Warrenball no more as fluid Lions show flair

A RUNAWAY victory against markedly inferior opposition usually offers little value, but for Warren Gatland’s Lions every match in the build-up to the Test series counts.

- PAUL REES

It was not the eight tries they scored nor the way they defended their line for ten minutes in the first half when they were under sustained pressure for the only time, but the singlemindedness they showed throughout that stood out.

There were moments when they were sloppy and were turned over, overindulging against an under-strength team that started so passively that the contest was all but over after six minutes, but for the most part they left their opponents with little to do other than defend.

Josh Adams scored four second-half tries on the left wing after Louis ReesZammit had opened the scoring on the right three minutes in, Hamish Watson capped an aggressive, all-action performance with a try and Courtney Lawes, apart from denying the Wales prop Wyn Jones a try at the end of the first-half by performing a neck-roll on Ruben Schoeman in the build-up, provided contrast by mixing hard running and tackling with neat footwork before taking contact and smart off-loading to sustain contact.

When the Lions played their namesakes in 2009 on the second match of the tour, they won 74-10 on a night when the hard-running Jamie Roberts played himself into the Test side at 12.

Gatland was an assistant coach then, but that style was dubbed Warrenball on the trip to Australia four years later, an insulting tag that branded his playing style as unremittingly physical and anti-rugby.

Warrenball has not been a feature of the two matches of this year’s Lions, although it is an option, even if a stronger team would have looked to expose their narrow rush defence.