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The 2005 British & Irish Lions tried to 'target McCaw in all phases'

By Online Editors

14 Aug 2018

McCaw was 'targeted in all phases' by the 2005 Lions.

Just how influential legendary All Black open side Richie McCaw was as a player is widely known, but the extent to which teams tried to nullify him is not.

In a revealing post on social media, former Welsh centre Tom Shanklin shared a copy of the British & Irish Lions run sheet from the ill-fated 2005 tour of New Zealand which summarised the team’s game plan. The game plan also reveals that Lions management believed the All Blacks were cheaters and that the team hates ‘not being able to cheat for the ball on the floor’

The instructions for Clive Woodward’s men include ‘target Umaga/McCaw/Marshall’, ‘target the 12/13 channel’ and ‘target McCaw in all phases.’

There is no mention of Dan Carter, who famously ran riot in the second test scoring 33 points in a 48-18 win that sealed the series in what is regarded as the most complete performance by a 10 in history.

The Lions were planning to rely on their lineout strength and kicking game with Johnny Wilkinson but were well and truly beaten 3-0. The game plan also has reference to ‘winning the ‘bully’ contest’.

Just found this from the British&Irish Lions 2005 in an old book. pic.twitter.com/ED0ltFLxd1
— Tom Shanklin (@TomShanklin) August 14, 2018

In a surprising addition, the right side of the sheet lists all the things ‘NZ hate’ which includes when ‘their Mana player is ineffective @ breakdown’ and ‘knowing they have a vulnerable area’.

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Comments on RugbyPass

Bull Shark 11 minutes ago

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Possibly. But this welsh team is no better than a good URC team at this point.

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Nobody learns anything pumping a team by 50.

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Bull Shark 14 minutes ago

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Jeepers. That’s a nuclear response given the context.

By all means back the man. But there’s no need to go overboard with calling him the world best coach.

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Bull Shark 17 minutes ago

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He played a big role, as director of rugby prior to stepping in as coach, putting systems in place. He’s been involved in many of these players careers since they were teens or debutants at their provincial teams.

So I agree with you 100% it’s not Gatlands fault the pipeline of players is poor.

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Bull Shark 21 minutes ago

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Rassie is going to coach the boks until he’s 65. Never get tired of this.

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Bull Shark 22 minutes ago

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It could be about the cut. It doesn’t seem wise to risk a reinjury.

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Bull Shark 23 minutes ago

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It a hypothesis sure, perhaps Felix has a sweet deal lined up somewhere else. But I also don’t think he’d say something about that environment if it wasn’t true. He doesn’t strike me as a douche.

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Bull Shark 25 minutes ago

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Just a hypothesis. What on earth else could be the issue with regards to the environment as claimed by Felix?

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JM 31 minutes ago

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If you think the Premiership isn't physical then you're either a fool, or being disingenuous.

One of the issues the Premiership does have when it comes to intensity is that the bonus point structure makes the last 20 minutes of lots of games meaningless. Everyone's wrapped up their points, benches are cleared, the quality of the game deteriorates, and what could be tense conclusions end up just petering out.

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Tom 39 minutes ago

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Toaster 42 minutes ago

Let's be real about these All Blacks

As an ABs fan there’s nothing to justify

The Boks are the best and just know how to win

And their depth is incredible now

And when they don’t they lose late on by one point

The rest of us aren’t too far away (some closer than others)

But in reality if we include England Argentina and now Aus rugby looks greatly competitive

Bongis knock on and Lomaxes double bank

These things happen

The fact is the ABs overall have evolved with new players and others like Aumua Vaai and Williams who have progressed immensely

But by and large although it has improved overall our second halves are a massive work in progress

So a B- is about right provided there is no loss to Italy

A loss drops it to C- !!

Remember we could have lost all three games to England but were just slightly better that’s all

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fl 43 minutes ago

'I don't think Steve Borthwick would pick Jack Willis even if he's playing in England'

Willis is decent in the lineout to be fair, but definitely lacking a heavyweight ball carrier.

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Tom 46 minutes ago

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EV 55 minutes ago

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You miss the point. There is no pipeline of players. A coach cannot change that. That is up to the Welsh RFU, which have failed.

Rassie is a clever bugger, no doubt, but the Boks could play 52 players this year because of the systems they have put in place to find and develop players from schoolboy level up.

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EV 57 minutes ago

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Rassie is ruling the roost because he put systems in place to find and develop the best players from schoolboy level up. Its an entire system and organisation that now, several years down the line, presents him with a pipeline of battle ready talent.

Wales lacks this, lacks a Director of Rugby. Firing Gatland won't change this fact. He is an world class coach. If anything Abi Tierney should be shipped out for failing to put these systems in place over the last 11 months.

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Tom 57 minutes ago

'I don't think Steve Borthwick would pick Jack Willis even if he's playing in England'

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SC 1 hour ago

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Tk 1 hour ago

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