Life isn't fair. It's
full of people, who through no effort or graft, somehow land on top of the pile
when it comes to athletic ability – and no matter how much we try to emulate
them, it usually only ends in embarrassment for us and amusement for
others. Take this week as an example,
when Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor were snapped having a cheeky burger at 3am. Now every weekend I find myself in the line
for Big Mac at 3am in the morning, and I am nowhere near the international set
up. Aside from the fact the precursor to
the midnight munchies is a sizeable amount of ale and Aftershocks, I cannot see
how I am doing anything different to these renowned athletes. It's just not fair.
Speaking of not fair, the bitter taste of injustice has been
tasted by all this week – with blokes on both sides feeling pretty hard done
by. For the Lions, Alex Corbisiero continues
to crumble like a biscuit if he plays more than 30 minutes, whilst the hardest
man of the lot – the anti-biscuit if you will – Paul O'Connell, has also been
forced to withdraw. Add that to the
sense of incredulity that Aussie Captain James Horwill was let off the hook by
(surprise, surprise) an Australian disciplinary committee for cleaning his
studs on Alun Wyn Jones' eye socket, and you have a Lions squad feeling pretty
peeved in the run up to the second test.
Of course, the Horwill Great Escape was just about the only
bit of good news to come the Wallabies' way this week – and that was before it
was announced the IRB would be reviewing the disciplinary decision. Aside from the fact that Beale and O'Connor's
fast food fetish has created another unwarranted media storm over the Wallaby
camp, the men in Green and Gold have had their own injury problems to worry
about. Half the backline seemed to
collapse in a crumpled heap on Saturday, and despite the return of a presumably
still-groggy Christian Lealiifano, experienced stalwarts Pat MacCabe and
Berrick Barnes are both out.
That said, despite the grumbling, you'd be hard-pressed to
find any negativity scattered around – instead the players are using all their
perceived injustices to get themselves in the right frame of mind for
Saturday's critical second test in Melbourne.
The Aussies have been uncharacteristically quiet in the build up to this
game, but they will come flying out of the blocks and get stuck into the men in
red from the first whistle. This is do
or die now for them. If you have to go
underhand to get the advantage, so be it.
Horwill, in particular, will have nothing to lose. They know that they could – and should – have
beaten the Lions this week, and they will be fired up like no one else for this
one. The pack remains unchanged, which means Ben Mowen will once again be
charged with Scrum-half hunting duties – a job he performed so well against
Mike Phillips – and the pack will be looking to expose the loss of grunt in the
Lions' forwards by cutting the supply to North and co off at source. They will be aware that Ben Youngs is a
dangerous operator, but he has his flappy moments under pressure and that is
something they will be looking to exploit.
Out wide, Lealiifano's return is crucial. His vision and distribution will provide
options either side of the breakdown for the Wallabies, which helps take the
pressure off O'Connor – and that's not even mentioning the influence Kurtley
Beale can have at full back. He may have
been Slippy the Bush Kangeroo last week, but the Rebels man is a creative and
electrifyingly explosive force on the rugby pitch and he will be looking to get
his hands on the ball as much as possible.
Another person who needs his hands on the ball is Israel Folau – the
winger enjoyed a remarkable debut last week, and his ability to beat players
means that his teammates should look to get him involved as much as
possible. Also expect Genia and O'Connor
to try and draw George North up in the line before forcing him to turn, kicking
in behind where Folau can be so dangerous with his aerial ability.
However, Folau, is not the only man with magic in his boots
at the moment. George North might be
sorry for goading Genia last week, but he won't be making any apologies about
the sheer quality of his performance.
Simply the Lions' most dangerous man, he needs to make sure he comes off
his wing as much as possible to smash holes in the middle. But perhaps it's in the tight where the game
will really be one – Vunipola will be targeted by the underrated Wallaby scrum
and he needs to hold his own at the very least if the Lions are to
compete. Behind him, the selection of
Parling with Wyn Jones was a sure-thing given the Englishman's form, and his
lineout ability is ranked right up there with the best – but he'll need to show
he can provide the shunt in the scrum and the grunt around the park to keep the
Wallabies at bay. It's interesting to
see that Gatland has noted this apparent loss of physicality and tried to combat
that by playing his love-child Dan Lydiate at 6. Now Lydiate has been in decent form and is a
great player, but it is harsh on Croft who did nothing wrong last week – still,
I can see the logic. Behind the fatties,
Ben Youngs, the form scrum half on tour will be desperate to prove he is not
just a stop gap for Phillips. The
Welshman's box-kicking and general decision making were appalling last weekend,
and this is where Youngs needs to have accuracy and conviction – if he thinks
he sees a gap, go for it, don't change your mind halfway through and get
clattered like Phillips did. Perhaps the
most intriguing change though is that of Tommy Bowe for Alex Cuthbert – the
Cardiff man is a fine athlete but Bowe just oozes class and adds some subtlety
to compliment North's brute power. But
what really catches the eye with Bowe is that his comeback is just under 3
weeks after he broke a bone in his hand – now I've had the same injury, and it
took me twice as long…but then again, I didn't have a team of world-class
doctors, physios and surgeons at my service 24/7. Life's not fair.
