farrell’s horror show against South Africa “A” came at an awful time, while also giving Rassie Erasmus a chance to point out some more tackles of questionable legality. Biggar runs the game so well and controls the air when competing for the high ball, so I have him starting at 10
JOSH ADAMS: The Welshman had a quiet match against the Stormers, but continued to show his reliability in defence, while his attacking quality has been clear for all to see throughout the tour
BUNDEE AKI: The Connacht centre provides a physical match for the Springboks, who will likely utilise Frans Steyn or Damian de Allende at 12, while he also has the ability to earn a couple of turnovers per game if a player doesn’t have sufficient support
CHRIS HARRIS: Expect Robbie Henshaw and potentially also Owen Farrell) to come into the centre conversation in later matches, but Harris has certainly earned a spot in the Test XV with his reliable defence and capable attack. Harris is the perfect mirror image to Lukhanyo Am, the likely starter for the Boks
ANTHONY WATSON: One of the later starters on the tour, Watson may not have had as many chances as some of his rivals, but has certainly taken them well. Showed his attacking quality and turn of pace in his first appearance, while his ability under the high ball was noticeable against South Africa “A”
LIAM WILLIAMS: Poor Stuart Hogg. 4 years ago he looked set to star in New Zealand until a collision with Conor Murray ended his tour with a facial injury before the Tests. This time round, the Scotland captain has seen his chances limited by COVID isolation, and allowed Liam Williams to secure the 15 spot in his absence with some solid all-round performances and secure play under the high ball

Bench: Having just missed out on the starting spots, KYLE SINCKLER & LUKE COWAN-DICKIE will be looking to make an impact off the bench to earn starting spots in the second Test, while a couple of impressive performances of fthe bench in the last week have seen MAKO VUNIPOLA leapfrog Rory Sutherland for the 17 shirt. Covering the second row, you would have thought that Adam Beard had done enough in recent weeks, but he will probably be forced to wait as ALUN WYN JONES makes his way into the 23, while TOM CURRY will cover the back row and likely be let loose along with Cowan-Dickie with 20-30 minutes remaining. In the backs, ALI PRICE has probably been the form 9 on tour, so he just beats out Gareth Davies, while OWEN FARRELL will cover fly half and centre.

But that is only 22 players, and the final spot is a tough one to call. Should Gatland go for a traditional 5/3 split, I would expect Elliot Daly to take the spot, as he would provide versatile cover to all of the outside back positions as well as a howitzer of a left boot. However, I expect the Lions to play a tighter game and go for a 6/2 split, with COURTNEY LAWES coming in as the extra forward due to his ability to cover both the second row and blindside flanker positions, while you know that he will carry hard in attack and tackle tirelessly once brought on.

Do you agree with my predictions? If not, who do you see Gatland picking?

Lions Tour 2021: South Africa “A” v British & Irish Lions

With just 10 days until the first match of the 3-Test series, the British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa took a step up in intensity with a match against South Africa “A”. Intended to be made up of the fringe players from the wider South African squad, however the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—which has heavily impacted the South African squad’s training and caused the cancellation of their second warm-up match against Georgia—resulted in the home team picking a squad full of World Cup winners and experienced international, turning this into an unofficial fourth Test.

If there were any questions over the home side’s ability to match up after so long without rugby at this level, the South Africans soon answered those questions by establishing an early dominance, with Faf de Klerk’s kick following a turnover just evading Willie le Roux on the bounce, while Anthony Watson put in a superb covering tackle to deny Sbu Nkosi in the corner, with the hosts being forced to settle for a penalty. However it was not long until the South Africans were crossing the whitewash, with promising Lions attack reaching an abrupt end as Owen Farrell’s attempted chip into the South African 22 was charged down by Eben Etzebeth, with Damian de Allende picking up the loose ball and feeding Nkosi to go the length. Ten minutes later and the South Africans were on the offensive again, only to be denied by a knock-on at the breakdown metres from the line. Given a reprieve, the Lions soon opened their account for the night with an Owen Farrell penalty, but a moment of magic from Cheslin Kolbe saw the wing beat Chris Harris and draw in Elliot Daly before feeding captain Lukhanyo Am for another try. As the clock ticked down, the Lions had a sustained spell of pressure in the South African 22, and after both Faf de Klerk an Marco van Staden were sent to the bin, Wyn Jones thought he had scored with the final play of the half, only for replays to show a clear double movement, allowing the South Africans to go into the break with a 17-3 lead.

The Lions’ numerical advantage continued after the break, and they finally took advantage of it, with Wyn Jones legally getting the ball over the line this time and Owen Farrell kicking the conversion and adding a penalty a few minutes later. As substitutions began to disrupt the flow of the game, Louis Rees-Zammit almost scored in the corner, but van Staden and replacement Damian Willemse just managed to bring him down short of the line, while at the other end, Steyn dragged a penalty just left of the posts as well as missing the target with a late penalty. That left the tourists with the chance for 1 more attack before the final whistle with a try needed to win the game, but Zander Fagerson’s handling proved costly and he knocked on in contact to bring the game to an end, with the Lions suffering their first loss of the tour, 17-13.

Holding back

While the ideal tour (from the Lions’ perspective) would have been a 100% winning record, I can guarantee that Warren Gatland would much rather lose this match than one of the official Tests. As such, there was an important balance to meet between sending a message to Jacques Nienaber’s squad, while also not overly tipping their hand towards their tactics for the Tests. As such, I think we saw a few areas where the Lions tried to hide their plans for the tests.

