Nick Cain: Remember Finlay Calder and stick with Sam Warburton

Posted on by in Nick Cain

Sam Warburton’s selection as Lions captain was under serious scrutiny before last night’s crushing of the Waratahs, but the Welsh openside has made a habit of riding pressure and producing the goods when it matters most.

If anyone needed reminding of how quickly Warburton can get up to Test speed they need only look at the impact he made against Scotland and England to help Wales secure their latest Six Nations title – and now they can add the Waratahs to the list.

The naysayers – with the 1983 and 1997 Lions coach Jim Telfer leading the posse – were convinced that Warren Gatland had made the cardinal error of selecting a player as captain who is not guaranteed his Test place.

Those misgivings were reinforced in their minds when Warburton looked short of peak fitness against the Reds last weekend, making little or no allowance for the fact that the Welsh openside had not played a match for seven weeks due to a knee ligament strain.

Now they will have to beat a tactical retreat, because Warburton nailed his captaincy credentials to the mast with a command performance at the Sydney Football Stadium.

His strength over the ball kept the Lions on the front foot at the breakdowns, where he won a couple of turnovers and was noteworthy as the sharpest forward on the pitch when it came to snapping up anything loose.

Add to that a try-saving tackle on Drew Mitchell as the highlight of a strong-arm showing in defence, and the ability to keep the ball alive in attack, and Warburton’s critics did not have any pegs left on which to hang their doubts.

Their contention is that Justin Tipuric is the man to wear the Test No.7 jersey because he has been the form player of the tour. As for the captaincy, they argue that it should have gone to one of the Irish veterans, Brian O’Driscoll or Paul O’Connell, who have both captained the Lions already – in the series defeats in 2005 (New Zealand) and 2009 (South Africa).

What the Warburton-bashers have overlooked is that O’Connell came into the tour having played very little rugby this season, while O’Driscoll showed distinct signs of wear and tear during a downbeat Six Nations campaign.

I take issue with Tipuric’s billing as the form player of the tour. He has played well, but that title belongs to either Mako Vunipola or George North. Furthermore, when you look at the quality of the opposition Tipuric has played well against, the case for him gazumping Warburton does not stack up.

The Ospreys No.7 has been good against mediocre opposition, like the 59-8 walkover against the Barbarians, or the 64-0 training run against Combined Country. But outstanding? No.

Furthermore, Warburton’s showing against the Reds was encouraging for someone who had been on the sidelines, and the idea that he should be passed over for Test selection because he got a lactic acid build-up when he was presented with a try-scoring chance from 35 metres after tracking a North break is absurd.

Warburton gave a decent account of himself in the most competitive match of the tour, and one that was played at a blistering pace in the first half. Having had a second run against the Waratahs, in another tough encounter, the skipper showed that he is up to speed for the first Test.

Tipuric is a fine player, especially when it comes to support play and linking in a loose game, but Warburton is a stronger force at the tackle and the breakdown – and is also no slouch when the ball goes wide. An additional factor is that Warburton is substantially the more experienced Test openside with over double the number of caps for Wales – 38 compared to Tipuric’s 15 – and he is well-versed with what is needed to beat the Wallabies after last summer’s Welsh tour of Australia.

Once Warburton has done the hard yards against the Wallaby back row, Gatland has the luxury of having Tipuric on the bench as an impact rover.

Warburton’s critics have got ahead of themselves. In Telfer’s case this may reflect his unhappy experience as Lions coach in 1983 when the selection of the Irish hooker, Ciaran Fitzgerald, as captain caused a serious rift in the camp.

Fitzgerald was not considered to be worth his place in the Test team by many of the players, mainly because his throwing-in became terminally inaccurate. There is no parallel to be drawn with Warburton, with none of his critics pin-pointing what exactly the weakness in his game is meant to be.

However, the Warburton–Tipuric debate has strong similarities with the one that embroiled the victorious 1989 Lions captain, Finlay Calder. The craggy Scottish openside was hampered early on by a hamstring injury, and was struggling to find his best form in the build-up to the first Test against Australia.

It did not take long for Calder’s credentials to be called into question, with England’s Andy Robinson, who was playing well, touted as the right choice to wear the Test No.7 jersey. Coach Ian McGeechan stuck with his captain, and Calder’s side went on to claim the series.

Calder had more build-up games than Warburton to work with, and that is what makes selection on this tour such a difficult job. However, the Waratahs game has confirmed that Gatland will stand by his man, and, with Warburton rising to the challenge again, rightly so.

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Tagged British and Irish Lions, Nick Cain, Sam Warburton