British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland insists 'this tour isn't about Sam Warburton' with Test spot in limbo
Warburton is not assured a place in the Test squad but Gatland is also holding a few of his cards close to his chest as the first Tes approaches
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Your support makes all the difference.Warren Gatland has stressed that the British and Irish Lions tour “isn’t about Sam Warburton” after confirming that places in his Test back-row to face the All Blacks are still up for grabs ahead of this Saturday’s clash with the Maori All Blacks.
In what will be the biggest challenge for his touring side before the face New Zealand next Saturday, the Lions will take to the field at the International Stadium in Rotorua against a reinforced Maori side that boasts two All Blacks members and three recently capped internationals with a very strong Lions side that looks to be close to full strength.
One of the notable names absent though is tour captain Sam Warburton, with the openside flanker named among the replacements having played 68 minutes against the Highlanders in Tuesday’s defeat. Sean O’Brien starts in his place with another chance to impress after his strong showing against the Crusaders last Saturday, while blindside flanker Peter O’Mahony will captain the side in Warburton’s absence.
With Warburton’s position in the Test side currently in the balance, Gatland will used the run out against the Maori All Blacks to decide which of Warburton and O’Brien deserves to start next Saturday, but confirmed that part of the reason why he stuck with the Welshman as his squad leader is he is wise enough to know if he hasn’t earned the right to start the first Test.
“One of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player but also, this tour isn't about Sam Warburton, it's about putting the squad first,” Warburton said. “If he's not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night he will fully understand that.
“But he'll get some game time and some opportunity to keep improving his match fitness because he hasn't had a lot of rugby in recent weeks.”
Another notable omission from the side is fly-half Owen Farrell, who initially joined Warburton among the replacements only to be ruled out of the game with a thigh strain. With Johnny Sexton given the nod at fly-half, the Irishman appears to have a strong chance of claiming the Test shirt, despite Farrell being the odds-on favourite to start against the All Blacks before suffering the injury.
Gatland decided against experimenting with the possibility of starting Sexton and Farrell together at 10 and 12, but he did suggest that there’s “every chance” they could play simultaneously at some point during the Test series, with the Kiwi determined to keep some of his selections a secret from the prying eyes of the All Blacks.
“There's always those discussions, but we felt Owen's had a bit of rugby at the moment,” Gatland explained. “He's on the bench and he's covering midfield options, so we could end up with the same situation as we did last week then we could have the 10/12 combination, and we could end up with him coming on at 10 as well.
“What’s important for us is that at some stage he’s going to get some game time, whether it’s at 10 and continuing that, but for us even though it’s a strong side we’ve got to make sure we’re not fully showing our hand, we’re keeping some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what the final squad may be.”
In terms of the All Blacks side that was named on Thursday for their one and only warm-up against Samoa, Gatland was unmoved on Steve Hansen’s selection with the team news being unveiled as expected, with Sonny Bill Williams returning for the first time since the 2015 Rugby World Cup final and both Brodie Retallick and Jerome Kaino fit to start after recovering from head and knee injuries.
“That looks pretty close to their Test team I think,” added Gatland. “It looks their strongest side and they're trying to get a game under their belt. I don't think they'll make too many changes.”
Gatland is yet undecided on whether to travel back to Auckland to watch the match at Eden Park before returning to Rotorua in the early hours of Saturday morning, though he may be lured by the fact that his ‘other’ side, Wales, will be taking on Tonga before the All Blacks face Samoa in a double-header.
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