First up is in the lineout, where you may remember a few weeks ago they were regularly going long and direct to the centres. Well in this match it was the complete opposite, with the majority of throws going tot he very front of the lineout. It’s rather understandable, Ken Owens hasn’t always shown himself to be the most reliable on longer throws, so a quick up and down at the front was a reliable way to win the ball back against Eben Etzebeth and co. However, as I have theorised since before the touring party was even named, don’t be shocked to see Tadhg Beirne providing a third lineout option at 6, with a range of throws that also includes the direct throw to the centres and some quick throws to the front before the Boks are fully set.

But even more notable tactically was the decision to repeatedly go for the tap penalty in the South African 22 when they had a numerical advantage. With both a forward and a back in the bin, the scrum was the obvious call here, as the extra man in the pack would allow the Lions the possibility of pushing over for a try and maybe even increased the numerical advantage as Trevor Nyakane was struggling in the scrums for the second match in a row, while the missing man in the South African back line would also leave gas on first phase for the Lions to exploit. However, while taking the scrums here may have led to more success in this match, it may have also allowed the Springboks to see some of the Lions’ key strike plays ahead of the Test series, giving them 10 days to find an answer.

While in the moment it may have looked like poor decisions from captain Conor Murray, I firmly believe that there was method to the madness, which could end up being crucial in the Test series.

A wider picture

There was one other tactical decision from the Lions in this match that I also sincerely hope was for the same reasons as above, but also can’t help but worry that it may have been the way they are planning to play.

The Lions had some fantastic attacking moments in this game, as they used tip-on passes to break the line in midfield while also causing real problems by beating the South African blitz defence to the outside, with a number of outside back and back row players getting a chance to run at wide open space. However, while these moments were highly successful, they were few and far between, as the game regularly devolved into an arm wrestle between the packs and the inside backs, which then ended in a poor kick from the Lions—with Owen Farrell especially having a poor day kicking out of hand—gifting possession back to the home team or hoping that the wingers could do something special on the chase.

Granted, this probably wasn’t helped by Dan Biggar pulling out injured (his replacement Farrell looking well off the pace, no real shock when he’s been playing against semi-professional teams last season) Josh Adams pulling out last minute due to the birth of his child and then an early injury to Liam Williams bringing on Ellit Daly at 15, but these are professional rugby players, who should be able to analyse that by keeping the ball tight they were playing into the hosts’ hands, as the South Africans put pressure on the breakdown and caused a number of turnovers with their destructive counter-rucking. With players like Lukhanyo Am, Frans Steyn and Damian de Allende in midfield, and the incredible options in their back row, keeping it tight is not a smart move for the Lions, and they need to utilise the quality of their players in open space, while getting in behind the South Africans will then put the pressure on them to get back onside before they can compete at the breakdown.

Hopefully when the first Test comes around, we see a Lions team willing to take the match to the Boks out wide. If they continue with tonight’s tactics, then they could be in trouble.

Passing the test

Following the last game against the Cell C Sharks, I put my neck on the line by predicting the Lions’ starting XV for the first Test. With a number of those players involved in this game, as well as some who just missed out, did anyone put their hands up to secure their spot or challenge for the shirt?

The obvious name that needs discussing here is Tom Curry. The Sale flanker had an incredible performance, winning turnovers, securing ball and carrying hard while also showing good speed when in put through a gap by Maro Itoje. Against most nations, I would happily pick Curry at 6 with Hamish Watson at 7, but against the Springboks, I feel that the extra ballast of Tadhg Beirne (who would be my first choice at lock if I was selecting my dream team from every current player) at 6 will be essential, leaving Curry and Watson fighting for the 7 shirt. Whoever wins out will have certainly earned their spot, while the other is surly guaranteed a space on the bench regardless of whether Gatland goes for a 6/2 split or the traditional 5/3.

Sticking with the forwards and replacement Adam Beard put in a strong performance off the bench. I still see Iain Henderson and Maro Itoje as the likely second row pairing for the first Test, but with Alun Wyn Jones on his way back to South Africa, his injury replacement has a good chance of keeping him out of the matchday 23 for the first Test at least.

Moving out to the backs and while he may have become the latest player to fall victim to Cheslin Kolbe’s footwork, Chris Harris put in another fantastic performance. I remember when it was announced that he was joining Gloucester, I was disappointed to see my team signing a defensive specialist with nothing much else to his game. Well either my read of him was completely wrong or he has grown his game considerably, as he is now one of the best 13s in the game, a top defender who has also developed a strong attacking game and can even fill in as an emergency wing. While I felt there was a chance that Robbie Henshaw’s history with Gatland from the last tour and his experience partnering Bundee Aki would give him priority if he could prove his fitness, I think that Harris has now proved himself worthy of the starting spot regardless.

Similarly, Anthony Watson made my predicted XV after just 1 match on tour due to my knowledge of his qualities that would be beneficial against the Springboks. Well I feel even more confident in that call after this game, where he repeatedly found success against his opposition winning the ball in the air, and should have scored a try when he outjumped Willie le Roux for an Owen Farrell cross-kick, only for Farrell’s kick to not be quite deep enough to put him over the line. I’m sure Warren Gatland’s heart was in his throat when Watson stayed down with an apparent ankle injury, but he completed the game and will surely be given the weekend off in preparation for the Test series.

