Finn Russell questions Warren Gatland’s Lions tactics

Planet Rugby

Finn Russell of BI Lions is tackled by Eben Etzebeth of South Africa during the 2021 British and Irish Lions Tour third test between South Africa and BI Lions at Cape Town Stadium on 7 August 2021 ©Ryan Wilkisky/Sports Inc

British and Irish Lions star Finn Russell has hit out at the tactics employed by Warren Gatland during their series defeat to South Africa.

Despite the tourists claiming beforehand that they would look to counteract the Springboks power with something a little different, Gatland’s men played very conservatively.

Although the Lions won the first Test, they were comprehensively outplayed a week later by a South African side that had found their rhythm after a difficult build up.

The third and deciding clash started in a similar fashion, with kicking and out-and-out physicality dominating, but Russell’s arrival after 10 minutes changed that.

He consistently altered the point of contact as the visitors actually fired some shots in attack. It wasn’t enough as South Africa edged the contest, but it was still the Lions’ best performance of the tour.

Played into South Africa’s hands

“I thought that all three Tests we should have played more rugby and gone at them a little bit more,” Russell told the Scottish Rugby Podcast. “The first two Tests we played off nine for two phases and I kind of felt that played into their defence.

“We weren’t doing much out of the back of it. We were keeping the attack narrow instead of having a wide attack. The first 10 minutes of the third Test, there was still quite a bit of kicking and a lot of play off nine.

“There wasn’t much rugby that actually got played. I was sitting on the bench thinking we are doing the same as in the last two games even though we’ve spoken about being a little bit more expansive.

“With coming on early enough, I was able to try and play that style of rugby.”

The Lions ultimately paid the price for their profligacy in the third Test rather than their intent, with Russell coming away with plenty of credit for changing the way the tourists played.

“I kept saying to the boys make sure we get as flat as we can and get the ball out of the hands quickly,” he said.

“If you are confident in your skills and flat enough on them, they can’t recover when you throw that pass across the front and kick to the edge.

“That’s how I’ve always played, so it’s fine for me. My mindset was that whenever I got on I was going to run it and play everything. That’s what I thought was best to take them on.”

Russell said that all the players and staff were left desolate by the final Test defeat, but insisted that they could look back with fewer regrets after at least producing a performance to be proud of.

“Everyone was gutted that we lost and it was really frustrating because it was a game we could have won,” he added.

“We had chances where if it had gone slightly differently we could have still won the game.

“Everyone was upset and down that we lost the game, but the overall performance was a really good one.

“We went out there and did everything we could to beat them and we actually went at them instead of just waiting for them to crack or for a miss kick.

“We actually went out and played some good rugby and had a go at them.”

Lions greats call for changes to make rugby safer

Meanwhile, several British and Irish Lions greats have called on World Rugby to allow replacements to be made only for injuries to make the sport safer and help prevent the prospect of a player losing his life on the field.

The group sent an open letter, which was signed by Sir Ian McGeechan, Willie John McBride, Sir Gareth Edwards, Barry John, John Taylor and consultant surgeon Professor John Fairclough, to World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont and in it they claim the professional game “has become unnecessarily dangerous”.

“It would be grossly negligent to allow the status quo to continue,” the letter read.

“Rugby union was conceived as a 15-a-side game for 30 players. With the current eight substitutes per side, many of whom are tactical ‘impact players’ or ‘finishers’, this can and often does stretch to 46.

“More than half a team can be changed, and some players are not expected to last 80 minutes so train accordingly, prioritising power over aerobic capacity. This shapes the entire game, leading to more collisions and in the latter stages numerous fresh ‘giants’ crashing into tiring opponents.”

 

video thumbnail

Finn Russell speaks out about Lions tactics

British and Irish Lions star Finn Russell has hit out at the tactics employed by Warren Gatland during their series defeat to South Africa.