Wednesday 7 September 2016 17:07, UK
Stuart Barnes says that attack is the best form of defence for the British and Irish Lions when they take on New Zealand in 2017.
Warren Gatland is very excited and as a Kiwi he knows better than most of us the challenge of winning in New Zealand. As someone who has coached the Lions to success and to failure, he knows what it means this side of the equator as well.
The other thing with Gatland is that there is a sense of challenge. I asked him if he felt New Zealand were getting further and further away from the rest of the rugby world. He said yes they are and there is no doubt about that. Compared to the Lions' success in Australia, Gatland knows that winning in New Zealand would dwarf it - it would dwarf any achievement in his coaching capacity.
I have been a big critic of Gatland for some time - I feel that Wales have been very one dimensional and that they have not always capitalised on the talent they have at their disposal. What interested me was the relatively expansive rugby they played in New Zealand on their summer tour.
Initially as an analyst you think that the only way to beat New Zealand is to close them down. However, Gatland has taken the positive approach. He was of the opinion that they (New Zealand) had moved the goalposts so fast that you could not just shut them down - you had to play rugby against them.
Two weeks ago I would have said 'keep it tight' but lately I have been coming around to his way of thinking and that you are going to have to give players like George North a lot of ball.
I have had issues tactically with him but he is an excellent coach as far as man management goes. He stimulates his own players and raises doubts in the opposition. This All Blacks side don't look like a team that doubt themselves very much but Gatland as a Kiwi understands psychologically how to press buttons.
Gatland talked about going out with the players and that is something that a lot of coaches don't feel comfortable doing as they think it is amateur.
Warren is not afraid to go out and have a couple of beers with his players - you think back to England's 2015 World Cup and Billy Vunipola's criticism that they were cordoned off, had no fun and did not come together as a team.
I know from being a Lion in 1993 how critical it is to bind it all together. Four nations will come together as one but if things are going wrong, what you will find is divisions. Under Gatland I don't think we will see that.
England in the driving seat?
It is too early to say where the core of Lions players will come from. It was interesting that Gatland name-checked England's achievements in winning a Grand Slam and more importantly their Australia tour.
The capacity to win in the southern hemisphere is something we in the north don't know very well. That three-nil win is significant even if Australia are not the All Blacks, so right now I would say that the English contingent would have a head start.
As far as coaching staff go, I am fascinated by Gregor Townsend but with him having just taken a job with the SRU it will be a difficult one.
In my chat with Gatland the name Schmidt came up. I think that Joe Schmidt is an out and out No 1 and they don't often make very good No 2s. However, Gatland is not discounting him and I think it will be more as to whether Schmidt discounts himself.
Watch what the Lions will be up against this Saturday when New Zealand take on Argentina, 8am Sky Sports 3 HD. Catch the match for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass.
