Detroit Lions

Lions coach Gatland faces reckoning in 2nd test

Published Jun. 29, 2017 2:34 a.m. ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) No one has more to lose in Saturday's second rugby test between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions than Lions coach Warren Gatland.

While Gatland made his coaching reputation in the northern hemisphere with Ireland, then Wales and the Lions, he could lose it in his native New Zealand if his team loses the second test and with it the three-test series.

Gatland guided the Lions to a 2-1 series win in Australia in 2013, but it is the current series for which he is most likely to be remembered and Saturday's test which will shape his legacy.

If the Lions can win, turning around their 30-15 first-test loss in Auckland, the series stays alive and Gatland has the chance to join Carwyn James as the coach of a series-winning Lions team in New Zealand.

If the Lions lose, the magnitude of the defeat in one of the most prestigious series in world rugby could outweigh Gatland's many achievements which include leading Wales to four Six Nations titles.

Gatland has never coached a team to victory over the All Blacks and has never faced a more urgent need to do so than in the Wellington match on Saturday.

On Thursday, Gatland again made a captaincy change, reinstating tour captain Sam Warburton who didn't start in the first test at Eden Park because of fitness issues and dropping Irishman Peter O'Mahony, who led the Lions last weekend.

In a larger gamble, he named Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell at flyhalf and inside center, though they have played fleetingly in that combination on tour, when Farrell took the field as a replacement during the Lions' win over the Crusaders.

The consequent omission of powerful inside center Ben Te'o points strongly to a change of tactics from the Lions on Saturday.

Te'o was a proponent of ''Warrenball,'' the style for which Gatland is best known which involves the use of powerful ball-carriers in midfield. By selecting Farrell at inside center, Gatland has foreshadowed a tactical shift, giving the Lions a third kicking option and broadening its ability to feed runners on attack.

Maro Itoje has been named a lock as the Lions attempt to match the All Blacks' physicality, which they failed to do in the first test, and Warburton returns to help them slow New Zealand's ball at breakdowns.

Sexton and Farrell ''haven't started together but they have had quite a bit of time together and the combination against the Crusaders was good. They had a bit of time last weekend as well,'' Gatland said Thursday.

''It's just given us two ball players, two kicking options on the right foot at first and second receiver and the left foot options with Jonathan Davies and Elliot Daly as well. We're aware of how physical the All Blacks were (in Auckland) and we have to match that physicality as well.''

The only changes to New Zealand's lineup have been forced on it by injuries to fullback Ben Smith and center Ryan Crotty. Waisake Naholo will start on the right wing, Anton Lienert-Brown at center and Israel Dagg will move from wing to fullback to preserve the All Blacks' security under the high ball.

There will be no change to New Zealand's fundamental game plan - the parts of its squad are interchangeable and the personnel and positional changes won't force a change of style.

Head coach Steve Hansen expects the Lions to change tactics which may cause the All Blacks to rethink elements of their own game.

''The big thing that they will look to change is the breakdown,'' Hansen said. ''I think they will be a lot more competitive in there. (But) we hold the advantage. We're one test, but but they're going to chuck everything at us to stay alive.''

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Lineups:

New Zealand: Israel Dagg, Waisake Naholo, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read (captain), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, T.J. Perenara, Aaron Cruden, Ngani Laumape.

British and Irish Lions: Liam Williams, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Davies, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Taulupe Faletau, Sean O'Brien, Sam Warburton (captain), Alun Wyn Jones, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Furlong, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola. Reserves: Ken Owens, Jack McGrath, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes, C.J. Stander, Rhys Webb, Ben Te'o, Jack Nowell.