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British & Irish Lions

Dan Biggar: Lions need to ‘fire more shots’ if they
are to win third Test

Robert Kitson in Cape Town

Fri 6 Aug 2021 22.00 BST

T
he bigger the game the more Dan Biggar likes it. Nor does anyone need to
tell him what the Lions must seek to do if they intend to win the all-
important third Test. “We’re very much aware we’ve got to fire a few
more shots than we did last weekend,” says the fly-half whose tactical
decisions will be pivotal to the series outcome.

As Biggar makes clear, though, that does not mean scrapping every aspect of the
Lions’ gameplan and starting completely afresh. It means taking greater advantage
of the opportunities that do arise and not allowing South Africa to dictate the
game’s pace as they did last week. “It’s about making sure we’re a bit more positive
and take a few more chances but without going out there, playing sevens rugby and
inviting a load of pressure on.”

Given Biggar threw a princely total of only three passes during

his time on the field in the second Test, “playing more rugby” may yet prove a
relative concept in a suffocatingly tight series such as this. But lurking on the bench
this week is Finn Russell, specifically picked for this tour to weave the occasional bit
of magic. As Biggar is honest enough to admit – “Finn offers something a little bit
different from myself and Owen [Farrell] in terms of keeping defences guessing” –
the Scot can unpick locks that he and Farrell cannot.

For the first 40 or 50 minutes, though, it will be Biggar in charge of the tool box. So
far he has had a decent but not outstanding series and knows precisely where the
Lions fell short in the second Test. “We’re very much aware we lost control of that
game, probably in that second half when they strangled it. We’d like to think we can
fire a few more shots and we’ve prepped all week for that in terms of looking to be
positive. That’s the plan this weekend: to really showcase what we’re about.”

That said, after 13 punishing years of international rugby and 92 caps for Wales, the
31-year-old also appreciates just how crucial dynamism and discipline are to
facilitating backline momentum. As it happens, six of the seven Lions backs for the
final Test – Ali Price is the exception – also started the eve-of-departure game
against Japan at Murrayfield and, tactically, little has changed. “When you get to
cup finals or big games like this, very rarely do you see lots of champagne rugby. It’s
about coming out on the right side of the scoreboard, however you do it. If I’m
honest, we wouldn’t have given a monkey’s if we’d come out on the right side of the
scoreboard last weekend.

“We’ve been challenged this week about our contact area and how physical we can
be. Discipline is also huge. Those two things have been top of the list in terms of
what we have been driving. Look at that first Test: I think we gave them four
lineouts and conceded eight or nine penalties. Last Saturday we gave away 17 or 18
penalties and free-kicks which obviously adds up to a lot of lineouts as well.”

And as kick-off creeps closer there will also be an entirely natural desire to give
Warren Gatland and Alun Wyn Jones a fitting send-off as they prepare to bow out of
the gladiatorial Lions arena after four largely successful tours apiece. Biggar,
though, knows both men very well and suspects that Jones, in particular, will have
scant time for such romantic niceties.

“If that was the chat among the group, then Al’s the type who
would squash that pretty quickly and make sure it is about the team and winning on
Saturday. That’s far more important than anything about him. That’s the way he has
played his whole career. It’s pretty scary really … to go 12 consecutive Lions Tests on
the bounce, on top of everything else he has achieved, is some effort. He deserves
every accolade he gets but he is very much a team man first.”

Gatland’s reputation is also already secure – “His legacy is on his CV; that speaks
enough for itself” – but Biggar concedes he and his teammates still need to etch
 themselves into Lions legend. “You look at the great Lions, they’ve all been series
winners. For us it’s about making sure we try to add our names to that list. It’s been
a tough eight weeks, with Covid and no fans, family or friends allowed to come out.
For us to come back with a series win would make it worthwhile.”

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