A couple of weeks reflection following the Lions just before we head off for the Tri Series. Where are we? Let’s start with the Lions.

1. Did Woodward select the right squad?
He spent a year watching every Six Nations game, every player, and just about brought them all. He then picked as many as were still standing (if incapable of movement) from England. With only an eleven game itinerary, how could anyone ever have believed there would be a chance to fine tune test match combinations with over fifty players available for selection. The problem was compounded by the replacements, who had played no part in the preparation, being selected and indeed impacting big games with Easterby and Jones probably two of the more consistent players. 

Very few players improved on tour, virtually none built confidence, and most couldn’t wait to get back home. This is in direct contrast to Graham Henry’s All Blacks where we had players queuing up for attention in virtually every position. Daniel Carter, Aaron Maugher, Luke McAllister and Nick Evans are a competent quartet for number ten!

Many of the players selected by Woodward were simply not up to test class and are likely to disappear from the international scene. Others were way past their due date and some such as Charlie Hodgson, Gavin Henson and Mark Cueto were never given any significant opportunities. Pretty much a disaster from beginning to end.

2. And the management team? 
Woodward was an unmitigated failure. He was incoherent, unpredictable and inconsistent. The English press summarised the tour by providing the thoughts of Chairman Clive from June 1 to July 10. An endless tirade of non sequiturs, excuses, and spin. Jack Welch, the boss of GE, once said, “You have to look at the world as it is; not as it used to be, and not as you’d like it to be.” Instead of writing more books, Sir Clive may do well to read Welch.

Andy Robinson had a nightmare. The much vaunted forwards were ill disciplined, ill prepared and ill motivated. This was dramatically shown at line out time in Christchurch and was also clear in the other two tests. Technically, he was left standing by Steve Hansen. 

Eddie O’Sullivan’s influence on the backs was minimal. Losing O’Driscoll was a major blow but even he had shown no real form prior to Christchurch. I understand from conversations with some of the touring staff that O’Sullivan was unable to really direct the backs and his influence was not as great as he had hoped it would be. 

Two vintage Lions held their heads high throughout the tour; Bill Beaumont and Ian McGeechan represented all that was best of British Lions rugby. Loyalty, performance, and results. 

And as for Alastair Campbell, what a nightmare. The biggest mistake of the entire tour. It sent the wrong signals from the get-go and he delivered bile and spin at its best – or rather worst. Every call he made worked to the detriment of his team and succeeded in drawing together the All Blacks, the provincial sides, and all New Zealanders. 

3. What about the itinerary? 
New Zealand Rugby Union got it right again. They are having a dream run with some great management decisions coming down from Jock Hobbs, Chris Moller, Steve Tew and their team. They took the Lions to the provinces and were well supported at every level of New Zealand. There was the right quality of opposition for the Lions (if the Lions had chosen to play their test combinations) and there were plenty of opportunities for the Lions to build confidence. 

New Zealand got behind the tour and whilst I join in the applause for the British Lions supporters, I think we should also applaud our own supporters. The Lions were made welcome everywhere they went despite the most boring cry I’ve ever heard of “Lions, Lions.” New Zealand fans welcomed and integrated the Lions and really turned on a first class display of old fashioned rugby support and hospitality. 

4. Was this, as Sir Clive famously claimed, the best prepared Lions party in history? 
It was the worst prepared. I read an article last week from British Lion Nigel Horton, who was a tough, abrasive lock for England and the Lions. He toured here in 1977 and played in the England team alongside Clive Woodward in the early 1980’s. He has not been gagged, unlike the touring party itself, and attended most training sessions in New Zealand as the chief technical representative of Predator, the Lions training equipment manufacturer. Horton was quoted as saying that the British Lions training sessions were inflexible, unoriginal and inadequate. Only twenty minutes a session were allocated to each of the special coaches. The Lions trained four times per week and training consisted of a hundred minute session split into five rigid blocks. Twenty minutes warm-up, twenty on defense, the team then splitting into forwards and backs for twenty minutes before coming together for the last twenty. There were the inevitable weights and conditioning sessions. The system was designed to give each coach time with the players so Robinson, for example, had only twenty minutes to spend on scrums, line outs, rucking and mauling. Good luck. The maximum number of scrums they put down in a session was sixteen; a long way from the legendary hundred they put down under Jim Telfer in South Africa in 1997. And none of the scrums was opposed! 

The focus was on conditioning and weights rather than building towards a test side and very little integration was practiced. A back row move was never seen. 