And finally we reach a player whose stocks rose by actually not playing. Dan Biggar was due to start but replaced by Owen Farrell as he recovered from a slight ankle sprain. With Finn Russell having not played since the first Sharks game and Marcus Smth only just arriving and only having 2 caps to his name, it looked like this was between Farrell and Biggar for the starting 10 jersey, but a poor 80 minutes for the England captain has surely left him hoping for a spot on the bench, as a couple of attacking cross-kicks were off the mark, a penalty kicked to the corner went into the in-goal and of course his poor attempt at a chip which led to the opening try. Farrell looked off the pace of international rugby, so Gatland will surely be hoping Dan Biggar makes a quick—and full—recovery.

Continental Concerns

With annual events like Wimbledon and the Tour de France being joined by the Summer Olympics and the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, the summer of 2021 was always going to be a busy one for those of us brave (or stupid) enough to fall in love with multiple sports. However, the COVID-19 pandemic then mad this summer even busier, with the postponement of Euro 2020 to this summer.

And what a tournament it ended up being. Unfancied Hungary caused plenty of scares in their group of death that saw them face France, Germany and Portugal. Defending champions Portugal went through as one of the best 3ʳᵈ-placed finishers in the pools and found themselves eliminated in the Round of 16. Denmark overcame the loss of their star player Christian Eriksen, who collapsed before halftime in their opening game, and recovered from losing their first 2 games to go all the way to the semifinals, while becoming everyone’s second team. Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score at 5 European Championships, and in 11 consecutive major tournaments, while breaking Michel Platini’s record for European Championship goals and Miroslav Klose’s record for goals scored in tournament finals for World Cups and European Championships combined. England defeated Germany in the knockouts of a major tournament for the first time since 1966. And after 51 matches and 142 goals, 2 saves from player of the tournament Gianluigi Donnarumma in a penalty shootout saw Italy declared European Champions, with England the heartbroken runners-up at Wembley.

There was a lot to look back on during this tournament, too much to put into adequate words, so I will be focusing on what really stood out for me over a series of 2 posts. I recently posted my thoughts focusing on England, today I will be looking at the wider tournament.

Heading towards trouble

One of the moments that stood out to me most during the tournament came just before the hour mark in the Group F match between France and Germany. France rightback Benjamin Pavard and Germany’s Robin Gosens both challenged for the ball in the France box, which resulted in the French defender going down with a knock to his head.

Why is Pavard being allowed to play on? He was out for the count!! Football has some serious questions to answer about player safety #EURO2020 #FRAGER
— Tim Etheridge (@PStetheridge) June 15, 2021

To anyone watching, it looked nasty, as Pavard just dropped to the ground without bracing himself, resulting in his head hitting the ground hard. You didn’t have to be a medical professional to know that he was knocked out. And so it was a massive shock when, after the quickest of tests and a squirt of cold water, the French medics sent him back on to continue the game!

Anyone who frequently reads my Premier League articles will have seen just how disgusted I have been by the way the Premier League and the clubs competing in it treat head injuries, well apparently the French Football Federation and UEFA are no better. When UEFA announced that they were investigating the incident, I finally thought that some degree of justice may be done, but that hope was quashed as they announced that following their investigation they were “satisfied the actions taken by the [French] medical team were in line with the concussion protocol” and that “According to reports we received from the team doctor, it seems a loss of consciousness did not occur.” Well that’s awkward, as Pavard even stated in an interview that he was “a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds – after that it was better”.

football benjamin pavard france unconscious

football benjamin pavard france concussion

Head injuries are not a joke, they are deadly serious. Rugby and the NFL have been working hard to improve their act over recent years regarding head injuries—hell, even pro wrestling has improved the way they treat wrestler’s heads—but football seems determined to stick their head in the sand. I only hope that they get their act together before we are left with a tragic accident…

The best and the worst of us

Of course, we almost had a tragic moment during the pool stages, as Denmark’s star midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch just before halftime in his team’s opening match against Finland. The 29-year-old required CPR and defibrillation on the pitch before being rushed to hospital, and the match was understandably abandoned, before eventually being completed later in the day, once it had been announced that Eriksen was stable.

This was a shocking incident and horrible to watch, and a stark reminder as to the fragility of human life that this fit athlete in his peak years was suffering a cardiac arrest. It was a reminder that their are things much more important than football, and while you hope it will never happen, it brought out the best in some people. From the medics who acted without hesitation to save his life, to the officials who immediately stopped the game and called for the medics, realising that this was out of the ordinary. From the Finland fans who began chanting his name as everyone remained in the stadium waiting for news, to Kasper Schmeichel and Simon Kjær, who acted as true leaders on the pitch, organising their teammates to create a human screen to give their comrade privacy as he was treated on the pitch, while also helping to calm and look after Eriksen’s partner.

Unfortunately, this incident also showed the worst in some people. With the game not even 50% completed, UEFA officials gave the Danes the choice of completing the match later that evening or the following day at noon, or face the game going against them as a 3-0 loss. This led t a team that was clearly not in the right headspace returning to the pitch and suffering a 0-1 upset loss, with Kasper Schmeichel failing to make a save that you know he would have made on any other occasion.

But the absolute worst were the broadcasters, who clearly wanted to immortalise this moment on film. It is generally expected that a serious injury like a leg break will not be replayed on a broadcast, while in the final of this very same competition, cameras quickly cut away from the pitch as a streaker (just topless, not even fully nude) invaded the pitch, and yet those of us who were watching the Denmark game on BBC were forced to watch 10 minutes of the camera trying to get the best view it could of Eriksen undergoing CPR, only cutting away to show his partner’s visible distress.