Who gives a crap about fair though? Fair's boring. Fair is predictable. Which is why, on Saturday morning, I will be
watching the game literally wishing for moments of injustice, controversy,
brutality and misfortune. Why? It adds to the drama. It helps make a Lions Test Series. And that sounds like a pretty fair start to
the weekend for me.
Wallabies Team
News
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has been forced to make two
changes with injuries to fullback Berrick Barnes (head) and winger Digby Ioane
(shoulder) prompting the promotion of Kurtley Beale and Joe Tomane with the
latter set to win only his second cap. Centre Christian Lealiifano has
recovered from the head knock that sidelined him in the opening moments of the
first Test while James O'Connor retains the No.10 shirt despite widespread
criticism of his showing in Brisbane. Centre Rob Horne and uncapped fullback
Jesse Mogg have both been added to the bench.
Starting Line up: Kurtley
Beale; Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali'ifano, Joe Tomane; James
O'Connor, Will Genia; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, James Horwill,
Kane Douglas, Ben Mowen, Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu.
Subs: Saia
Fainga'a, James Slipper, Sekope Kepu, Rob Simmons, Liam Gill, Nick Phipps, Rob
Horne, Jesse Mogg.
Key Player
James Horwill. Yes he
has been given bad press for, under his explanation, “an attempt to regain his
balance”. If he’s that aggressive when
he’s stumbling around on the rugby field, I dread to think what he’d be like on
ice skates. But he remains the
Wallabies’ most influential and important player – the captain has to instil a
frantic do-or-die mentality into the minds of each and every one of the blokes
wearing a green-and-gold shirt. That
means taking the Lions aback with manic aggression, relentless physicality and
a hard-nosed approach from the very first whistle. The IRB may well decree that Horwill will
play no further part in this series after tomorrow – he better make this
performance count.
Lions coach Warren Gatland has made five changes to his side
- two forced by injuries to lock Paul O'Connell and prop Alex Corbisiero. As a
result, Geoff Parling comes in the second row and Mako Vunipola will pack down
at loose-head. There is also a promotion from the bench for blindside Dan
Lydiate while winger Tommy Bowe and scrum-half Ben Youngs have also got the
nod. Flanker Tom Croft drops to the bench as does winger Alex Cuthbert but No.9
Mike Phillips drops out of the squad with Conor Murray providing cover. Ryan
Grant fills the void on the bench left by Vunipola while there is also room for
versatile back-row Sean O'Brien.
Starting Line up: Leigh
Halfpenny, Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll, Jonathan Davies, George North,
Jonathan Sexton, Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn
Jones, Geoff Parling, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (c), Jamie Heaslip.
Subs: Richard
Hibbard, Ryan Grant, Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Sean O'Brien, Conor Murray, Owen
Farrell, Alex Cuthbert.
Key Player
Ben Youngs. The
England 9 has come in for Phillips and now has a chance to cement that spot for
himself. On his day, the Leicester man
can cause just as many problems as Genia himself, but he has to bring a measure
of consistency into his game. In a way,
the scrum-halves are the most influential people on the pitch – not just
because they never stop yapping at anything that moves, but because they act as
the key link in the chain between pack and backline. If he crumbles under the inevitable pressure,
as he has done previously, then it could well be all over for the Lions. Withstand it, kick well, and he becomes a
calming influence for the whole side – the Wallabies lose their intensity, and
then the gaps may just open up for him to show what he can do.
Key Battle
Ben Alexander v Mako Vunipola. With great match ups all over the park again,
it’s easy to get excited about the rematch between North and Folau, the battle
between Tomane and Bowe and Genia and Bowe – but I’ve picked a slightly less
sexy contest between the two front rowers.
What it may lose in glamour points though, it gains in absolute
criticality to the outcome of the second Test.
Alexander is a decent prop but he struggled against Corbisiero, who –
when he’s not on a sickbed – is one of the best scrummaging props in Europe. Vunipola, on the other hand, is a completely
different kettle of fish. He may be a
hard carrier and a tireless worker in the loose, but his work in the set piece
is nowhere near as effective – Alexander will fancy his chances. If he can get a nudge on his side of the
scrum, the rest will follow, and the wave of passion and aggression that
follows a big scrummaging statement may just be enough to cast doubt into the
Lions’ minds. If Vunipola holds firm
though, then the sting in the Wallabies’ tail may just feel a little less
sharp.
Prediction
Another week, another British & Irish Lions Test
Match. I will never get bored of saying
that. After the sheer drama of the last
week – quite apart from the actual First Test itself – excitement levels have
peaked in the Second Test build up. This
is knock out stuff – the Lions win, and it’s a leisurely coast over to Sydney,
the Wallabies win, and we’ll have a bloodbath in New South Wales that will have
even Origin fans looking away. So much
will come down to whether or not the Lions have braced themselves and can contain
that early Wallaby onslaught that will surely come from the off. I think they’ll just manage it – but prepare
your nails for another nerve-shreddingly close encounter. Lions
to take the series – by 3 points.
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