Most bizarre of all, the training sessions were not altered when the Lions lost the first test badly despite having been outplayed by this allegedly powder puff, non forceful All Black pack that exists perhaps only in Stephen Jones and Clive Woodward’s eyes. After the Christchurch debacle, the first training session was spent in the gym pumping iron, which must have really helped the line outs and mauls. 

I also understand that not one training session was held under floodlights, yet all eleven games were evening kick-offs. Is this the sign of the best prepared team? 
   

As far as O’Driscoll is concerned, once again everyone in rugby will wish him well. I think he was badly advised by the spin doctor on the injury he sustained. Having watched this maybe twenty times it was never a spear tackle, just a tough, abrasive clean-out that ended badly. He came through the ruck on the wrong side and under the present conditions of the game, fully deserved to be cleaned out. A dislocated shoulder was terrible for him, the Lions and for the tour but in hindsight I hope he believes he should have just followed his own instincts, motivated the team as their spiritual leader and moved on to rehab with a vengeance with the November test against the All Blacks in his sights. He is a great player but I’m not sure that captaincy brings out the best in him. I hope we see a refreshed, reinvigorated O’Driscoll channel his passion once again into his rugby and not into the media.

6. What will the Six Nations bring? 
This motley crew of Lions headed back to the Northern Hemisphere summer with their tails between their legs. Their national coaches will have a lot to do to get them back on track. The Southern Hemisphere has players with higher skill levels in every position and they’re playing the new game at pace. 

The Welsh have clearly adapted this style and I believe will come out roaring in November. For the most part, their players performed well in New Zealand with some stand outs led by Dwayne Peel, Gareth Thomas, Ryan Jones and Gethin Jenkins. It will be interesting to see whether Henson can bounce back from the battering of his psyche.

The Irish will have a lot to prove and if O’Connell and O’Callaghan can kick on they could prove to be a tough challenge for New Zealand in Dublin. O’Connell has a lot going for him but needs to temper his attitude and rashness whilst developing his ball handling skills; both I believe doable if his head is right. D’Arcy was mentally spent but Hickie, Horgan and Easterby all gave it everything they had.

England will find it tough because I don’t believe Robinson has the stuff to take them to the level the Southern teams are playing at. He has players like Lewsey and Cueto who are up for it but whether he has flexibility and agility to get to the next level is doubtful. Maybe Scotland will beat them?

France, of course, will be France. I expect them to seriously challenge Wales and Ireland in 2006 as they prepare for the most important year in their rugby history. 
    

7. What’s the outlook for the Tri Nations?
If we switch gears and look at the All Blacks then you have to admit we were pretty good! We entered the year fresh from the brilliant game in Paris and from parity in the Tri Nations. The Lions have now been written off with everyone telling me the Wallabies and Springboks would have humbled them too. I’m not so sure. I still don’t rate the Wallabies tight five and wonder how they will go against this new tight, disciplined All Blacks unit. The Wallabies have enormous strength in the back row, in the halves and in the centres, as well as pace on the outsides. Larkham remains the resident genius number ten globally and it will be great to see if Daniel Carter can continue his momentum and overtake Larkham with more Wellington-like performances in the Tri Nations. The Springboks are totally unpredictable. I watched the Mandela Cup games and didn’t recognize the Springboks forwards in Johannesburg as being the same crew that played in Sydney. Jake White and Eddie Jones are both astute, talented, inspirational coaches who will get the best out of their players. So it’ll be tough.

I believe that the All Blacks have that extra something which is just beginning to develop. The leadership, commitment and togetherness Darren Shand and Graham Henry have instilled in this squad will stand them apart when the going gets tough. They hold all opposition in respect but fear no one. Selection has been first class; thoughtful and competitive. Absent injuries and loopy refereeing, I think the All Blacks could take the next step in the Tri Series and play some exciting, winning rugby. All Blacks to win it!

8. How are we doing in terms of the World Cup?
So far, so good. The coaching staff have learned from the disappointments of the past and have focused on leadership throughout the team, depth in all specialist positions, a combination of set piece discipline and open play innovation, all backed up by deep specialist skill coaching. Fitness levels are high and constantly improving and we have a set of challenges ranging from the Tri Series to the Grand Slam tour that will keep all the players motivated and focused. Peak flow occurs when passion and harmony are in sync and when you have players with optimism, belief and positive flow tendencies. The All Black environment is as good as it has been in over a decade and I believe the prerequisites for peak flow are in place. The French will be tough in France. That’s for sure. The Wallabies and the Africans never lie down against New Zealand. Couldn’t be better. 

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