The BBC eventually apologised, using the excuse that they were getting the images from an outside broadcaster: UEFA themselves. This is certainly true, as I got confirmation from a friend in Sweden that they were also forced to watch these horrific images for 10 minutes, and that in itself is truly shocking that nobody in the booth had the decency to order a cut to a wide image of the stadium. But the BBC can’t get out of it that easy, as they could have chosen to cut the feed at any point, but chose to go along with it for 10 minutes before cutting back to the studio. I completely understand that even the pundits would need a moment to take in what they have seen and be ready to go onscreen, but it’s impossible for me to imagine that they could not have cut to a commercial break for a couple of minutes to give them time.

On the plus side, Denmark recovered from this harrowing start to the tournament, and if anything it appeared to give them a focus, going all the way to the semifinal, while 21-year-old Mikkel Damsgaard did a fantastic job filling Eriksen’s boots. Hopefully, broadcasters and tournament organisers will also react positively off the back of this incident, just in case anything similar happens again in the future.

Failed experiment

While the major tournaments are usually hosted by just 1 country, Euro 2020 was unique in that it had 11 host nations each providing a stadium. While this was a romantic idea, I can’t help feel that it was a failure and should not be tried again.

Of course, one thing that certainly didn’t help things was the timely arrival of a global pandemic, which heavily limited travel and stadium capacities. But the big issue really was how some teams were able to get such an advantage. Take England for example, who were able to play all 3 of their group games at Wembley, stayed in London for their match against Germany, took a short trip to Rome for their quarterfinal, before returning to Wembley for the semifinal and final. In contrast, semifinal opponents Denmark (another host nation) played their 3 group games at home, before travelling to Amsterdam, then a pointless trip to Baku to face the Czech Republic and then on to Wembley for their eventual loss. And then there’s Belgium, who had to play in Russia, then Denmark, then Russia, before trips to Spain and Germany in the knockouts. How is it fair that some teams are able to spend almost the whole tournament at one venue, while others are travelling the length and breadth of the continent after every match?

Personally, I feel that the tournament needs to remain as just 1 host nation, or a collection of a couple of smaller nations who border each other. That way, even if one team is travelling twice as much as another, the distances are still relatively small, while the whole country can then benefit economically from the influx of fans during the tournament.

England’s Euros

There was a lot to look back on during this tournament, too much to put into adequate words, so I will be focusing on what really stood out for me over a series of 2 posts. Today, I will be putting the focus on England (for obvious reasons). Keep an eye out for my second article later this week, which will look at some wider thoughts for the tournament.

Redemption

Sometimes when you look back on a team’s campaign, it can be summed up in a word. For me, watching England on their run to the final, the word was clear: Redemption.

How many times have we looked at past England teams and seen a bunch of overpaid prima donnas who seem out of touch with the public? Well that has been one thing Gareth Southgate has been keen to dispel in his time with the team, and as such we find ourselves cheering on players that we love for more than just their football. Nowhere was this more obvious than Tyrone Mings’ dignified response to Priti Patel calling the team’s anti-racism stand (taking the knee at the start of every game) as “gesture politics” and supporting those who booed them, or Marcus Rashford, who even managed to unite both sides of Manchester in their love for him over the last year as he campaigned for free meals for deprived schoolchildren during lockdown.

But it goes even further than that. Just look at the starting line-up. This time last year, it would have been laughable to suggest that Luke Shaw would be starting for England. The Manchester United left back had always shows flashes of quality, only for serious injuries to then leave him out of the game for months, while former manager José Mourinho was vocal of his criticism of the player. Flash forward to now and he was arguably England’s player of the tournament, with his impressive performances seeing him finish with 3 assists and the opening goal of the final. Sticking with the defence and John Stones looked to be just the latest in a long line of expensive flops at the back for Manchester City, but never gave up and became a key part of their title-winning season and was a key member of an England defence that allowed just 2 goals in 7 games. Similarly, Kyle Walker has had his ups and downs over the last couple of seasons, but was ever-reliable in an England shirt, whether at rightback or playing as part of a 3-man defence. And let’s not forget Jordan Pickford, who I have repeatedly made clear that I had no faith in as he appeared unable to play a match for Everton without getting a case of the yips… well he was largely cool and composed throughout the tournament on his way to winning the Golden Glove with 5 clean sheets and 2 saves in the final shootout.

And it was even redemption for Gareth Southgate. Go back to Euro 96, and England found themselves in a penalty shootout at Wembley against Germany hoping to end 30 years of hurt and get back to a the final of a major tournament. All of the initial 5 spot kick takers for each team found the back of the net, and when Andreas Möller scored his penalty, it was Gareth Southgate who stepped up and—with the weight of a nation on his shoulders—saw his shot saved by Andreas Köpke. Now, 25 years later, he has backed up his tea’s run to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup with an appearance in their first major final since 1966, which also saw them defeat Germany in the knockouts for the first time since they won the World Cup.

They may not have won on the night, but they should still be counted as winners.

Foundations

While England’s run to the final is something to be proud of, there must also be some realism. England’s pool should always have resulted in 3 wins, and after defeating Germany, the team was left with a favourable route to the final. Yes they kept 5 clean sheets, but they shouldn’t have found themselves overly threatened.

