PERHAPS Charlie McAlister had the answer. “They can get on the bus back to Wellington, have a few bevvies after what must have been a good experience,” the Manawatu coach said and certainly the Lions’ display at the FMG Stadium yesterday put a smile back on the touring party’s faces after the gloom of the weekend defeat by New Zealand.
The significance of the second-largest win in Lions history, and the biggest in New Zealand, has to be limited. They did what any international touring team should have done to a second-division province of plainly ordinary ability, but they kept their shape, despite a spate of early replacements, and played with an ambition that has not always been the hallmark of this tour.
Shane Williams, dancing and twinkling down the touchlines and through the middle, led the rout with five of the Lions’ 17 tries, although that was not enough to overtake the individual tryscoring records for the Lions established by two other wings, David Duckham and J. J. Williams. There was sufficient evidence, though, to show that the spirit of this squad may be bruised but not broken by going 1-0 down in the inter national series.
“A lot of us out here haven’t had the chances others have had,” Williams, who scored four tries for Wales against Japan in 2001, said. “They had a point to prove.”
The fact that the tries were divided among 11 players suggests a team developing unity and confidence in each other, so sadly absent against the All Blacks at the weekend.
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The match 22 to play New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday in the second international will be known today and will not include Brent Cockbain, despite the record-breaking speed with which the Wales lock has become a Lion. Ryan Jones may have thought that he joined the elite with indecent haste in Dunedin 11 days ago, but yesterday Cockbain flew from a holiday with his family in Cairns to Sydney, then to Wellington and by helicopter to Palmerston North in time to take the field in the second half.
Within four minutes he was close to a try as the Lions realised that they could spread their wings. In the first half they had looked to play a more structured game, concentrating on the set-pieces that went so far astray against the All Blacks and bringing the midfield into the match. The benefits were immediate and produced six first-half tries against a Manawatu XV grateful merely to be on the same pitch.
Next year the province will be part of the reconstituted 14-strong first division, but McAlister emphasised that the visit of the Lions had enthused the entire rugby community, even if his players, accustomed to appearing in front of of 1,000 rather than 17,000, found it hard to come to terms with the speed and strength of their opponents. “This is bigger than big in our region, for our kids and the community,” he said.
It is a virtue worth bearing in mind, given that the Lions have received some criticism for reducing their community activities here.
They filled their boots with tries in return, the first coming in the third minute and the last the final act of the match. In between they were captained by four individuals — Gordon Bulloch, Charlie Hodgson, Martin Corry and Michael Owen — as players came and went, which must be a record of its kind.
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One of the best runs went unrewarded, that of Simon Shaw when he gathered the restart after the Lions’ ninth try. The London Wasps lock weaved his way more than 60 metres but was brought down short of the goalline, leaving Neil Back to collect one of the easier tries of his career. But there was an enthusiasm to be involved, to play the rugby that so many members of this team have produced but not necessarily in New Zealand.
The best of Williams’s five tries was probably his fourth because it was a team score, but his first two, featuring his individual skills, were more important because they gave his colleagues the courage to play a wide game.
Manawatu, to their credit, never gave up despite the scoreboard’s intense activity and two yellow cards, while Matt Stevens also ended the match in the sin-bin, the victim of an over-enthusiastic tackle as the Lions made certain that their line remained intact.
SCORERS: Manawatu: Penalty goals: Hargreaves 2 (40min, 40+3). Lions: Tries: S Williams 5 (3, 26, 40, 47, 80+1), Corry (13), Murphy (30), Robinson (33), Hodgson (42), Smith (44), Back (49), D’Arcy (54), Cueto 2 (66, 80+6), O’Gara 2 (57, 69), Cooper (74). Conversions: Hodgson 7, O’Gara 5.
SCORING SEQUENCE (Manawatu first): 0-5, 0-12, 0-19, 0-26, 0-31, 3-31, 3-38, 6-38 (half-time), 6-45, 6-52, 6-57, 6-64, 6-69, 6-74, 6-81, 6-88, 6-95, 6-102, 6-109.
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MANAWATU: F Bryant; B Gray, J Campbell, M Oldridge (rep: N Buckley, 54), J Leota; G Smith (rep: B Trew, 48), J Hargreaves (rep: D Palu, 75); S Moore, N Kemp (captain; sin-bin 32-40+2), K Barrett (rep: P Cook, 66), T Faleafaga (rep: P Maisiri, 49), P Rodgers, H Triggs (rep: C Moke, 49), J Bradnock (rep: S Easton, 80, sin-bin 80+6), B Matenga (rep: Easton, 38-40+2).
LIONS: G Murphy; J Robinson (rep: M Cueto, 53), O Smith, G D’Arcy, S Williams; C Hodgson (rep: R O’Gara, 51), C Cusiter (rep: G Cooper, 41); A Sheridan, G Bulloch (captain; rep: A Titterrell, 40+2-80), J Hayes (rep: M Stevens, 62, sin-bin 79), S Shaw, D O’Callaghan (rep: B Cockbain, 41), M Corry (rep: Bulloch, 80+4), M Williams (rep: N Back, 41), M Owen.
Referee: L Bray (New Zealand).
FOR THE RECORD
Team highs
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2001: 116-10 v Western Australia President’s XV (Perth)
2005: 109-6 v Manawatu (Palmerston North)
1974: 97-0 v South-West Districts (Mossel Bay)
2001: 83-6 v Queensland President’s XV (Townsville)
Record tryscorers
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6 tries: David Duckham v West Coast/Buller (1971); J. J. Williams v South West Districts (1974)
5 tries: Jason Robinson v Queensland President’s XV (2001); Shane Williams v Manawatu (2005)
LESSONS TO LEARN FROM A WALKOVER
POSITIVES:
The eagerness to show a team that can play attacking rugby and that individuals still have an interest in selection for the second international, in Wellington on Saturday. Another neat game from Charlie Hodgson, the tour’s highest points-scorer with 50 from three appearances.
NEGATIVES:
Limited opposition who had only one full-time professional. Still not tidy enough at clearing ball from the breakdown and the odd lineout failed to end up in the right hands. As Ian McGeechan acknowledged, miles away from what will be required against the All Blacks.