Wednesday 31 May 2017 20:09, UK
Jonny Wilkinson has warned the British and Irish Lions to keep things simple or face a repeat of the calamitous 2005 tour to New Zealand, which he described as "like chaos I'd never seen before".
Wilkinson and his team-mates were beaten 3-0 in the Test series 12 years ago on a widely criticised tour under the leadership of 2003 World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward.
The Lions arrived in Auckland on Wednesday and face the Provincial Barbarians on Saturday in the first match of the gruelling six-week series which includes the three Tests against the All Blacks, with the entire series live on Sky Sports.
Wilkinson was forthright in his assessment of the failings from 2005 and urged head coach Warren Gatland and the Lions squad of 2017 to construct an effective and coherent strategy.
"[With England] we were so together and sure of each other that we just dealt with it," Wilkinson said. "A couple of years later we were there with a full squad of amazing guys from all different teams packed into the Lions, went out for the first Test and it was like chaos I'd never seen before.
"England were able to deal with it just because of that glue that comes from being sure of who you are and what you are doing. But with 15 men and all that build-up in 2005 I'd never seen such chaos. We had 12 of us in rucks at times. We were literally all over the place.
"They pulled us apart. At times I was defending against five people. I was just picking one and thinking: 'You're getting it.' As soon as I saw the pass leave the hand I just had to guess. I remember twice choosing the right bloke and whacking into them.
"How many times in rugby now do you see a five or six-man overlap? Never. There were four or five in that first Test in the first half. It was pissing down with rain and windy as well. New Zealand were doing well but even they were thinking: 'What's happening here?'"
The Lions squad set off for New Zealand just 48 hours after Exeter beat Wasps in the Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham and Scarlets' victory over Munster in the Guinness PRO12 Final.
In the first training camp in Wales there were only 14 players present and, while there were 30 the week after in Ireland, Gatland had access to all 41 of his squad on only two occasions before Monday's departure - the kitting out session and Sunday's farewell dinner.
Wilkinson, the former Newcastle Falcons and Toulon star, has therefore urged Gatland to keep his game plan as simple as possible.
"The Lions have to be absolutely clear. They need to have fewer things to do but be absolutely clear on each of them," he said. "Then they can break out of that from time to time and do amazing stuff.
"[Gatland's role] is about bringing them together. In that short space of time it is about understanding general principles, choosing combinations and then feeding the energy so the guys are ready to go.
"They don't need to know that if he runs that line, it goes behind him and then we should be able to get the offload away. If the guys go into the game with a very solid platform but excited about attack then I think they will do incredible things. If they go in with a complicated plan I think they will get pulled apart."
Catch all the action from this historic series live only on Sky Sports.
