Oh to be a winger. To run like the wind, stay out of the all
that nasty ugly business in the middle of the park and concentrate on
perfecting your swallow dive and charming grin for the cameras. Well, that's only half true actually. Wingers have come a long way since the days
of hanging out on the touchline; in fact, they've come a long way from your average Sunday at
mini-rugby. You know the sort – the
dweeb with his shirt sleeves over his hands, shivering and looking miserable,
being berated by his overly-enthusiastic and somewhat disappointed father for
not getting "stuck in". Yes,
the modern wing is a very different animal, with 17+ stone monsters appearing
there since the early 90s: think Va'aiga Tuigamala and the legendary Jonah
Lomu, Samoan Alesana Tuilagi and even Welshman George North.
Wingers simply can't get away with hanging around on the touchlines any more - drift defences are too accomplished and so they are expected as much to create and act as strike runner as they are to finish. In fact, to beat the Aussies, it's essential
that the Lions offer as many threats as possible from all over the park, and
that means bringing wingers who are hungry for work rather than those who simply "goal
hang" on the flanks. The Lions needs
wingers not just to blast through gaps (or tackles, in some cases) to make the
initial breaks, but also to get on the shoulder of the likes of Tuilagi or
O'Driscoll in search for that killer offload.
With all this banging on about the importance of wingers,
it's easy to forget the most important member of the back 3 – full back. Traditionally the full back was the last line
of defence whose job, aside from tackling, was to take high balls and return
them with aplomb in the "Garryowen"-dominated amateur era. This is
actually one of the reasons why I take issue with people who say the game was
so much better to watch in the 70s. Watch the classic match between Barbarians
and New Zealand from 1973 - it's mostly kick tennis and dropped balls; 80 minutes
of mistake-ridden, chaotic garbage admittedly interspersed with moments of pure
genius. These days, since the dawn of the professional
era, a full back still has to be solid under a high ball, but also have the
speed, footwork and strength to able to join the attacking line effectively as
well as starting attacks himself from kick returns –think Cullen, Latham or
Lewsey. For the Lions, this role is of
huge importance: not just in terms of the defensive work and kick-claiming
duties, but also in terms of joining the line to create overlaps or running
kicks back to maintain the momentum and pressure.
So without further ado, let's see which pretty boys are
queuing up to prance their way over the whitewash down under…
Left Wing
– the legendary '11' shirt, worn by icons such as Rory Underwood, Jonah Lomu
and Shane Williams. If the Lions were a rock band, the left wing would be the
lead guitarist, and not just because many of the incumbents would feel at home
in a spandex onesie. I'm talking of the
ability to get the crowd on their feet with moments of individual brilliance,
dazzling fans and opposition alike with mesmeric displays of speed, footwork
and power. The left wing is going to be
the Lions not-so-secret strike weapon, popping up in midfield on first phase
moves to inject pace before stepping back on to their touchline to apply their finishing
expertise when required. Here we need
someone with both the pace and strength to be effective in both traffic and one-on-one
situations alike.
There is, of course, only one man for the job – Mr GEORGE NORTH. The Scarlets and Welsh flyer is a massive 6 foot
4 inches and approaching 17 stone, and yet he glides across the pitch with the
grace of a ballet dancer – admittedly a very large and aggressive one. His susceptibility to injuries is concerning
and his form hasn't been spectacular, but if he can replicate the kind of
performance we saw in the World Cup then North is just too much of a force of
nature to leave out. He will provide the
X-factor which the Lions will need to break the stubborn Wallaby defence.
Following George North onto the plane is the Flying
Dutchman, TIM VISSER. A relative new comer to big-time rugby, the Scottish
international has shown off his searing pace and brutal hand-off in the 5
games he has played for his adopted country – and with 4 tries already to his
name, there is no doubting he knows his way to the line. Named in the Magners/Pro 12 league Dream Team for
3 years running, Visser has scored an incredible 48 tries in in 66 starts for
Edinburgh making him arguably the deadliest winger in Britain and Ireland. If he can work on his tackling technique and
assuredness under the high ball this 6 nations, then we could well be seeing
Visser challenging for a "shtarting shpot", as the Dutch would say.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Lions selectionswithout a
couple of dark horses forcing their way into contention. Simon Zebo and Eli Walker are probably the
form wingers in Ireland and Wales respectively, showcasing their electric pace
and wonderfully balanced running in impressive Heineken Cup appearances. Of the two, Zebo probably has a better chance
of inclusion simply because he is more likely to get game time this Six Nations. And don't forget about Christian Wade - the
man many were tipping to make his international breakthrough this year may be
roughly 1/8th the size of the competition, but the miniscule winger has the
explosive acceleration and eye for a gap that can terrify any defence. In all probability it's too late for him to
make an impression, but he's worth keeping an eye on.
Right Wing
– If we're going to be playing a force of nature at 11, the Lions will be
needing a wiseguy at 14. To take
advantage of the chaos that the centres, back row and left wing
create in the middle of the park, we need a 'tracker' – an out-and-out poacher;
a finisher. The king of this skill
is/was Tommy Bowe, but the Ulsterman suffered a horrendous knee injury in the
Heineken Cup which will most likely leave him watching Jeremy Kyle on his sofa
instead of travelling with the Lions. As
it is, there is another man who would have been pushing hard for a spot in any
case – someone who is often regarded as one of the best finishers in the game.
