I’ve always been terrible at the tough-talking stuff. Perhaps it’s because, as a middle-class English
male, when I do try it I end up sounding like (and looking about as hard as) a
grumpy David Cameron – but I think it’s more to do with the fact that I can
never think of something good to say at the time. The French call it “L'esprit de l'escalier” (meaning “Staircase wit”) – where you get
halfway up the stairs before thinking of the perfect retort. Of course, I take comfort in the fact that,
as an Englishman, I am born without the key component for first-class ‘sledging’
in my brain – a component which, I am certain, the Aussies develop first before
they’ve even learned how to walk. From
Glenn McGrath to Merv Hughes (“Mate, if you turn the bat over, you’ll find the
instructions on the other side”), they are the kings of winding you up.
And they’ve started at the Lions literally the second the
tourists hopped off the plane in Perth. Western
Force Captain Matt Hodgson announced that he was hoping to ‘hurt’ the Lions as
soon as his side got a chance, whilst scrum half Brett Sheehan cheekily
revealed their plan to ‘get under their skin’.
Big talk – surely we could expect some restraint from the head coach of
the Wallabies? Er...no. Not at all.
“The Force will take ‘em apart limb by limb”, Robbie Deans frothed, with
crazed glint in his eye. Of course,
these statements all sound great – but can they walk the walk? The Force are under strength despite the
presence of a several Wallabies in the form of Richard Brown and Hodgson – with
a game on Sunday against the Waratahs, coach Michael Foley has called in the
reserves from the extended training squad.
It means that 2 of the side facing down the Lions will never have even
played a game of Super Rugby before.
But the Lions will be not be complacent. This will not be like the 100-point
annihilation administered 12 years ago against a largely-amateur Western
Australia side (full match replay of that below) – even though the Force are bottom of the Australian conference,
they’ve managed to turn over the Reds and the Crusaders this year through
sheer, dogged physicality and have a useful knack of rising to the
occasion. Certainly in the pack there’s
plenty of experience and grunt, with Brown, Hodgson and Salesi Ma’afu all
capable of rattling some ribcages and there’s every chance that, if they really
get into the Lions’ faces and slow their ball down, they may just force a
little bit of doubt into the tourists’ minds.
But the Lions know that, after the sweat-show in Hong Kong,
this is now the real deal. The backline
for this side looks ominous, with pace, guile and power in abundance, and if
they get quick ball the disparity in experience and quality between the two set
of backs should set the visitors’ on their way.
Of particular interest is the way Tuilagi and O’Driscoll play together –
it could be a match made in heaven (or hell, depending on which side you’re on)
– but I personally can’t wait to see the 2 flankers getting around the
park. Tom Croft and Sean O’Brien may be
two completely different types of player but they are both lethal on the carry
and it will be fascinating to see how that combination – and in fact all the
combinations – come together.
Because the Lions have done their talking. They’ll be quite happy to let the Aussies go
about their sledging – as long as they’ll be eating their words afterwards.
Western Force Team
News
With the Force facing the Waratahs on Sunday, coach Michael
Foley has opted for a rather 'mix and match' approach, bringing seven debutants
in their 23-man squad with two starting - Corey Brown on the wing and Chris Tuatara-Morrison
in the centres, who has the pleasant task of marking Manu Tuilagi. That said, 5 players do boast international
experience - tight-head prop Salesi Ma'afu (13 caps), flanker Matt Hodgson (6),
number eight Richard Brown (23), scrum-half Brett Sheehan (6) and fly-half Sam
Norton-Knight (2.)
Starting Line-up: Sam Christie, Dane Haylett-Petty, Ed
Stubbs, Chris Tuatara-Morrison, Corey Brown; Sam Norton-Knight, Brett Sheehan;
Salesi Manu, James Hilterbrand, Salesi Ma'afu, Toby Lynn, Phoenix Battye, Angus
Cottrell, Matt Hodgson (capt), Richard Brown.
Subs: Hugh Roach,
Sione Kolo, Tim Metcher, Ben Matwijow Lachlan McCaffrey, Alby Mathewson, Nick
Haining, Junior Rasolea.
Key Player
Richard Brown. The
number 8 has one of the most simple names in rugby and is also an appropriately
simple player – and by that I don't mean he's one shrimp short of a barby, I
mean he does the basics very well and leads from the front. The likelihood is that this Force side will
spend plenty of time on the back foot, but Brown is strong runner and an
absolute rock in defence, and he will be a rallying point for his side when the
going gets tough. A Wallaby veteran,
he's played against the best players in the world and won't be overawed by the
occasion, and if he can make some sort of impact early on, it may just inspire
the less experienced figures around him to deliver something special.
British &
Irish Lions Team News
Brian O'Driscoll will captain an all-changed Lions side and
form an exciting midfield partnership with Manu Tuilagi, who will sit in his
less-familiar 12 position and make his Lions debut. England prop Dan Cole, Wales lock Ian Evans,
and Ireland duo Rory Best and Sean O'Brien also get their first taste of Lions
action.
Starting
Line-up: Leigh Halfpenny, Tommy
Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll (captain), Manu Tuilagi, George North, Jonny Sexton;
Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Dan Cole, Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Tom
Croft, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip.
Subs: Tom Youngs,
Mako Vunipola, Matt Stevens, Geoff Parling, Toby Faletau, Ben Youngs, Owen
Farrell, Sean Maitland.
Key Player
Manu Tuilagi. A lot
of the pre-match build up has focused in on Tuilagi playing at 12 instead of
13, and his potentially 'dream' combination with Brian O'Driscoll. It was pretty clear from the squad selection
that Warren Gatland was taking Jamie Roberts and Tuilagi as the 2 options at 12
– and equally clear that the Kiwi wants his inside centre to be a powerhouse
carrier as opposed to some namby-pamby "second receiver" (Gatters
scoffs at that idea). Which is just as
well since neither is particularly renowned for their distribution. I have no doubt that Tuilagi can do the
carrying job to an even greater effect than Roberts – he made more yards, beat
far more defenders and made more offloads during the Six Nations – but the
concern is if he can up his communication and defensive awareness to the
appropriate level to be an international-class 12. I have no doubt that having O'Driscoll
outside him will make his job far easier – and if they click, we could
potentially be looking at the Test combination…it sure looks good on paper.
Key Battle
Matt Hodgson v Sean O'Brien.
Whilst there looks to be a huge gulf in quality in the backlines of the
two sides, things look a little more even in the pack and the experienced and
powerful figure of Matt Hodgson will be more than capable of causing a few
bruises. The Force captain is an
aggressive defender and loves creating chaos in the loose at rucktime, and
there's every chance he'll live up to his promise of 'hurting' a few Lions
players, unless the backrow take him out of the game. That means Sean O'Brien in particular, as the
strongest carrier in the Lions pack, will need to target him with the ball in
hand and ensure that he's spending more time on his backside than forcing Lions
players to do similar.
Prediction
The Force can be tricky blighters at home – just ask the
Reds and Crusaders, but due to the bonkers schedule they've been Forced (sorry)
into fielding a bit of a mix and match side filled with several class-players
and a couple of newcomers to top flight rugby.
You sense that the Perth-based side will be particularly vulnerable in
the backline and in the middle of the park, where there is a dearth of
experience and, whilst the Lions will be testing out a fair few new
combinations, I can see there being far too much class in the red-shirted
ranks. Lions by 25.
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