This is a reality check, says Lions boss Warren Gatland

 
19 June 2013

Warren Gatland today played down the damage caused by his side’s 14-12 defeat to the Brumbies, insisting the “reality check” could help the Lions prepare for Saturday’s First Test against Australia.

This was the Lions’ first loss to a provincial side since the Blue Bulls defeated them on the 1997 tour to South Africa — a series they went on to win — but what is most worrying is that the Brumbies claimed this major scalp despite being unable to call upon their Wallaby contingent.

Gatland will now sit down with his fellow coaches to discuss the First Test line-up. No one involved from the start of this match here will feature, which is why Gatland is not viewing the loss as a make-or-break for the tour. Instead, the head coach chose to highlight the limited horizons of the Brumbies.

He said: “We gave them a soft early try and then it was a battle at the breakdown for 75 minutes. It was probably an indication to the Wallabies watching the game about competing hard at the breakdown and we are going to have to address this area.

“You do feel things are going swimmingly and now this is a reality check but they didn’t really play any rugby against us; they kicked the ball and competed at the breakdown.

“We are disappointed to lose and they made it a tough day by frustrating us but dealing with this kind of thing is all part of being on tour. It is a bit of a knock and now it is how you respond and we have to get back on the horse.

“We will see on Saturday if this result makes a difference to the Test series and maybe it’s not the worst thing to get a reality check.”

Captain Rory Best, who struggled to produce accurate line-out ball admitted his men had “failed to turn up” and accepted the performance was not good enough for the best of British and Irish players on this tour.

“We talked about matching and beating their physicality and they smashed us in the break down,” said the Irishman, who was only included in the squad after Dylan Hartley was handed an 11-week ban last month. “The forwards are going to quite rightly take the heat because they [the Brumbies] were hungrier than us.”

Brumbies head coach Jake White said: “This is right up there with my World Cup win with South Africa in 2007 because it is a massive result for this group of players. We have won against the Lions and that’s as big as it gets.”

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