Looking back over the tournament, it is clear that Gareth Southgate was taking a very safe approach. Despite having some of the most exciting young players in Europe in Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, it was the experience and reliability of Raheem Sterling, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips that got the minutes, while the direct attacking of Jack Grealish—which clearly improved the team up front—was limited to cameo appearances.

Nothing highlights this more than the final itself. Shaw’s early goal should have been perfect for England. The Italians would have to attack and that would leave space at the back for a goal. However by the middle of the first half, England were already starting to sit back too much, defending the lead they had rather than looking to build on it, and it let the Azzurri grow into the game, and become dominant in the second half, by which point the England team was barely getting the ball in the Italian half. Harry Kane didn’t even manage a touch in the Italian box other than his penalty, but while he can put in a great delivery, he did not have the players around him to take advantage of this and fill the space in the box. Rather than going out and trying to win the game, Southgate sent the team out to not lose, and in doing so, they came up short when it mattered.

The good news though is that this is a young team. Only 3 of the squad are in their 30s (Trippier is 30, Henderson and Walker 31), so they should still be pushing for the World Cup next season, while the median age of the squad is 25. This squad should grow together over the next couple of years, with young superstars like Sancho, Foden, Saka, Bellingham and Mount only set to improve. Add to that the potential for Dean Henderson to come back and push Jordan Pickford to remain at the top of his game, and the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The success we have seen from England over the last 2 tournaments does not have to be the peak, but just the foundation for a run of strong tournaments.

But for this to happen, Southgate also needs to start taking more risks, picking players who can go out to win a game, and rewarding form players like Foden and Sancho rather than the tried and tested players—Raheem Sterling may have scored in some crucial moments, but these moments often masked poor performances. Meanwhile a decision must be made about how to best utilise Harry Kane: by forcing him to stay in the box as a 9, or by giving him the freedom to drop deeper and selecting players who will make the attacking runs beyond him like Son Heung-Min does at Spurs.

England have the chance to become one of the best in the world over the next couple of years, but the way they react to this tournament is crucial.

The Fandom Menace

Sadly, while the performances of the England players left much for us to be proud of, the same cannot be said of the so-called fans.

England fans already (deservedly) don’t have the best of reputations, but they have gone out of their way to show the worst of themselves during this tournament:

Booing the players while they take a knee as a message against racism
Booing the opposition’s national anthem
Use of a laser pointer during England’s semi-final against Denmark, including shining it in Kasper Schmeichel’s eyes during Harry Kane’s penalty
Trashing much of London before and after the final
Breaking into Wembley without a ticket for the final
Racist abuse of Saka, Sancho and Rashford online following their failure to score their penalties in the final

Of course this behaviour is being widely vilified, but what will change? All that will be done is that many people will try to distance these so-called fans from the England national team, while the FA are paying a fine for the fan issues revolving around the Denmark game. But that’s clearly not enough, as otherwise this would have been sorted long ago.

It’s time for the governing bodies—FIFA and UEFA—to start taking real action relating to fan behaviour. Too many serious cases of misbehaviour in a space of time, and the governing body should ban that nation from the next major tournament. Only with such a punishment will individual associations start putting in the real work to deal with the c***s who are only their to cause harm and upset.

Can I see this happening? Sadly, no. The governing bodies will continue to pay lip service towards supporting inclusivity and decrying poor behaviour, but they would never be brave enough to throw a top team out of a major tournament.

To all those out there causing trouble and spreading hate: You have no place here. Be better, or f*ck off!

Lions Tour 2021: Cell C Sharks v British & Irish Lions (Match 2)

With COVID causing the British & Irish Lions’ match against the Bulls to be called off, the Cell C Sharks gamely stepped in to face the tourists for the second time in less than a week.

If anyone was expecting a repeat of the first match’s easy dominance for the tourists, they were in for a rude awakening as Chris Harris’ 4ᵗʰ minute opener was soon cancelled out by Anthony Volmink, before Thaakir Abrahams dotted down a Lionel Cronje grubber to put the Sharks ahead. The Lions were soon level after a 5 metre catch-and-drive saw Jamie George go over, but their next attack saw Gareth Davies’ wide pass intercepted by his opposite number Jaden Hendrikse, who went the length to score. The trading of tries continued as Dan Biggar found a gap in the defence and combined with Liam Williams to send Duhan van der Merwe over, before the Sharks exploited a pass from Biggar that died on the Scottish wing for Volmink to grab his second, while Tadhg Beirne found a gap at the side of a ruck to go over just before the break, leaving the score level at 26-26.

Sadly for Sharks fans, the game was killed off as a contest just 5 minutes after the break, as Hendrikse was shown a red card for a forearm smash on Liam Williams. The Lions took advantage of the numerical advantage, with 2 quick tries from Jack Conan and Elliot Daly, but the Sharks hit back from the restart as the Lions failed to adequately protect Conor Murray and his exit kick was charged down, allowing Werner Kok to go over in the corner. This was just a momentary blip, though, and the Lions soon extended their lead through Jamie George’s second and Anthony Watson. Replacement prop Wyn Jones thought he had added to the Lions’ lead just after the hour, but he was adjudged to have been held up over the line, however this was just a momentary respite for the Sharks, as Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry both crossed on the next 5 minutes. As the game entered the final stages, the Sharks found themselves with possession deep inside the Lions’ 22, and after a series of penalties, replacement Tour Captain Conor Murray was sent to the bin. The Lions however managed to hold strong and eventually clear their lines, and after Anthony Watson managed to slide out of a tackle and accelerate away, he managed to end the game—and his delayed first match of the tour—with a second try, completing a 31-71 victory.

rugby british and irish lions crest white background

Made to pay

While the Sharks were certainly putting up more of a challenge in the first half of this match than they did midweek, it’s still hard to imagine that they would have managed to build such a score on their own without the help from the tourists. Pretty much every point they put on the board came as a direct result of the Lions making mistakes.

