“By midweek these boys will be absolutely ready to go, with the biggest carrot of their careers in front of them.”
Ronan O’Gara wants the Lions coaching staff to look hard at their backline and their attacking game-plan, and to come back with a plan the entire squad can row in behind.
The British & Irish Lions suffered a chastening, bruising 29-7 defeat to South Africa, on Saturday, and many of their supporters are already asking what the Third Test changes will be.
The Lions have not put in horrid 40-minute outings in the first two Tests. They looked poor in the First Test before turning it around. On Saturday, they led 9-6 at half-time only to fall apart in the second half.
Players clash following a tackle from Cheslin Kolbe on Conor Murray. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Following the game, former Ireland and Lions star Ronan O’Gara remarked that he was taking out ‘out the hedge clippers and gone after the backline’. During his punditry outing on Sky Sports, O’Gara said:
“So if you want to put kick-pressure, you are going to have to pick people who are good. People ask what experience is. Experience is when you get the same situation you do it better the next time. For me, you go to really proven competitors.
“So I’m probably looking at Conor Murray, Owen Farrell, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, because of the combination – I thought South Africa got a lot of space around the 13 channel today.”
“And Josh Adams,” he added. “I believe he’s excellent in the air, and I’ve had that confirmed by a lot of people who play in the back three over the last number of weeks.
“Liam Williams is world-class in the air, and Anthony Watson just looks deadly every time he gets the ball.”
RONAN O’GARA’S LIONS BACKLINE
15. Liam Williams
14. Anthony Watson
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Bundee Aki
11. Josh Adams
10. Owen Farrell
9. Conor Murray
Given that the Lions lost 11 of 22 contestables, in the air, O’Gara believes the Springboks will go hard with those tactics again.
“I think they select people who are good in the air, because the subject matter is about winning the ball in the air against South Africa because their plan is to kick, kick, kick,” he said.
“They scored two tries from attacking kicks and they ruled the air. Unless the Lions sort that out it will be the same result again.”
LISTEN TO HOUSE OF RUGBY’S LIONS SERIES: EPISODE 8