Of course, I'm referring to CHRIS ASHTON. Love him or
loathe him (and, unless you're English, I can guess which...in fact, even if
you are English, I can probably still guess which), there is no denying that an
in-form Chris Ashton is a deadly addition to any side. In the vast majority of his 16 tries in his
29 tests (a fantastic international record), Ashton ends up receiving the
scoring pass in a position he simply has no right to be in. Those people who put his tries down to the
hard work of others are being fairly disingenuous – there are very few wingers in the
game who possess his work rate and ability to sniff out when a chance is on. Of course there are still areas of concern:
his decision making can be iffy, his attempts at tackling occasionally resemble
that of a headless chicken's and that ridiculous "Ash-splash" is the
single biggest cause of premature baldness in England, with fans and coaches
pulling their hair out every time he does it.
That said, the swagger and ability he brings to a side can be the
difference in close games, and his persona off the pitch means (believe it or
not) that he is popular with his teammates and the first to crack a joke. As I've mentioned before, Australia is a land
of few laughs (similar to Mordor), so that trait cannot be undervalued.
Backing up "Flash", as he is known, is a real
bolter – CRAIG GILROY. The kid from Ulster has been a revelation
this year – scoring a hat-trick in the non-cap match against Fiji before
running in a stunning debut try in first cap against Argentina. The 21 year old has genuine pace and
an
outrageous sidestep which, as the Argentinians found out to their detriment,
leaves defenders planted on their backsides in the dirt. He simply has the ability, from his brief
foray in a green shirt, to get the crowd on their feet just by getting his hands on the
ball. I can't wait for this 6 nations to
see how good he is and how he handles the juggernauts on the Welsh wings first
up.
Once again, there are some outstanding candidates sniffing around for places. Sean Maitland enjoyed a prolific career for the Canterbury Crusaders before swapping hemispheres, so it will be interesting how he fares this championship. Like Fitzgerald and Keith Earls are lions tourists and capable of scoring tries with aplomb, as is Gilroy's mucker at Ulster, Andrew Trimble. An exceptionally unlucky individual is the other Welsh giant, Alex Cuthbert. The winger has pace and power to burn for sure, but in my opinion he doesn't quite possess the work rate of his competitors and his tackling, for a man of his size, needs a lot of work – he only made 55% of his tackles in the Autumn Internationals. However, I look forward to seeing him prove me wrong in the coming weeks. I also wonder if the selectors have got half an eye on one of the forgotten men of English rugby – Tom Varndell. His defensive frailties have been widely recognised but the Wasps winger has been tearing it up this season with 13 tries already and is already just 5 off the all-time Premiership record of 75 at the ripe old age of 27; if you're after an out and out try scorer, you could do a lot worse.
The outstanding full back for the last year has been
Welshman, LEIGH HALFPENNY. In the absolute atrocity of an autumn
campaign that the Welsh endured, the fullback was one of the very few men
emerged with credit to his name. Awarded
man of the match in their agonising defeat to Australia, Halfpenny exemplified
his never say die attitude by hurling himself into tackles until the very end,
unfortunately resulting in an awful head injury which was originally feared to
be spinal. Luckily, Halfpenny has bounced
back and demonstrated his superbly balanced running style, slick hands, broad
vision and booming boot to great effect - and as the Welsh goalkicker he provides a useful alternative should Sexton have one of his days where he couldn't hit water if he fell off a boat.
There was some concern over his defensive positioning and acceleration
after he was left for dead by Imhoff during the Argentina game, but that was a
flash in a pan. Injured for the last
Lions tour, Halfpenny will be determined to make the 15 shirt his own this
championship.
Travelling alongside the Welshman will be the Irish maestro ROB KEARNEY. Less than a year ago the man from Leinster
was considered as arguably the best fullback on the planet, being named ERC
player of the year for the 2011/2012 season – scoring 6 tries in 9 games in the
Dublin side's successful Heineken Cup campaign.
Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and he hasn't made any
international appearances since the ill-fated tour to New Zealand last summer,
whilst his form for Leinster has been short of his best. There is no doubting his attacking ability
and solidarity under the high ball though, and it's likely that playing in the
Emerald green of Ireland again will reignite his desire to hit the heights he
hit as a Lion in South Africa 4 years ago.
Also with their eyes on a plane ticket to Oz are English
trio Ben Foden, Alex Goode and Mike Brown.
Foden was the incumbent until injury struck and now he will have to
impress for Northampton as his England spot appears to be taken, whilst Goode
and Brown both offer something different – Goode being able to act as a
secondary fly half and Brown being an abrasive character who, much to the
irritation of the opposition, doesn't seem to know when he's tackled. Scotsman Stuart Hogg also has got a big six
nations ahead of him if he wants to force his way into the reckoning – the
Glasgow flyer has twinkle toes and rocket boots but tends to go missing for
large periods. Also don't forget the man
with the tan – no, not Gavin Henson – in France, previous Lions fullback Lee
Byrne. He might be out of the
international reckoning but he is in fine fettle for Clermont, and a successful
Heineken Cup campaign would do very nicely indeed.
I've picked a back 3 that not only has the speed and power
to scare defences, but also has the brains to outthink them. The balance between the three means that the
Lions will be able to threaten from different angles all over the pitch, and
come June time I expect them to be scorching the Wallaby pitches so badly the
Aussies will want them arrested as a bushfire hazard.
Dirt Trackers: Visser, Kearney, Gilroy
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