Let’s look back over their tries. Volmink’s opener was a 1-phase counter after Elliot Daly knocked on, with the Sharks able to recover the ball and break away before the Lions’ passing line could reset. Hendrikse’s try—timing his dash out of the defensive line to intercept Gareth Davies’ pass—came right out of Davies’ own defensive playbook as the Welshman tried to do too much too soon. Next up, Biggar’s pass died on van der Merwe and there was no way for the wing to recover it cleanly, with the Sharks once again recovering and countering in 1 phase before the tourists could reorganise. And finally we have Kok’s try, where the Lions failed to put a blocker in to the side of the ruck, making it easy for Murray’s kick to be charged down and fall right into the former Blitzbokke star’s hands.

As I warned previously, the Springboks will not be such easy opposition. If the Lions want to win the Tests, they will need to be more accurate.

Game ruined

If ever there was a match where you wish there hadn’t been a red card, this was it. What had been a great battle for the first 45 minutes was basically ended as a competition the moment that Wayne Barnes sent Jaden Henrikse for an early shower. Now first of all, this is not at all the fault of Barnes, it was a cheap shot from the scrum half and there was no way that the officials could come to any decision other than a red card. Hopefully the player takes a long, hard look at his actions, as he was having a good game until then.

Unfortunately, it killed off the game right when the Lions needed a challenge. They needed as hard a match as possible to prepare for the Springboks, a team that would front up to them and capitalise on their mistakes. The South African provincial game probably doesn’t have as high a ball-in-play time as the Lions are used to, so I would have expected the tourists to outlast the Sharks in the long run anyway—though the Sharks’ extra experience of playing at atmosphere may have helped even things out—but by giving the Lions a numerical advantage, it made things too easy for them to get over the gain line and then create quick ball to break through whatever gap was left in a defensive line that wasn’t fully set.

By trying to spread themselves wide to stop the wingers, the Sharks failed to adequately guard the fringes of the ruck, at the cost of a couple of tries. But when they looked to defend outwards from the breakdown, it was a simple matter for the physicality of carriers like Chris Harris, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Duhan van der Merwe, and the clever running lines of Liam Williams, Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly to find and utilise the gaps in midfield to great effect.

While a team would usually be thankful at the extra space given by a numerical advantage, I can’t help but imagine that Warren Gatland will have been as unhappy as the Sharks coaches to see the red card brandished.

Prediction time

And so we come to that point in time when I try to do the impossible and get inside Warren Gatland’s head in an attempt to predict his starting XV for the 1ˢᵗ Test. I’ve waited until now so that everybody (bar Marcus Smith, who has just been called up as cover for Finn Russell, who is struggling with an ankle injury.

So before I make my prediction, I’m going to add a couple of caveats:

The matches go ahead as planned
Nobody currently available is lost to injury/illness/COVID in the interim

Starting in the front row, I think that Ken Owen’s lineout issues will cost him, with the ever-reliable Jamie George starting at hooker and Luke Cowan-Dickie providing an extra carrying option off the bench. At loosehead, I see it being a fight between Kyle Sinkler and Tadhg Furlong, but I give the Irishman the advantage as he was part of the original squad, suggesting that Gatland thinks higher of him. At loosehead Mako Vunipola’s scrum issues were a timely reminder of his failure to deal with Frans Malherbe in the Rugby World Cup Final, so I see Rory Sutherland being handed the number 1 shirt for his reliability, but also the way he has been causing a nuisance at the breakdown.

Moving into the second row, I think that Iain Henderson is a shoe-in, due to his engine and leadership, whilst being a great combination of strength and dynamism. Beside him, I pick Maro Itoje, who will help form an effective lineout connection with fellow Saracen Jamie George. “But what about Tadhg Beirne?” I hear some of you asking. Well he will be starting at 6, where he will provide extra ballast in the scrum, an extra lineout option, and another great dynamic option who can carry, tackle and jackal all day long. His fellow flanker will be Hamish Watson, who has been one of the best forwards on the tour so far, with his reliable defence, strong carrying and also his willingness to deputise at 9 to utilise quick ball. There has been no real stand-out to me at 8 so far, so I am going to predict Taulupe Faletau, who has the benefit of years playing for Gatland meaning that the boss knows how reliable he is around the park.

In the backs, Conor Murray will lead the team from scrumhalf, where he can look to challenge the Springboks with his kicking game. He will be paired with Dan Biggar at fly half, with the Welshman beating out Owen Farrell—whose versatility will make him a key player off the bench—in part due to the way he can dominate the air when competing for the high ball.

At centre, Bundee Aki will be filling the 12 jersey to counteract the Springbok physicality, while he also provides a great source of turnovers in the back line. For his partner, however, I will give 2 options. Robbie Henshaw would be the first choice, but is currently trying to overcome an injury, so if he cannot fully prove his fitness good enough to take on the Boks in the first Test, I can see Chris Harris being brought in as a like-for-like replacement.

