Latest Lions call-ups 'a big carrot' for Scotland squad
Rather than dwell on Scotland's depleted resources, Horne suggested: "It was nice - it gave a bit of energy to our meeting this morning. Obviously, all the boys were delighted."Gregor made a really good point in the meeting. Look at what Ben did at the weekend there. He had a cracking game. He put himself right in the mix for potentially getting involved in some Test rugby."And there's no reason that our guys can't go over there and make a quick impression and, before you know it, you can play a critical part in the Lions series. So it's exciting for them."It's another little reminder to some of our boys as well. A lot can change in a week. A lot can change in a couple of days. So there's still a big carrot there for some of our fellows as well that are playing on Friday night."Indeed, Graham's Lions call came three days after being sent off in Scotland's 29-14 defeat by Fiji and he is now part of Andy Farrell's squad only after being cleared of suspension following a disciplinary meeting.Horne recalled that "we were all gutted for Darcy" when the Edinburgh wing was deemed unfortunate to miss out on the initial squad."Everyone loves him," he said. "We all know what he can do and how he's a world-class player - and we were devastated he didn't make it."But he was really cool. I'm sure he'll be straight into training as soon as he lands and showing everyone just what he's all about. And he can end up having a big part to play."Scotland's loss in Fiji was a major setback to their hopes of rising the one place needed in the World Rugby rankings to secure a top-six seeding in December's World Cup draw."It's not something we've kind of focused on too much so far, to be honest," Horne said. "We were all gutted with the result and the manner of the defeat. There's also nothing worse than finishing a tour and finishing the season off the back of a defeat, so everyone will be desperate to right some wrongs and go well this weekend."It'll be cool playing at Eden Park. We've never won there before either, so I'm not sure if that's something that we'll maybe dip into later in the week."
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Dallaglio, Back and Hill. Nonu and Smith. Gregan and Larkham. These are some of the most memorable combinations of the professional era. Together, they helped to turn great teams into world-beaters. And it is no coincidence that the teams who have dominated the world stage have been built around consistent partnerships. It makes total sense. Players need to be clear on their game plan, they need to be able to predict what their team-mates may do in certain situations and they need to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. Such combinations, however, take time to grow. They require an assortment of shared experiences and they need to have felt and learnt through adversity. Referees are no different. They need to have an agreed philosophy on how a match should be officiated. They need to agree when a TMO should, and perhaps more importantly, when a TMO should not, get involved. It requires the team of officials to know each other inside out, so when they are under the microscope of the rugby world and performing in front of thousands, they don't have to second-guess each other when under pressure – they just know. And there is no more pressure for a rugby referee than during a Lions series as the past two have shown. During the 2021 series against South Africa, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus posted a 62-minute rant online about what he perceived to be refereeing inconsistencies. That rant not only led to him being banned for two months from all rugby activities, but it also led to Nic Berry, the referee, stating 'that regardless of the outcome and any sanctions imposed, my reputation as a referee and person will forever be tarnished.' Late in the third Lions Test in Auckland in 2017, Romain Poite awarded a penalty to the All Blacks when replacement hooker Ken Owens caught the ball in an offside position from the restart. 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This was number one versus two in the world, and had been talked up as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup final less than a year later. When it was announced I would be refereeing the match, I was obviously delighted, but couldn't believe that I had been paired with an Irish TMO that I had never worked with before. And to cap it off, Tom Foley, the English TMO, who I had worked with for years and who I had built a wonderful rapport with, was in Scotland working as a TMO for an Irish referee. It didn't make sense, and it definitely didn't set us up with the best chance of success. Following this year's European Champions Cup final, one journalist suggested the TMO almost completely took over the match and 'was on top of every slight spill'. And that, in a nutshell, is why match officials need to know each other inside out, so they can all be comfortable with not having a perfect game. Their perfect game will mean more whistle, more scrums and less rugby. A TMO needs to be clear that their role is not to analyse every possible knock-on, or every potential forward pass, but just to get the big calls right. Unless match officials work together regularly, how do they know what is a big decision for one and what is a TMO taking over the match for another? And there lies my concern. Before the first Test, Andy Farrell will be making decisions around the best combinations. But the four match officials have not all been in Australia honing their team. Ben O'Keeffe and Richard Kelly were officiating Fiji v Scotland in Suva last weekend while Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli – who will referee Tests two and three respectively – refereed the match between the Lions and the Invitational Australia and New Zealand side. O'Keeffe, Piardi and Amashukeli are excellent referees, but they all have a slightly different style and a slightly different way in which they interact with the TMO. They will work hard in the week leading up to the first Test in Brisbane, but they won't be purring like the Nonu-Smith partnership. It's also interesting that, unlike in 2017 and 2021, rather than using a single TMO, World Rugby has decided to appoint three different individuals. Kelly, will be followed by the Frenchman, Eric Gauzins and then Marius Jonker from South Africa will take over in the box for the third and final Test, meaning that the consistency fans want, and expect, may not be there. I was at my best when I had people around me who knew me inside out, knew our game plan and knew when or when not to get involved in the game. That took years of discussions, hundreds of hours in reviewing meetings. The officials will already be working hard to ensure they are aligned and connected come kick-off for the first Test on July 19. But I fear they may not have enough time together to cover all of the possible scenarios that a Lions series could throw up and perform to their best.
