Pretensions cruelly exposed

Lions Tour First Test/New Zealand 21 Lions - 3: In the face of his greatest challenge, Clive Woodward dusted off the manual that earned him his greatest triumph as a head coach. But the compelling evidence from this first Test at Jade Stadium is that Anglo template is two years past its sell-by date. The question now is, will he rip it up and start again?

Such an approach would virtually be an admission of culpability for Saturday's abject failure, but then again so too were the wave of second-half substitutes and his post-match admission that "clearly, I got it wrong."

Standing in the dock with him was Andy Robinson, his assistant/forwards coach, who, to his credit, also held his hand up with regard to the Lions' shambolic lineout.

No doubt some of the English media will feel they have a new Ciaran Fitzgerald in the person of Shane Byrne, and it is true that on a horrid night in Canterbury when a "southerly" blew in off the Antarctic, his darts often misfired. But the confusion between thrower, lifters and would-be catchers was palpable, and there was no better evidence than the accusing glares between Byrne and Paul O'Connell after Ali Williams snaffled the former's throw without one red shirt being propelled into the air to pilfer his opportunistic 25th-minute try.

The Lions lost eight of their 19 throws, whereas the All Blacks produced a steady stream of quality ball barely interrupted by just two steals out of 19 off Keven Mealamu's throwing. It called into question the decisions to start Byrne in only one tour game, along with five others, and to change the calls 48 hours before the match.

Williams and Chris Jack also utterly eclipsed Paul O'Connell and Ben Kay; Williams twice wrenching the ball out of O'Connell's clutches in the air.

But for Woodward to also focus almost exclusively on the lineout as the sole source of the Lions' ills - "you can't play these guys without the ball" - was a tad disingenuous. Even the ball they had they used abysmally.

About the most fluid and potent rugby the Lions have produced on tour was in the opening, 13-minute, three-try blitz against Bay of Plenty, when Lawrence Dallaglio was providing the go-forward ball and Ronan O'Gara was lying flat and distributing snappily for Josh Lewsey to hit the line.

For the last 20 minutes against Argentina, Shane Horgan also gave some rare go-forward ball up the middle but otherwise neither he nor Tom Shanklin have been looked at there.

Here, again, the forwards provided little go-forward ball, except when Ryan Jones came on, and the Stephen Jones-Wilkinson, 10-12, right-foot/left-foot axis didn't even give the Lions a decent kicking game, much less ingenuity or an option to take the ball up.

You couldn't fault Wilkinson's bravery, but his tendency to step just takes time out of the ball and, as has been shown in his two previous appearances, he's struggling to clear the wingers. Likewise Jones, and in keeping with the Lions' thoroughtly undistinguished kicking out of hand on tour, here they both resorted to that low-risk, percentage kick down the middle, while the kicks - unlike the hungry Blacks - were chased desultorily.

All the selections based on past achievements and blindly ignoring form proved misguided. Jason Robinson looked what he is, a reluctant tourist, low on confidence and out of place at fullback. Up front, Kay, Richard Hill and Neil Back didn't deliver.

Sure, O'Driscoll was a huge loss on the night, and an incalculable one in the context of the Test series. Nor is Will Greenwood - top bloke, deserving of a Test run after two bitterly cruel tours of his own - experienced campaigner and clever player though he is, remotely near his best form.

In place of O'Driscoll, he was a pedestrian ball-carrier in a pedestrian backline, and a manifestation of the conservative replacements' selection, which severely limited the Lions' little scope for impact off the bench.

Martin Corry took over the captaincy and was one of five Lions players still on the pitch who had captained at Test level, yet the team continued to look rudderless, and tellingly, Ryan Jones could be seen, more than anyone else, cajoling team-mates.

Even the rain was supposedly manna from heaven for the Lions. Leon MacDonald said it was the worst weather he had ever played in, once jokingly asking Sitiveni Sivivatu if it was like Fiji.

"My hands had frostbite, and for one high ball I couldn't see it with the hailstones coming into my face," he said.

Yet he also revealed that backs coach Wayne Smith had told them: "If it's on, go for it."

Aside from the stuffing meted out up front, the clash of playing cultures and style was exposed eight minutes in when the All Blacks moved ball wide inside their own 22 to work an overlap for the outstanding Tana Umaga, who in turn linked with the ultra-smooth Daniel Carter. His pass inside to Marshall was flapped to the ground by Dwayne Peel, and though Wilkinson saved a certain try with a rush tackle on Doug Howlett off the recycle, it led to Carter's opening penalty.

Creating a steady supply of chances, on one of the dry nights that have generally greeted the tourists prior to Saturday, it is by no means unimaginable the All Blacks, especially with a crisper service from Marshall, would have put 40 or more on the Lions.

Eventually Aaron Mauger broke through Stephen Jones's tackle and offloaded to Umaga, whose brilliant line and wondrously visionary and executed pass enabled Sivivatu to bamboozle Josh Lewsey for the clinching try. Such skills and enterprise were beyond the scope of the Lions. In many ways, it was a good result for rugby.

Now it's up to Woodward and the Lions think tank to, well, have a rethink.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 9 mins: Carter pen 3-0; 13: Carter pen 6-0; 25: Williams try 11-0; (half-time 11-0); 44: Carter pen 14-0; 48: Sivivatu try, Carter con 21-0; 56: Wilkinson pen 21-3.

NEW ZEALAND: L MacDonald (Canterbury); D Howlett (Auckland), T Umaga (Wellington, captain), A Mauger (Canterbury), S Sivivatu (Waikato); D Carter (Canterbury), J Marshall (Canterbury); T Woodcock (North Harbour), K Mealamu (Auckland), C Hayman (Otago), C Jack (Canterbury), A Williams (Auckland), J Collins (Wellington), R McCaw (Canterbury), R So'oialo (Wellington. Replacements: G Somerville (Canterbury) for Woodcock, B Kelleher (Waikato) for Marshall (both 68 mins), M Muliaina (Auckland) for MacDonald (69 mins), D Witcombe for Mealamu, R Gear (Nelson Bays) for Umaga (both 75 mins) S Lauaki (Waikato) for Collins (76 mins). Not used: J Ryan (Otago).

THE LIONS: J Robinson (Sale Sharks, England); J Lewsey (London Wasps, England), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, Ireland, capt), J Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons, England), G Thomas (Toulouse, Wales), S Jones (Clermont Auvergne, Wales); D Peel (Llanelli, Wales), G Jenkins (Cardiff, Wales), S Byrne (Leinster, Ireland), J White (Leicester Tigers, England), P O'Connell (Munster, Ireland), B Kay (Leicester Tigers, England), R Hill (Saracens, England), N Back (Leicester Tigers), M Corry (Leicester Tigers, England). Replacements: W Greenwood (NEC Harlequins, England) for O'Driscoll (2 mins), R Jones (Ospreys, Wales) for Hill (18 mins), S Thompson (Northampton Saints, England) for Byrne, D Grewcock (Bath, England) for Kay, S Horgan (Leinster, Ireland) for Robinson (all 57 mins), M Dawson (London Wasps, England) for Peel (74 mins). Not used: G Rowntree (Leicester Tigers, England). Sinbinned: O'Connell (12-22 mins).