And so finally we come to the back 3. Josh Adams has surely secured his spot on one wing, and I think that Anthony Watson‘s strong second half in this game was a timely reminder of his ability to change a game in moments, while his experience at 15 making him more reliable under the high ball than Duhan van der Merwe, who has done well going forward but struggled a little in defence and will likely have to settle for a spot on the bench (assuming Gatland does not go for a 6-2 split).And that just leaves fullback, where I think that similar to at 10, Liam Williams‘ mastery of the space when competing for the high ball will see him hold off Stuart Hogg.

Who do you think Gatland will pick? And who would you select in his position?

Lions Tour 2021: Cell C Sharks v British & Irish Lions (Match 1)

Well, we managed 2 matches (1 in South Africa) before the Lions Tour was affected by COVID. Luckily, Wednesday’s game against the Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld was finally confirmed to go ahead, though kickoff was delayed by an hour—a nightmare for those who now had to pick between the rugby and England’s Euro 2020 semifinal—and the Lions were forced into a late reshuffle.

The inconveniences didn’t seem to affect the Lions early on, though, with 2 quick tries through Josh Adams and Duhan van der Merwe. The Sharks grew into the game, but with impressive wing Werner Kok in the bin, they failed to properly cover an Owen Farrell grubber, allowing van der Merwe to get his second of the night, while Bundee Aki took advantage of a strong carry from Luke Cowan-Dickie to go over for his first Lions try right before the break, Farrell kicking 3 of the 4 conversions for a 0-26 lead.

If the Lions were finding the match easy, they were caught by surprise after the break as Werner Kok helped get around the side of their defence for James Venter to go dot down beneath the posts. The Lions were soon back on the front foot however, as Josh Adams exploited some loose play to make it 7 tries in 3 matches, while his next touch covered a Curwin Bosch grubber and released Louis Rees-Zammit for a 60m dash down the right touchline for a try of his own. As the Lions’ 7 replacement forwards overpowered their tiring opponents, both van der Merwe and Adams went over to complete their hat-tricks in the final 10 minutes, as the tourists secured a 7-54 victory.

With the Bulls unable to fulfil their upcoming fixture on Saturday due to a COVID outbreak, the Sharks will face off with the Lions once again at the weekend as the tourists look to continue their preparation for the Tests, assuming they still go ahead…

rugby british and irish lions crest red background

Take note, Eddie

It’s safe to say that was surprised to hear Elliot Daly’s name read out when the touring party was initially announced. The former Wasp was always a quality player at 13 and continued to shine for both England and the 2017 Lions on the wing, but was found out following a move to 15 that saw him frequently getting the yips under the high ball and being found out defensively, issues that his attacking qualities rarely balanced out.

However, while Daly’s ability to cover multiple positions probably helped his selection, Warren Gatland has so far used him exclusively at 13, to great effect! While the opposition so far has been questionable (more on that later) Daly has looked much more confident and been a key man in attack, where he has the pace to cause problems himself, but also the range of passes and kicks—including that first time flick on that we saw utilised to set up van der Merwe for his final try—to take advantage of any situation.

Are you watching, Eddie Jones? If not, let me make it clear to you: Daly should be competing with Henry Slade, Joe Marchant and Paolo Odogwu for the 13 jersey if you want to get anything close to the best out of him.

Taking his chance

What a performance in this match from Josh Navidi. The Welsh flanker wasn’t even in the original touring party, being brought in as replacement for Justin Tipuric following the warm-up against Japan, but is surely putting himself in contention for a spot in the Test 23. Against the Sharks, he was all over the place in the best way possible, and was very unlucky not to get the try he deserved after his 50 metre run-in was pulled back for a penalty against Bundee Aki.

Of course, he has plenty of competition for the number 7 jersey in the Tests, with both Hamish Watson and Tom Curry also vying for the position. While Curry may have been a little quiet in this game, Watson put in a super strong performance in the last match and is probably leading the way at the moment.

However, there may be a chance for both of them to make the XV. While I have been of the opinion that a lock/flanker hybrid would play at 6 in the Tests, the Springboks locks are currently dropping like flies, which could result in Pieter-Steph du Toit moving back to lock and a smaller, lighter back row taking on the Lions. If this is the case, Gatland may choose to go for 2 specialist flankers at 6 and 7, which could then see Navidi play at 6 as a tireless tackler, for Watson to then get over the ball and win the turnover.

Too easy?

I want to be as kind as possible, but it’s hard to imagine that the Lions are getting much benefit from these warm-ups so far. 4 years ag in New Zealand, every Super Rugby franchise pushed them to the limit and forced them to be at the best of their game, but the tourists have now handily defeated the Lions and Sharks without getting out of third gear, and also having to deal with a last minute reshuffle and making players who are due a rest play another match.

Sadly for the South African franchises, too many of their top players have gone abroad in recent years, so with the international players also missing from the franchises as they prepare for the upcoming Test series, it has left the franchises lacking the quality of players to really take the game to the tourists, though Werner Kok caused some problems with his attacking play and Khutha Mchunu got the better of Mako Vunipola a few times in the scrum.

While the Springboks may be coming in with limited preparation, with COVID outbreaks affecting training and causing the cancellation of their second warm-up Test against Georgia, they are still top quality players, and right now I can’t help but worry that the Lions may not be getting the preparation they need ahead of the first Test.

