The British and Irish Lions Win Series Down Under: End To 16 Years Of Pain

                      19-10. The scoreline at half time of today's game. I tweeted at the time that the game was perfectly poised for the second half, with any outcome possible. I certainly did not expect the response that occurred in Sydney! A second half demolition of the Wallabies, finishing with an unbelievable scoreline of 41-16 in favour of the Lions, giving them a 2-1 series victory. A first series win for the British and Irish Lions since 1997, and only the second victorious tour since the professionalisation of the sport of rugby union. As I mentioned in my Lions preview post, I still fail to understand how the Lions have historically been so unsuccessful, as all four of the prospective teams available for selection to the Lions are fully capable of beating the Aussies on their day. Therefore, a combination of the four of them should be favourites to win on every occasion.

                        However, as has been proven, this is rarely the case. That makes the events of the last two weeks even more momentous, as the 2013 Lions have had to overcome not just their Australian opponents, but the weight of the failure of multiple previous tours. The success of this set of Lions could perhaps lay the demons of the previous 16 years to rest, and allow the Lions to experience victory more in future tours. This post will examine where the test series was won, along with reviewing all three of the 2013 Lions test series.

                        Interviews I have heard that were held with Lions fans after the first test have said that there were tears shed after their victory. I cannot understand that. I get that the Lions tour is the most prestigious of all home nations rugby, but to cry after a single victory implies that the fans never expected the Lions to be successful this time. Either the fans have the typical British mentality that they never expect to win, or they do not trust the players' proven abilities on the rugby field to beat the Australians. The first is a stereotype, and the second is ridiculous, for the reason I state above. Nevertheless, the hard fought 23-21 victory in Brisbane on the 22nd of June set the Lions up for this historic series win. Full of quality and last minute drama, the match had everything. A breath-taking George North try, the celebration of which he had to later apologise for, put the Lions 13-12 up at half-time. A cat and mouse second half ensued, with the Australians closing the gap to just two points as the clock ticked onto 80 minutes. A silly penalty gifted the Aussies the chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But replacement Kurtley Beale sliced the kick wide, taking the tally of points missed to 14, and handing the Lions the first Test advantage.

                          It was always going to be the case that the Aussies would respond. And a week later, in Melbourne, the Aussies levelled the series after a pulsating and nervous 80 minutes. Similarly to the previous match, a final minute penalty was missed to decide the outcome. This time, however, the roles were reversed, with Leigh Halfpenny missing a distinctly more difficult kick from the halfway line. This allowed the Aussies to claim a 16-15 win, rekindling their hope of a series win and denying the Lions the redemption they craved. After a game in which the Lions had dominated, leading 15-9 until the final 5 minutes, and spurning several chances, Australia made them pay with the only try of the game, Adam Ashley-Cooper crashing over to win the game. This put the series on a knife's edge going into the decider in Sydney, where the Lions would have to use every ounce of their desire to secure that elusive tour win.

                           With the difference between the two sides over the last two matches being just 3 points, today's game seemed destined to be a tense and close affair. An early Corbisiero try handed the Lions the inertia, before four Leigh Halfpenny penalties handed the Lions that 9 point lead at half time. Whilst not quite as anxious as the previous two 80 minutes, the opening half roughly followed the pattern that we would expect. However, the second half saw a complete demolition of the Australians, a demolition that few saw coming. A masterclass from Lions kicker Halfpenny, landing 7 of 8 kicks, propelled the Lions to a superb 41-16 victory in the third test. In the process, the Welsh full-back ensured his own personal place in history, claiming the record for the highest points scorer on a Lions tour, surpassing Neil Jenkins' old record of 41. The Welshman finished on 49 points, valuable points for the Lions in securing their first series for 16 years. If there were tears after match one of the series, I shudder to think what was unfolding in the Lions end of the crowd at the final whistle.

                             Hopefully this starts an era of more successful British rugby. Whilst all four of our individual home nations pride themselves on an excellent national rugby squad, we have all too often failed to perform when we amalgamate. Praise must go to Warren Gatland, who can now add this Lions tour victory to his highly impressive CV. Now the floodgates have opened, will the Lions now go on to bigger and better things on future tours, using the strength of the 2013 Lions?

                          

British and Irish Lions Tour 2013: Test Series Preview

        Despite the prominence of many of the home nations' rugby squads in the world game over recent decades, the combination of them into the Lions has rarely led to success on tour. As being selected is seen as the highest honour in international rugby on the these shores, surely the players cannot be accused of being mercenaries like their footballing compatriots. However, a couple of things that perhaps could be laid at the door of many of the Lions players is either they have a 'Lampard and Gerrard' inability to work together when the nations unite, or perhaps they are too afraid of losing their place in the presitigious line-up to put themselves out there and perhaps make mistakes? Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the Lions have only won 2 test series in the previous 36 years, showing that there is clearly a problem.

