Super 12 ?key to success

The All Blacks coaches say their series victory should silence the critics of the Super 12, but the Lions maintain they still have the best competition in world rugby. Coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen said the Super 12, branded as powder puff rugby by some British scribes, was the crucial basis for their series-clinching 48-18 second test victory Saturday night. "This is what we do in the Super 12, this is how we play the game. It's an athletic game and this is the ideal breeding ground to play this type of rugby," Henry said. "People have got to realise that it gets a lot of criticism but it's great for developing athleticism and skill." Hansen, along with Henry a former coach of Wales, always believed the Super 12 was valuable to New Zealand rugby despite the often high-scoring matches and questionable defence. "If you get told enough by (British journalist) Stephen Jones, some people might believe it. I've never believed him," Hansen said. "Sometimes you win games by 30 points. "That's why everyone up north bags the Super 12 but some of those games get away from teams." But Lions and England fullback Josh Lewsey begged to differ. He said the European competition was still the best in the world and encouraged open, running rugby. "Everyone gets very melodramatic when we get convincingly beaten like we did tonight and look for reasons why," Lewsey said. "The Heineken Cup is the best non-international competition in the world. "(Champions) Toulouse played some of the best rugby in the competition, Wales won the Six Nations because they were the most adventurous side, England won the World Cup on the basis of two years beforehand they were playing the most adventurous, attacking football. "I don't think there's any issue in terms of competitions and skill level." Lewsey said they had no answer to the All Blacks' onslaught. "We threw everything at them and we weren't good enough. Everyone came off the field exhausted, but we were beaten by a better side." Lions coach Clive Woodward was criticised for ignoring many of the Grand Slam-winning Welsh team for the first test, instead choosing 13 England players. He addressed the balance slightly with six Welshmen and six Englishmen in his starting lineup last night, and Henry said his former team were still setting the benchmark for the Lions. "If you look at the Welsh and the way they played, I think there's a message there," Henry said. "They played superbly in the Six Nations, they used the ball a lot." ? NZPA