IF the 2021 Lions are to win in South Africa, having at least a couple of outstanding scrum-halves is a pre-requisite – and it is one of the few areas in which Warren Gatland may have concerns.
It is not that Gatland is short of pedigree No.9s, because Conor Murray’s record as the Lions starting scrum-half in all three Tests against New Zealand, as well as twice off the bench in Australia in 2013, is unimpeachable.
However, the Irishman will be 33 by the time of the tour, and his form this season has not hit the heights it has in the past. If Murray remains fit the Lions head coach knows he can rise to the occasion, but there have been recent signs that the wear-and-tear has taken a toll.
Set against that, Gatland backed Mike Phillips to last the course in Australia in 2013, even though he was not the force he was in South Africa in 2009 – and the tall Welsh nine held up his end of the bargain in a successful series.
Gatland will prize Murray’s winning Test credentials, but he is not sentimental – and, although at his best the Munster veteran has no peers as a tactical kicker from the base, he will want clear signs next season that he is back at the top of his game.
This is because the Lions will face a Springbok side with three scrum-half dynamos headed by 2019 World Cup winner Faf de Klerk (28), and completed by try-king Cobus Reinach (30) and the livewire Herschel Jantjies (24).
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