Lions Tour 2021: Sigma Lions v British & Irish Lions

A week after a victorious warm-up against Japan, the British and Irish Lions kicked off the main part of their tour with their first match on South African soil, facing off against the Sigma Lions at Ellis Park. The tourists got off to a strong start, with debutants Louis Rees-Zammit and Hamish Watson both going over in the opening 10 minutes. The second try appeared to spark some life into the home team, and they quickly grew into the match, with the tourists spending a 10 minute spell defending in their own 22. They survived this, and soon added to their score with a try for Ali Price, who went through a huge gap in midfield off a clever lineout move, though the home team hit back almost immediately through the impressive Vincent Tshituka after a break by his fellow back row Francke Horn. As the clock ticked down, it looked like Wyn Jones had extended the tourists lead with another try, however it was disallowed on review due to a neck roll from Courtney Lawes and the half ended 7-21.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to begin after the break, with not even 2 minutes on the clock before another lineout move put Josh Adams though, though the Sigma Lions found an immediate answer as Horne again broke the line and fed speedster Rabz Maxwane. The strength in depth of the tourists soon began to show as the benches began to empty, and they scored again as the hour approached, with a perfectly-weighted kick-pass from Finn Russell finding Josh Adams unchallenged on the left wing, leaving the Welsh wing with a simple job of catching the ball and dotting it down. The tiring defence of the home side was losing much of its organisation, and the introduction of Elliot Daly at 13 exploited this, as he broker through and offloaded for replacement scrum half Gareth Davies to score, while Adams completed his hattrick just minutes later with an uncontested 40 metre scamper down the touchline following a turnover near halfway. Three tries wasn’t enough for Adams though, and as the game entered the final 10 minutes, a simple wide passing play from a lineout maul saw Elliot Daly throw a miss-pass to send the wing in for his fourth try uncontested, with Owen Farrell remaining 100% off the tee to complete a 14-56 victory.

“Size matters not”

Whenever I hear the comments that Hamish Watson is too small to make the Test XV, I can’t help but wonder if the people saying it have ever watched him play rugby. He may not be the biggest guy on the pitch, but he is consistently one of the best, making metres by running through bigger guys while also stopping those same big guys in their tracks with his defensive quality… and then turning them over for good measure.

In this match against the Lions, he couldn’t have done much more to show he deserves to be in consideration for the number 7 shirt in the first Test, putting in a Man of the Match performance. In defence, he was perfect, with a match-high 16 tackles completed and none missed, while in attack, he varied things up with 7 passes and 7 carries, with those carries resulting in 24 metres gained (which could have probably been more had one of those carries not been ended by reaching the try line) and 3 defenders beaten, with 1 try scored.

And just in that try alone, you saw one of his real qualities when he carries: the way he shifted his body through the contact to get onto the tackler’s outside shoulder and escape the initial tackle to get over the gainline. As Yoda says in The Empire Strikes Back, “Size matters not.” Shane Williams proved his doubters wrong with a stellar career, now Hamish Watson is doing the same.

Nailed on

While I would imagine that Warren Gatland already has a fairly settled idea of his starting XV for the opening Test, 1 player who has surely nailed his spot is Josh Adams.

I can’t help think that being the only player to start both of the opening games—and playing every minute of those matches—suggested that Gatland already knew what he was getting from him and wanted to use him early on to secure his spot, before taking on a reduced role (if he is involved at all) in the next few matches and returning against South Africa A in a team that will likely be very close to the XV for the first Test. Well if that was the plan, Adams has executed it perfectly.

While none of his tries may have been super hard, they have highlighted his attacking quality in the way that he will run the required lines with conviction, and has the pace to exploit any space in front of him and the aerial ability to not just take advantage of his own team’s attacking kicks, but also to nullify the opposition kicking game. Meanwhile in defence, he quietly goes about his business without you even really noticing until you realise that the line breaks have generally been down the other wing.

After 5 tries in 2 games, don’t be shocked if we have to wait a couple of games to see the Welshman again.

Going long

The first half of this match was notable for an odd quirk at the tourist’s lineouts, as they frequently deliberately overthrew the pack and had one of their centres take the throw. Its not a unheard of move (it is a great way to immediately get the ball to midfield away from the opposition forwards, while a centre receiving the ball on the gain line with a 10 metre run-up is never going to be easy to bring down) but the Lions were using it a lot in the first half, and even a little in the second until Sibusiso Sangweni intercepted one throw and almost went the length of the pitch.

So why were the Lions going this route so often? Was it simply that they had found a weakness in the opposition defence to exploit? Potentially, as one of these long throws to Owen Farrell caused chaos and allowed Ali Price to scamper through a giant gap in midfield on first phase ball, while Josh Adams’ first and last tries also came off first phase ball from a lineout. Clearly there were issues in the way the home team was defending the lineouts on first phase, so perhaps the tourists were simply trying to cause havoc in midfield and take advantage of this.

But part of me also can’t help but wonder if this was done with the Tests in mind. We know that the Springbok lineout is a weapon, not just in attack, but also defence. What if the Lions intend to frequently bypass the lineout with a throw direct to the midfield, where you will likely have Chris Harris/Robbie Henshaw/Bundee Aki coming onto the ball at pace. Not only would this deny Franco Mostert and co the chance to nick the throw, but hitting the ball up into the midfield and quick ball in the same direction would put a lot of pressure on the Springbok back row to quickly come round the corner defensively in order to try and isolate the winger.

Expect the Springboks to be paying attention to the lineout in the coming matches to see if the long throw trend continues.