Waching daily Jun 27 2017

UK media take aim at Warren Gatland after his limited use of the bench

UK media have taken aim at Warren Gatland for his lack of use of his bench in the British and Irish Lions 31-31 draw with the Hurricanes in Wellington on Tuesday.

Gatland made just three substitutions during the match - one of which was a temporary replacement of Dan Biggar for a concussion test in the first half.

An injury to Robbie Henshaw forced a change in the first half, while most believed he pulled Courtney Lawes off in the 53rd minute as a sign that a test call up is coming his way.

The Times Stephen Jones believed Gatlands inaction was the reason they ended up settling for a draw with his column title Dithering Warren Gatland costs Lions an easy win.

It was the day when Warren Gatlands replacements policy, executed perfectly until now, fell apart. He was correct with the numbers and the players he took from the Welsh and Scotland teams touring nearby to protect his test team, he wrote.

But today, the Lions second-string were playing their last games of a brutal season, they had the game won, but with most of them struggling and exhausted and with Iain Henderson in the bin, Gatland left six fresh players, all desperate for action, on the bench.

All were of test class, all had played good test rugby, and they were left kicking their heels as the Lions on the field slowed.

Instead, he let the starters, shattered, settle for a draw and the home team scored twice inside a few minutes.. ESPNs Tom Hamilton put Gatlands limited use of the bench down to his unwillingness to cap his injury call-ups.

​Players impressed, but by the end of the game, the Lions were nursing weary legs.

Warren Gatland again decided to use the geography six only when his hand was forced and as the Hurricanes got on the front foot and started to play their razzle-dazzle rugby, the Lions failed to cope with the tempo..

And it was a similar issue taken up by The Telegraphs Giles Mole.

Warren Gatland courted controversy when he brought in a handful of Welsh players to bolster his squad based on geography rather than ability. Against the Hurricanes, he put them all on the bench. and didnt use a single one, he wrote.

This was a sensational game of rugby, aggressive, attritional, and at the final whistle there were bodies strewn across the field.

This was a game that called for fresh legs, impact off the bench, with a moral-boosting victory there for the taking for the Lions.

But Gatland clearly didnt trust his bench to deliver and so the starting XV, save for Courtney Lawes and those who went off injured, had to play the full 80 minutes..