The Lions train in Queenstown after a day off before the third test at Eden Park. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The Lions train in Queenstown after a day off before the third test at Eden Park. Photo / Brett Phibbs
International rugby teams run on routine. The players are creatures of habit, firmly so and like most simple beasts, they don't react so well when they are taken out of their environment.
The British & Irish Lions have decided to test this theory and instead of asking their players to churn through the same routines of train, rest, recover, train, they have decided to take the cork out a little and let some of the pressure off.
They headed to Queenstown after their second test victory, with a pre-determined view that by the last week of the tour, their troops would benefit from a lighter, more relaxed week where there was less emphasis on physical training and more time spent mentally recharging for what is now the biggest week in recent Lions history.
In theory it makes sense. Most of the players have been on the go for 11 months.
Physically they don't need any more training. Physically, they need to be more concerned about recovery than they do loading the legs with too much running.
Mentally, they surely will benefit from a bit of jet boating, jolly lovely scenery and some fresh, clean winter air. Didn't the British build their Empire on such Victorian principles that a chap could conquer the world on the back of a hearty breakfast, brisk morning constitutional and an appreciation of the finer things in life?
Perhaps, but as much as the get away from it all concept stacks in theory, history shows it has been a disastrous idea in practice.
Think back to 1999 and the decision by the All Blacks to head to the South of France ahead of their World Cup semifinal in London.
There were pictures of the players horsing around in the Mediterranean, clearly having a bit of down time in the playground of the rich and famous, and six days later there were pictures of the All Blacks, distraught, defeated and demoralised at Twickenham after losing to a French side who had been utterly hopeless until that day.
Everyone could connect the dots between the two scenarios and wonder whether the trip to Cannes had been the right decision.
Again, at the 2007 World Cup, the All Blacks had a few planned days off in Aix en Provence and again, they were photographed taking in the cultural delights, only to be photographed in a similar state of distress to 1999 after, again, losing to France a few days later in the quarter-final.
Or what about England at the 2011 World Cup?
They beat Argentina in their opening game in Dunedin and then headed to Queenstown for a few days light relief which became infamously devoted to a colossal night on the sauce and the subsequent arrival of the UK paparazzi and tabloid brigade to get to the bottom of what really happened.
It ruined England's campaign - they were out by the quarter-finals - and led to the coach being fired and an enormous review that effectively killed a few playing careers.
Sticking to the tried and tested typical test match routine seems to be the best way to go. It seems that it is a mistake to overestimate the ability of players to move away from routine.
Something new is something strange and if you give players the impression that they are being encouraged to relax, they tend to find it hard to rekindle their mental intensity.
They tend to also interpret an invitation to relax as an invitation to come off the rails.
The All Blacks relax with a game of golf at Aix' Marseille Golf Course during the 2007 World Cup. Brett Phibbs.
The Lions have, without question, taken a risk with their preparation strategy. If they win, it was the right thing to do.
If they lose, however, those pictures of captain Sam Warburton jet boating will come back to haunt the Lions.
The UK media will find it too easy to create the narrative of defeat as frolicking Lions in Queenstown and austere dedicated All Blacks training the house down in Auckland.
The All Blacks have learned, through painful defeat, that routine is everything. It is the familiar rhythm of the typical week that keeps them mentally charged and in a perverse way refreshed.
They have found ways to switch off and relax without the need to break the routine or try radical non-training regimes. On Sunday, all this could be grist to an angry UK's media mill and the line they may come back to, is the one given by All Blacks coach Ian Foster on Tuesday.
Asked how he felt about Lions coach Warren Gatland saying he didn't think the All Blacks had stressed the Lions defence at all during the series, he replied: "I'm not surprised he's having a relaxing week in Queenstown then, if that's what he thinks."