         Discovering this problem is currently the job of Warren Gatland. The ex-Wales boss impressed as manager of the dragons, leading them to two Six Nations Grand Slams in 2008 and 2012, and the World Cup semi final in 2011, where they were cruelly denied a place in the final after captain Sam Warburton was wrongfully dismissed against the French. As head coach of the Lions, his first job has been assembling a squad capable of winning a test tour, a job that has been shown to be incredibly difficult in the past. Fortunately, the new coach has a wealth of talent to select from. Having an excellent knowledge of Welsh talent is particularly important, especially as they are the current holders of the Six Nations, and they correspondingly had the most representatives in the initial squad. The first announcement of the Lions squad was made on the 30th April 2013, where the squad was made up of 15 Welsh players, 10 English, 9 Irish and just the 3 from Scotland. However, as is often the case in rugby tours, withdrawals and injuries are common. As a result, the make-up of the Lions squad has changed somewhat over the last few weeks. Correct at time of publishing, the Lions contained 15 Welsh players, 13 English, 10 Irish, and 4 Scots, with many being called up either to directly replace the injured player, or as cover in case of further injuries. Not the best start to a tour, but I suppose it was to be expected.

         In assessing the Lions potential to lead a successful tour down under, it is worth looking at the warm-up games as an indication of their success. The Lions embarked on the tour in May, with the first warm up game taking place on the 1st June in Hong Kong. A comprehensive 59-8 victory against the Barbarians eased the Lions into life on tour, and gave them a morale boosting victory to start the campaign off. Having taken a brief stop in Asia, the Lions moved to Australasia, playing their second warm up game in Perth on June 5th. An even more emphatic win followed, with a 69-15 success over Western Force. Unfortunately, the match was marred by two incidents involving Cian Healy, with the Irish prop firstly being accused of biting an opponent (a charge that was subsequently dropped), and then suffering a tour-ending injury. His absence, coupled with the fact that the Lions had played 3 games in a week, meant that they had a much tougher game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. Winning only 22-12, and suffering a number of high profile casualties (Tuilagi and Bowe), the Lions were uninspiring in victory, giving Gatland his first cause for concern.

         He needn't have worried about the Lions performances. A whitewash in their next game in Newcastle against the Combined New South Wales-Queensland Country on June 11th saw the Lions return to full form, winning 64-0. Another convincing victory followed, with New South Wales Waratahs dispatched 47-17 four days later in Sydney. However, once again injuries ruined an impressive display, with Jamie Roberts hobbling off. Having looked confident and ready for the start of the test series, the Lions then suffered a sucker punch, losing their final warm-up game 14-12 against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra. This threatened to undo all of the good work of the past two weeks, and potentially undermine the confidence of this injury plagued squad.

         If Warren Gatland wanted his initial selections to all be fit for the start of the first test, and therefore selected his best squad, perhaps participating in 6 pre-test warm-ups was not the wisest move. Whilst it is traditional for tours to last longer than simply the test series, to expect that no injuries would be suffered is highly unrealistic. It has been argued that these warm-up matches are essential in enabling the team to gel and get match practice and fitness before the big test games, however, there have been accusations made that the matches selected were far too easy for the Lions, meaning that little match practice was actually gained from them. Even worse, it means that the injuries that have happened whilst on the tour are ultimately for nothing, as they were initially seen as a risk worth taking for match practice. These injuries can certainly partially explain the loss in the final warm-up game, as with a weakened side very few teams would fare well. Equally, the fact that none of these replacement players have been given sufficient time to gel puts the Lions almost back to the same position they were in when they began the tour.

         Whilst I agree that warm-up games, in any sport, are necessary and positive, a few general principles must be applied. Firstly, always make sure you have sufficient rest time. You cannot legislate for certain injuries in games, however, you risk exacerbating the situation by playing so many games in such a short space of time, especially in a physical game like rugby. Therefore, perhaps four warm-up games would have been sufficient, giving the players with minor knocks time to recover before exerting themselves once again. As I mentioned at the top of the post, all home nation rugby players are desperate to be involved in the Lions setup, and therefore will not want to hand over their jersey once selected. This leaves them at a much greater risk of suffering serious injury, as their desire to keep their place often overwhelms their self-preservation instinct. Secondly, make sure you select sides that will test you. It is pointless playing a Sunday league side that you will score treble figures against in a glorified training exercise. If you want to allow your players to effectively gel and gain match practice and fitness, you have to be involved in a competitive game. Otherwise there is no pressure on the players to perform. Certainly, there are elements of this in the current tour, however, it is worth noting that two of the 6 games have been very close contests, with the Lions victorious in one, and defeated in the other.

         As for what this indicates about the upcoming test series, I fear for the Lions. It is a strange one, as each of the home nations are capable of beating the Aussies on their day. Therefore, you wold expect that a side of the best players of each nation combined would whitewash them. However, rarely does this seem to be the case, and with the injuries that have been suffered by the Lions in the run-up, their chances of bringing home a series victory have been cut. That being said, Warren Gatland is a fantastic coach, and if anyone can get the best out of the players they have at their disposal, he can. I will be watching, more in hope than expectation, to see if the Lions can pull off an historic victory on Saturday to give them momentum going into the second test.