John Drake: Tourists produced excuses, but few tries

Reflecting on the Lions tour raised a number of issues.

The obvious one is that the Lions, for a number of reasons, have under-achieved and never really put the All Blacks under concerted pressure.

At various times, they were unhappy with the local referees, touch judges, the New Zealand media, their injuries, the lack of game time to repair injuries and cheating by the All Blacks.

I believe they came with an attitude of dominating set pieces and playing for territory, but found that - Manawatu aside - all teams encountered were competitive at set piece and annoyingly abrasive at the ruck and maul.

Let's be honest, aside from the first 40 minutes in Christchurch, no team dominated the Lions for territory and possession. Statistics showed there was never much in it.

Where the Lions struggled and their opponents - particularly the Maori and All Blacks - excelled in is what they did with the possession.

These Lions were unable to use the ball to any great effect, and while their defence was strong, they conceded too many tries in the tests.

The All Blacks scored 12 tries to three and while the Lions will claim they were unlucky with the bounce of the ball, the nine-try differential was a bit more than luck.

Why couldn't the Lions convert more possession into points? Probably a mix of individual skill, organisation and just a willingness to have a go. Maybe the Super 12 has some good points?

Can the Home Nations turn these matters around? Of course, and I think it will happen sooner rather than latter.

Despite all the spin, the lessons will be learned, noted and changes made - just as New Zealand seems to have improved their much- maligned set pieces.

The All Blacks, like the Lions, suffered injuries to key players during the series, but you always had the feeling that they had the edge mentally, physically and technically.

The selectors were bold in some of their selections and the series has further improved the depth in certain positions.

The team will not be happy with some of the discipline.

Even without the pedantic touch judges, they will not get away playing with only 14 men for 20 minutes a match.

They were also found out at lineout for too many numbers, and the penalty count was too high for a team that prides itself on accuracy and concentration.

Still, I am being very picky. The progress has been excellent and we should have confidence going into the Tri-Nations.

Looking at the squad for the series, there is a mix of surprise as to who has been included and those not wanted.

Doug Howlett makes way for Joe Rocokoko, who, the word is, showed better form with the Junior All Blacks than in the Super 12.

Howlett is trying hard and has experience on his side. I feel he hasn't played his last All Black game and the rest may do him more good than playing.

Ma'a Nonu is not required and maybe the selectors feel he is better off getting more game time with Wellington rather than the occasional cameo as a sub.

Piri Weepu wins the second halfback spot over the likes of Steve Devine due to his good work last November in Europe and his form against the Lions for Wellington and the Maori.

He is physically similar to Justin Marshall and this may be a pointer as to the type of player the selectors are looking for in this area.

Graham Henry and his fellow selectors have probably conceded that they need a fulltime backup to Ritchie McCaw.

Using Rodney So'oialo as a No 7 when defending upset the balance of the loose forward trio.

I doubt the Australians and Springboks will be as generous as the Lions in the loose, hence Marty Holah's recall, and I expect him to get a lot of game time in the Tri-Nations.

The inclusion of Auckland prop John Afoa is quite interesting. Afoa has figured in a number of age group teams and has been around the Super 12 for a while.

My impression of his current form is that he's excellent around the park - particularly in defence, but he's also pretty handy with the ball in hand - and has a lot of pace for a big man.

His line work is good, although both the Blues and Auckland have not been too consistent in this area.

The aspect which may cause most concern is scrum time. For my money, Afoa was caught too high a number of times during the Super 12, and was again exposed by Tony Woodcock in the All Black trial.

The man Afoa replaces, Campbell Johnstone, is strong and consistent at the scrum but may need to develop his game around the paddock.

I think Afoa is in the squad to further improve the depth at tighthead prop.

Mike Cron, the All Blacks' scrum specialist, will become his shadow for the next six weeks, for if Afoa can sort this part of his game out, his potential may be better than Johnstone's.

Either way, Henry and co continue to tweak the greater squad and grow the depth and experience while maintaining consistency and pattern of selection.