The All Blacks have made two changes to their team for the second Test, both
Authentic Cedric Ogbuehi Youth Jerseynecessary because of injuries sustained last weekend. But it does not mean Lions supporters will be sleeping any easier on Friday night. Waisake Naholo has come in on the right wing, so Israel Dagg can replace Ben Smith at full-back, and Anton Lienert?Brown has taken over from Ryan Crotty at outside centre. The uncapped Ngani Laumape, who played so well for the Hurricanes in their draw against the Lions on Tuesday, takes Lienert-Brown’s spot on the bench. Even though Smith and Crotty are out, the team does not look any weaker than the one that played last week. If anything, the backline now looks a little more dangerous. Lions’ Six Nations roots mean they cannot match the All Blacks’ verve Read more Lions supporters might do a double take when they read this but a lot of the locals here felt Steve Hansen had picked a fairly defensive New Zealand team for the first Test, with Dagg on the wing and Crotty at outside centre. Dagg was there because he is so good under the high ball, Crotty because he has a calm head and could control the midfield. Naholo and Lienert-Brown on the other hand, will both cause all kinds of mischief when they’ve got the ball in hand. Naholo, in particular, has scored nine tries in 10 games for the Highlanders this season and played wonderfully
http://www.nflbengalsofficialshop.com/Nike-Cedric-Peerman-Jersey.html well for them when they beat the Lions a fortnight ago. It is not inconceivable that Hansen would have made one or other of these changes even if he had Crotty and Smith available. It is all part of the tactical battle between him and Warren Gatland. Hansen says a key reason the Lions lost last week is because “they wanted to have people on their feet to be able to have a defensive line rather than attack us at the breakdown”, so it “allowed to us to get the ball we needed to get by not putting numbers in”. He thinks this time around they will throw more men into the breakdown. Given the way the first Test turned out, they do not really have much choice. If Hansen is right, that will leave more spaces in the Lions’ line for the All Blacks to attack. Which is where Naholo and Lienert-Brown come in. With Naholo on one side and Rieko Ioane on the other, the All Blacks have a couple of the quickest players around out on the wings. Elliot Daly is fast. But Ioane left him in the dust last weekend. Naholo, on the other hand, would not be too far behind his team-mate. So this is a backline set-up to threaten the Lions out wide. The pack remains unchanged after their brilliant collective performance last week. Advertisement Laumape, a 24-year-old from Palmerston North, may be a rookie but he is the joint-leading try-scorer in Super Rugby this season, with 14 in 14 games, and also ranks high in the list for the most assists, with six. This is only his
http://www.authenticducksstore.com/mike-santorelli-jersey_c-432.html second season in Super Rugby, after a spell with the Warriors in the National Rugby League. His rapid rise to the All Blacks match 23 is another sign of New Zealand’s strength in depth. He was superb against the Lions on Tuesday, which is what convinced Hansen to pick him. “While it’s disappointing to lose both Ben Smith and Ryan Crotty, it creates an opportunity for others,” Hansen said. “Izzy is a world?class back three player, as is Anton in the midfield, and both Waisake and Ngani are coming into the Test side following outstanding performances against the Lions for their respective Super franchises.” Hansen has been busily repeating the message he has given over the past few days. Aside from all those barbed remarks about Warren Gatland, he’s been talking up the opposition and telling his own team they need to play better to win this time around. “While we were happy with the win last weekend, we know that it was just a start, in what is a three-Test series,” he said. “That means the job is far from done. It’s going to require us to take our game to a higher level. It’s going to be very demanding, physically and mentally, on both sides. “We’re aware the British & Irish Lions have their backs to the wall and will chuck everything at us to keep themselves alive in the series. They are a quality side who we respect immensely. In reality, last week’s Test could’ve gone either way had they taken more of their chances. Our job will be to make sure that we shut down their counterattack
Paul Kariya Authentic Jerseybetter than we did last weekend and at the same time, win the critical moments across the 80 minutes. As always, it’ll start with the battle of the tight five
