From lineout to Lions out, this was a catastrophe

The Lions will spend most of this week trying to fix a lineout that was less reliable than a 1970s Skoda.

The Lions lost eight of their 13 throws, partly because of poor calls, poor communication, poor throws and partly because of the brilliant interference run by Ali Williams and Chris Jack.

Both Sir Clive Woodward and his assistant coach Andy Robinson viewed the lineout as a key factor in the Lions loss.

"Our communication was wrong on a few occasions," said Robinson. "There were a couple of times Ali Williams got in the air and we had poor lifts and poor calls. It might have been a bit of a different story if we had been able to put some pressure on them.

"I thought Williams and Jack both had outstanding games. Each of them seemed to be able to move before we threw the ball in."

But it won't just be the lineout that needs serious rethinking. The Lions were out-fought and outplayed in each and every department.

Their cause was certainly not helped by the early loss of tour skipper Brian O'Driscoll, nor by the fact that the influential Richard Hill followed him off a few minutes later.

There had been further bad news for the Lions earlier in the day when Welsh midfielder-cum-winger, Tom Shanklin, was also ruled out of the tour with a stiff knee.

Woodward said the injuries will mean he will reassess his selection for the Wellington test.

"We will wait until the morning before we review the game. But we will be forced to make changes for next week because of the injuries.

"I felt coming into the game I had got the selection right. We picked a pack which we felt was a strong scrummaging pack and a strong lineout pack. But obviously I got it wrong."

How the Lions go around fixing their problems will be a source of fascination. They are supposedly the best-prepared team to ever grace the famous red jersey, yet their lineout was a shambles.

How they can fix that in the space of a week is a mystery. Maybe Danny Grewcock has to start. He's a rugged beast and a proven performer in the toughest tests.

And maybe Steve Thompson, too, has to be given the nod. His throwing has been suspect all tour but it can't be a lot worse than Shane Byrne's.