View from New Zealand by Roger Windle (From Penarth Times)

View from New Zealand by Roger Windle

MOST of the talk following last weekend"s first test has concentrated on the unsavoury departure of Brian O"Driscoll, but I had the uneasy feeling that this was a ploy on the part of Woodward and his spin doctor Alistair Campbell to deflect attention away from the inept performance of the Lions.

Yes, it was off-the-ball and reckless, and yes, to lose your captain in the first minute of the game is going to cause problems, but did it really affect the outcome of the match?

I think not.

The Lions were outplayed in every facet of the game, and in conditions that should have suited the larger and less mobile forwards in red, rather than the All Blacks.

Despite the poor showing in most of the games leading up to the first test, Woodward remained supremely confident in both his selection and pre-match strategy.

In his own words, this was the best-prepared Lions team ever.

The fact that he had silenced his critics by winning the World Cup with England meant that everyone gave him the benefit of the doubt.

So when he filled the side with ageing English stars of yesteryear while ignoring the claims of some in-form players like Henson and Shane Williams, when he played a number of players out of position, and when he gave the test team little real game time together in order to ensure that they stayed fresh and that every member of his inflated squad got a run, everyone just thought "Clive knows what he"s doing".

The All Blacks" demolition job last Saturday changed all that.

Woodward has seemingly admitted some of his mistakes with the changes he has made for the second test in Wellington.

The completely new back row looks a lot more mobile, the inclusion of O"Callaghan and Thompson will hopefully improve the lineouts (can they get any worse?) and Henson and Williams coming in should inject some pace and flair into the backline.

So can the Lions come back and square the series?

I would love to think so, and it would set up a brilliant decider in Auckland, but I seriously doubt whether the Lions have the players who can match the awesome power, precision and skill levels of the All Blacks if they play anything like they did in Christchurch.

On the other hand, if the weather improves and the All Blacks have a bad day, you just never know.

And win or lose, you can guarantee that the Barmy Army headquarters on the Auckland Viaduct (where I spent last Saturday night) will host another huge party.

*Roger Windle is a Vale exile who lives in New Zealand. He"s keeping readers up-to-date with all the goings-on surrounding the British Lions tour. He moved out to Auckland in 1994 and has lived there since. He has a Kiwi wife Kylie, and two daughters Rhianna Cerys and Amelia Megan. Don"t miss Roger"s weekly column, in your Penarth Times.