Ruthless Larder full of tricks

It's tempting to say that Lions defensive guru Phil Larder will leave these shores cast in the unfamiliar role of villain. It's tempting, too, to say the defensive structure he's imposed on the Lions will be found wanting.

But caution is required - the former Great Britain rugby league team coach is one of life's winners and one of the game's best strategists.

Sir Clive Woodward hired Larder as England defence coach in 1997 and has stuck with the Lancastrian for almost a decade because they agree on the blueprint for success.

Neither is a big believer in compromising. Their dedication to be the best is relentless.

When England were in their prime between 2001 and 2003, they were probably the most organised and ruthless defensive side the game has seen.

As a result of England's impregnable white blanket, Larder was taken on the 2001 Lions tour of Australia. His mission was to make the Lions just as efficient.

It was a huge ask. England's players took four years to master the system, the Lions only had weeks.

We'll never know what has been going on behind the screens at Onewa Domain, but limited intelligence gathered so far points to training being varied and balanced, with no session longer than 75 minutes.

While that has no doubt helped generate a more harmonised camp, it does raise other issues.

If the 2001 Lions couldn't master a defensive system that they worked on for hours each day, can they really come to grips with it under this more sympathetic regime?

And, perhaps more pertinently, is it the right system to use at all?

Former England and Lions utility back Austin Healey has his doubts.

Larder's system requires the defensive line to be set by a forward either side of the tackled ball area. They get in very tight to the breakdown, with everyone else coming in very close after that. The defence comes up and then out, meaning the space is on the touchlines.

Healey worries there is too much onus on the wide men to close the space. Against Taranaki, the Lions had no problems and defended expertly. But given the way the All Blacks created width against Fiji, Healey is probably right to worry.

Twice the All Blacks used Sitiveni Sivivatu as a decoy first receiver while Tana Umaga hugged the left touchline. The purpose was to fix the Fijian midfield, with flat, wide passes and dummy runners.

It was done with the Lions in mind. If the All Blacks can keep the Lions' inside defenders pegged just for a second, they will leave the wide men defending a lot more space than they would like. And good luck to any wing who reckons he can give Sivivatu a few metres.

All Black assistant coach Wayne Smith hinted afterwards that there is plenty more to come and was relaxed about showing what proved to be a highly effective move.

"It's just one play we have got. You have to go into these games and try things for your timing and confidence. There is not much point hiding everything away."

Healey has his own ideas as to how the Lions could counter the All Blacks, possibly stretching the gap between defenders. A more radical ploy would be to adopt the umbrella rush used so effectively by the Springboks last year.

While it carries more risk, the Boks showed the logic of getting in the face of the All Black playmakers.

Larder and Woodward have total faith in what they are doing. They will back their system and back their players to execute it.

Against Taranaki they were occasionally fragile when runners cut back inside but earned the praise of Blues and Auckland defensive mastermind, David Nucifora.

"They have not had a lot of time to come together and face the challenge of bringing four different systems together. We are not going to see the best of them yet. But I think we will see them develop into a formidable unit."

The Lions will also look to strengthen their defensive ability by getting a nudge on at scrum time. That will deter the All Blacks from passing wide and flat. And they will compete at the lineout to again disrupt the quality of delivery to the All Black backs.

Their defensive trump card will be keeping the ball for as long as they can. By the time you work through all the strategies and counter-strategies, its tempting to believe Larder will travel back to Blighty as the all-conquering hero.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY