Lions lack roar for South African adventure

Lions coach Warren Gatland has entrusted the captaincy of his squad to Alun Wyn Jones. It is a mistake. These Lions will take a beating against the world champion Springboks.

It isn’t arrogance when I say it will be three-nil to the Springboks. It is confidence from a South African perspective.

It isn’t disrespect when I dismiss the merits of the British & Irish Lions challenge in South Africa, but more a respect for the quality of the Springboks and the lack of all-round potency in Gatland’s squad of 36.

Gatland, who has not not been involved with northern hemisphere rugby (as a collective) since the Lions 2017 tour of New Zealand, has looked to many of his Welsh loyalists from his 12 years as coach of Wales.  Gatland’s last involvement with Wales was a 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat against the Springboks in Tokyo, Japan.

Gatland, since then, experienced a miserable time as head coach of the Chiefs in New Zealand. Gatland’s return to New Zealand was very hyped. He was returning to the region he played for all his career and to the province and region he previously coached. The honeymoon didn’t last long and when Gatland took a season out (in 2021) to focus on the Lions, his Chiefs had lost a record number of matches in succession.

Ironically, since his departure the Chiefs have been resurgent and this weekend play the Crusaders in the final of New Zealand’s Super Rugby tournament.

I believe the Lions would have had more presence with England’s Maro Itoje as captain.

Gatland has gone with what he knows. Jones is the most capped player in Test history with 159 appearances for Wales and the Lions, but he wouldn’t be in the top 10 locks in world rugby. He is well past his best and while his tenacity and longevity is to be admired and applauded, his playing pedigree isn’t what it was. He is a pensioner in locking terms and it will turn nasty for him on the field.

South African-born and raised Duhan van der Merwe, who made his debut for Scotland in 2020, is the big surprise selection.

Several players are named in a Lions squad for a first time, including Josh Adams, Bundee Aki, Chris Harris, Ali Price, Louis Rees-Zammit, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Jonny Hill, Wyn Jones, Andrew Porter, Sam Simmonds, Rory Sutherland and Hamish Watson.

“We believe we’ve picked a squad capable of winning a Test series in South Africa,” said Gatland.

“Selecting a Lions squad is never easy and, in many ways, this has been the most challenging selection I have been involved in. Over the course of the last three weeks the coaches and I have rigorously debated each position.

“We saw some outstanding performance in the recent Six Nations, so competition for places has been tough with some incredibly tight calls to make.

“However, we are very happy with the squad we have assembled and look forward to meeting up in Jersey in just over a month’s time to start our preparation to take on the World Champions. We’ve left out some very talented players which gives an indication to the strength of this squad and we know how important that stand-by list will be.

“Being selected for a Lions Tour is the greatest honour for a British and Irish player and I congratulate everyone named.”

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Backs (16):

Josh Adams (Cardiff, Wales) Wing

Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) Centre

Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) Fly-half

Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) Centre

Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) Scrum-half

Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) Fly-half

Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) Centre

Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Centre

Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) Full-back

Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) Scrum-half

Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) Scrum-half

Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) Wing

Finn Russell (Racing 92, Scotland) Fly-half

Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Wing

Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) Wing

Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales) Full-back

Forwards (21):

Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) Second row

Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Back row

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) Hooker

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) Back row

Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) Prop

Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) Back row

Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Prop

Jamie George (Saracens, England) Hooker

Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) Second row

Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England) Second row

Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) Second row

Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) (Captain) Second row

Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) Prop

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) Second row

Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) Hooker

Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Prop

Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England)  Back row

Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Prop

Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, Wales) Back row

Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) Prop

Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Back row

Also on www.keo.co.za

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