Mick Clearly - Stride for Stride The Lions in New Zealand 2017

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Published in the UK in 2017 by
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ISBN: 978-1-78281-812-0

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Production editor: Chris Marshall
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There is no point any of us getting on the plane if we dont think we can beat the All Blacks was the Gatland refrain that was to be heard many times prior to departure

T he Lions players looked in the zone. In fact, a few of them were asleep, nodding off en route to the opening game against the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei, a measure of the arduous nature of the entire trip. That first match was only three days after the 41-man touring party had landed in Auckland, 72 hours of unpacking and settling and training. And sleeping if you were lucky.

That snapshot of players battling to overcome significant odds was an image that encapsulated the tour. Mission Impossible as it was deemed by many. A suicidal itinerary in the words of former All Blacks and Lions head coach Sir Graham Henry. Yet there was none of that air of tilting against windmills when Warren Gatland unveiled his touring squad in mid-April. Gatland had been here before. He was a Kiwi, too, one who had played (and scored) against the Lions for his native Waikato in 1993. Gatland knew how much the trip meant to New Zealanders. And if it meant that much to them, as it did for the simple reason that it was a once-in-a-career experience, a 12-year build-up to a six-week shoot-out, then it had to mean as much to every single one of the Lions players. Not just for the memory of touring but for believing that they could win. There is no point any of us getting on the plane if we dont think we can beat the All Blacks was the Gatland refrain that was to be heard many times prior to departure.

Gatland, on his third Lions tour, his second as head coach, having led the team to success in Australia four years earlier, knew exactly what it would take. Time has always been the enemy of the Lions. There simply isnt enough of it. And in this ever-congested and conflicted world, there was even less of it available for this trip. That is why Gatland was faithful to those he knew best: on his coaching panel in the form of Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree, alongside head of strength and conditioning Paul Bobby Stridgeon; in his captain, Sam Warburton; and in those players who had either toured with the Lions before or whom Gatland had observed at close quarters across the preceding 12 months.

Wing Anthony Watson scores a second-half try as the Lions win the tour curtain-raiser against the Provincial Barbarians.

The Aviva Premiership and PRO12 finals were on Saturday 27 May; a farewell dinner the following day before the long trek south (via a stopover in Melbourne) for arrival in New Zealand on Wednesday. No wonder the Lions found it hard to put away their first opponents, a scratch side like themselves, drawn from all the 15 provincial unions and considered by far the weakest opposition the Lions would face on their ten-match trip. Gatland was very familiar with one of the Barbarians, fly half son Bryn, who was lively and inventive, almost guiding his side to a famous victory, only for the Lions to rouse themselves, relatively so, after the interval to come through 13-7 courtesy of a second-half try from Anthony Watson, having trailed 7-3 at the break.

Sonny Bill Williams reaches out to touch down for the Blues as the Lions come unstuck at Eden Park in match two.

Stuart Hogg after suffering a tour-ending facial fracture in a collision with Conor Murrays elbow against the Crusaders.

Gatland had pledged that everyone would get a start across the first three games and he was true to his word even though it was clear that the Lions were struggling to find their feet. They were pilloried by the New Zealand media after their stuttering opening, legitimate criticism which turned into something altogether nastier and more self-indulgent later in the tour. There was to be no let-up in the schedule, with the ad hoc Barbarians, several of whom were part-timers, followed by a wham-bam line-up of Super Rugby franchises, starting with the Blues in Auckland, with the Crusaders, Highlanders and the Chiefs flexing muscles behind them. The only break in that Super sequence came on the Saturday prior to the first Test when the Maori All Blacks lay in wait in Rotorua, in essence a fourth Test for the Lions.

There was to be no griping, no moaning, just a determination to get on with it. And the Lions did, pledging faith in the project despite the early signs of stress and difficulty. Behind the scenes the Lions insisted that training was going well, that combinations were being developed and the game plan honed. On the evidence of the second game, a loss to the Blues at Eden Park, it appeared to be putting a gloss on a worrying reality. The Blues were far from the strongest of the franchises, but with the likes of new wing sensation Rieko Ioane and global superstar Sonny Bill Williams in their ranks they had plenty of firepower. Ioane was to be promoted through the ranks to win his first start on the strength of what he delivered for the Blues. A sharp-eyed, fleet-footed case study in finishing, his pace was enough to do for the Lions defence, which was caught napping and on its heels as the 20-year-old scored within seven minutes of the start, Sonny Bill adding another on the stroke of half-time. The Lions did get across the try line through CJ Stander, and the boot of Leigh Halfpenny did keep them in the contest with three penalties and a conversion, but the Blues continued to press and came through 22-16, Ihaia West scoring the decisive try in the 73rd minute.

The Lions knew that by the time they returned to Eden Park for the first Test in just over a fortnights time they would have to be an altogether tougher, more composed and cohesive unit. It was a formidable task ahead of them as they packed bags for the island-hopping flight to Christchurch.

A Lions tour often throws up extremes of emotion as well as of criticism. It is an intense experience and the character of the players, their ability to withstand external pressure as well as quell any inner doubts, is the key consideration. Gatland was aware of that, but if he needed any succour himself it was to come pretty quickly in the guise of a tour-shaping victory over the mighty Crusaders. The scoreline may only have been 12-3 (testimony to the aggressive line speed of the Lions defence, which was to become such a feature of the tour, as well as to the tricky weather conditions) but it was a notable triumph against a team that had swept all before them up to that point. It was a reflection of the quality of the Lions defence that this was the first time in 37 games that the Crusaders had been kept to three points. On such performances are judgments made, and the Lions management headed on to Dunedin for their next assignment buoyed by the thought that their defensive patterns were taking shape. There was also a heartening upturn in form for Johnny Sexton, the Irish fly half who had had an underwhelming start to the tour but who made the most of his time when coming on as an early replacement and lining up alongside (the starting) Owen Farrell.