John Bentley, part of the successful Lions Tour party of 1997
will always be remembered for his superb solo try against the Gauteng Lions. In
the interview below, he emphasises the importance of picking players on form
rather than reputation for next years Lions Tour down under.
It’s a straight forward argument and anyone in their right
mind would agree whole heartedly. Warren Gatland aligns himself alongside
Bentley’s argument pledging “we’ll pick the best players, and the captain
after.” He went on to say “Someone may come through on tour whose form you
can't ignore and who may force themselves into the Test side."
As sad as this may sound, I find this an intriguing concept.
Can Gatland guarantee us that he’ll pick purely on form? His interview above
was conducted on 31st October before the Autumn Internationals
began. The video below, from the 22nd November looks at the
selection dilemma at full back. Considering Rob Kearney is out injured and has
only played 32 minutes of rugby all season and Halfpenny has performed quite
well in a faltering side he does well (in my eyes) to dismiss the selection
hopes of Alex Goode in favour of talking up the other players’ chances.
With more games in the Autumn Internationals and a 6 Nations
to look forward to, I’m sure there will be many players who put their hand up
for inclusion in the Lions Tour. As the pinnacle of anyone’s career, the
selection process will not be taken lightly and with selection meetings
scheduled throughout the next 6 months leading up the June/July tour, there
will be plenty of headaches in deciding the right tour party.
I disagree that Gatland will pick purely on form and feel that
reputation will guarantee some players a spot on the tour. With rugby pundits
predicting a heavy Wales contingent in the Lions squad it baffles me they
should have a majority share in the squad with two disappointing performances
and losses to Argentina and Samoa. With the likes of Warburton playing below
his best are we honestly going to see someone else taking his place should his
poor form continue? I think not!
Another area where I feel there is a prime example is the fly
half position. Sexton is nailed on to start at 10 in my opinion. If he has a
poor 6 Nations, and is slightly off key for Leinster are we honestly going to
leave him behind? The options outside of him are Priestland, Biggar, Flood,
Farrell, Laidlaw and Jackson. In my eyes he is a different class and deserves a
spot on the tour for his form over the past 2/3 years alone.
The other element we have to consider is the impact a Lion’s
Tour place would have on your performance and form. Yes, you want to pick the
best players but being the pinnacle of anyone’s career, you would leave nothing
behind in every game you played. Ryan Jones optimised this in 2005. Called up
to replace the injured Simon Taylor he gave everything, moving up from the
midweek squad to the starting XV and was superb every minute he was on the
field.
You also have to be mentally as well as physically strong for
the big games regardless of the opposition in front of you. I have it on good
authority that on a recent trip to play London Welsh, another premiership side
were so convinced they’d win, they went out the night before ‘to hit the beers’
A loss the next day tells you that the professional era does not give you a
second chance and that a right frame of mind is also a key factor in the
selection process.
Role of
the Media
The strength of the media is the other selection tool Warren
Gatland will have at his disposal (whether he wants it or not). Their
perception of players form will be circulating round homes through computers,
newspapers, radios and TV’s worldwide. This adds even more pressure for Gatland
to make the right calls. To have the nation behind him he needs to pick
astutely but just how much media pressure will Gatland be able to withstand
before they start impacting on his selections?
The 1998 football World Cup saw Brazil take on Italy in the
final. Ronaldo entered the world cup as ‘the world’s best’ according to
football experts and scored 4 goals and made 3 assists. On the eve of the final
he was alleged to have suffered a convulsive fit and was ruled out of the game.
With less than an hour to go, he was reinstated and played in a 3-0 loss to
Italy. His performance was below par and he eventually went off injured. A
professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University said “there is no way
that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24
hours of his first fit”. Reports suggest that sponsors Nike forced Ronaldo to
play to ensure their financial gains with the game being televised to millions
of people worldwide.
You also have to argue that Brazil’s coach at the time Carlos
Alberto Parreira was in a no win situation. Play Ronaldo and lose,
his job is gone. Don’t play Ronaldo and lose, not only is his job gone but also
his coaching credentials as well. Why would you rest your top striker for the
biggest football match in the world? I remember the ‘fit’ was kept very quiet
but eventually leaked out to the public. By this point it was irrelevant. The
media cast its verdict on Parreira and he was removed from his post.
To an extent, this is true for Gatland. I’m thinking
particularly about the back row in this respect. With injuries to Lydiate,
Ferris and O’Brien, three nailed on tour party candidates when fit, can be
without them if they only play a handful of games before selection? In my
opinion they have to tour as we know what they are capable of. This is why we have to look at reputation as
well as form.
I am going to stick my neck (and wallet) out on the line by
saying that the following players below will be on the plane to Australia
providing they are fit, regardless of form! For each player below which doesn’t
tour, I will personally buy the founding father and co-editor of Rucking Good
News a pint of beer!
|
Jonny
Sexton
Sam
Warburton
Manu
Tuilagi
George
North
Leigh
Halfpenny
Rob
Kearney
Dan
Lydiate
Stephen
Ferris
Dylan
Hartley
Richie
Gray
Jonathon
Davies
Danny
Care
Mike
Phillips
Chris
Ashton
Adam
Jones
Dan
Cole
Courtney
Lawes
Brian
O’ Driscoll
Toby
Faletau
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