OF THE SIX players that Warren Gatland name-checked after his side’s 59-8 win over the Barbarians, three were Welsh and two were Irish. The other was Richie Gray.
The nitpicking followed in the extended post-match briefing, when Gatland and Paul O’Connell face the press (and their jotted observations), but Sky Sports were happy to accentuate the positives.
Will Greenwood was never going to ask about Owen Farrell’s tangling with Schalk Brits in the first half or Jonny Sexton’s two from five kicking return. The former Lion was eager to highlight the strong showing from the Lions pack and Gatland was not about to stop him.
The Lions head coach said, “[The win] is great for the momentum and it is going to put some pressure on the players for next Wednesday’s game against Western Force.”
Gatland revealed that the talk at half-time was about building phases, putting the ball behind the Barbarians, running direct lines and waiting for chances ‘instead of trying to score off first phases’. He praised the impact of the replacements and credited Conor Murray for keeping the tempo high when he replaced man-of-the-match Mike Philips. Gatland added:
I thought the platform the [Lions] 9′s had was superb. Toby Faletau was great, Dan Lydiate worked his socks off and Justin Tipuric showed what a great footballer he is.”
The Lions team to face the Force, in Perth on Wednesday, will be named on Monday and Irish players Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney and Brian O’Driscoll will be eager to show what they can do after the Welsh-dominated Lions eviscerated a lacklustre BaaBaa’s side.
The Lions in a pre-match huddle. (©INPHO/Dan Sheridan)
Lions captain Paul O’Connell was delighted with the 51-point winning margin and the lack of injuries following 80 minutes in conditions often played out in plus 90% humidity. He admitted he was expecting more from the Barbarians after their capitulation against England at Twickenham last weekend.
O’Connell told Sky Sports, “We wore them down in the first half and the tries came pretty easy in the second.”
He added, “At times we were almost better off without the ball… the important thing was to retain possession in the second-half and not try to score off first phases.”
The lock refused to get carried away and said it was ‘hard to tell’ how far along the team are until they take on some Super Rugby sides in Australia.
