Captain last Saturday, set for the bench this Saturday.
Warren Gatland looks set to start Sam Warburton ahead of Peter O’Mahony in the British and Irish Lions second test of this year’s tour of New Zealand.
The Lions coach, speaking at his press briefing in New Zealand on Monday morning, hailed Sam Warburton’s impact off the bench in the first test in Eden Park, despite the fact that it was clear to most observers that Warburton had looked leggy and off the pace, as he has done in the last few months.
Warburton suffered a knee injury in April and this was followed by a recent ankle injury which kept him out of the first test.
Warburton’s preparations have, inevitably, been disrupted with these injuries and O’Mahony will have right to feel aggrieved if he is replaced by a man who looks to be a mere a shadow of his former self.
Gatland emphasised the need for the Lions to shake things up in order to match the New Zealand physicality. He then mentioned Maro Itoje and Warburton as those who are going to be shaking thing up.
“We might have to shake it up a little bit,” Gatland said. “Maro made an impact coming off the bench and was very physical. Sam was excellent at the breakdown when he came on,” continued the 53-year-old.
“There’s the guys on Tuesday night who get a real chance to make an impact in that area as well. Sometimes at the top level, it’s not about playing pretty rugby and we’ve seen the All Blacks be prepared to be pretty physical in the past.
They were pretty brutal in that breakdown area and we need to match fire with fire,” added the New Zealander.
It’s hard to see O’Mahony being started after these comments and this seems a tad unfair on the Munster man who is markedly better than Warburton in the line out and has looked more physical in the breakdown too.
Gatland went on to question the Lions pride in his press briefing.
“If I was playing on Saturday night and I felt that I was physically dominated, I’d be a little bit disappointed in myself and I’d be doing everything I could physically do the following week to make sure I fixed that area of the game,” said Gatland.
If I felt my pride was hurt a little bit, I’d be wanting to fix that. That’s what I’d be doing as a player.“The Lions have one more warm-up game to play against The Hurricanes on Tuesday before that pivotal second Test against the All Blacks.The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10
RELATED ARTICLES
MORE FROM Sports Joe
MORE FROM Sports Joe
