In 2017, while sitting in the stand in Wellington surrounded by Lions fans, I caught my first glimpse of what I’ve now come to call the strategic wormhole. It was game 2 of what would become a legendary Lions tour, and the All Blacks were down in the final third of the game after Sonny Bill William’s shoulder charge of doom left them with 14 men. The Lions launched themselves at their defending rucks in an absolute state of desperation. It was here, in minute 57, that Lions prop Mako Vunipola unknowingly tore open rugby's strategic wormhole for the first time.
