TEST TROUBLES

It is 11:19 on Thursday morning as I sit down to write this blog entry. The European Tour golf is on the TV beside me, yet I find myself thinking about the Lions match against the Wallabies on Saturday. With only two days until the big match it’s hard to conceal your excitement – a month of drawn out preparation will either pay dividends this Saturday, or it will be all for nothing.

But based on Tuesday’s match against the Brumbies it seems that the latter shall be more likely. In a lethargic, drab performance the Lions were bested all over the park and deservedly lost to the Super Rugby leaders, who have recorded what is likely to be the most impressive victory of their entire careers. Any club side that beat the Lions go down in history – the last time it happened was in 1997 by Northern Transvaal which proves the rarity of that occurring.

I am ashamed to say I did cheer on the Brumbies.

I said I was becoming disillusioned with this Lions tour and it all came to a head when I found them playing my favourite Super Rugby team. I decided I had to support the hosts. Don’t get me wrong, for the next three weeks I will still (slightly begrudgingly) support the Lions, they are my home team. But when up against a side that I have supported for a while, I couldn’t help but enjoy watching the Lions slowly become more frustrated as the game got beyond them.

Meanwhile, over in Brisbane, Robbie Deans and his Wallaby team will be absolutely delighted. Before the game I criticised Warren Gatland’s team selection as, quite rightly, he learned nothing from his backline, and they did not deliver a win either. The Lions either had to win that game or the backs had to give Gatland something to think about ahead of the first Test. They did neither.

Tuesday was simply a shambles. It is by far the worst Lions performance on the tour so far and, quite rightly, it resulted in the first Lions loss of the tour. Gatland will be horribly disappointed and he called it a ‘reality check’ in the aftermath of the game. It is not the ideal way to go into the first Test at all.

So, to the first Test we go then. The Lions will head back to Brisbane and the Suncorp Stadium to face the Wallabies tomorrow and in my opinion, no matter how much Australia have declined as a rugby nation, the Lions are still up against it. So far there has been nothing from the Lions which has proved they will be a handful for the Wallabies and they will really have to pull a performance out of the bag to simply be competitive.

It’s the backline that worries me most. It was where the Lions struggled on Tuesday, it is where Australia will be very strong. Christian Lealiifano has been very impressive for the Brumbies, while the Waratahs duo of Adam Ashley-Cooper and Berrick Barnes are very experienced. The Australians will look to provide themselves with a solid platform up front and then use their skill in the backline to convert it to points.

The Lions are in for a battle. To win this series I think the Lions have to win this game otherwise they will face an uphill battle to return to the British Isles with a win. Will they do it? Based on the games that have come before it, no. But who knows, weirder things have happened.

Here’s to a great game of rugby!

British & Irish Lions vs. Australia

Saturday 22^nd June, 11:00

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

First test

Live on Sky Sports 1

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), 14. Alex Cuthbert (Wales), 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), 12. Jonathan Davies (Wales), 11. George North (Wales), 10. Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), 9. Mike Phillips (Wales); 1. Alex Corbisiero (England), 2. Tom Youngs (England), 3. Adam Jones (Wales), 4. Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales), 5. Paul O’Connell (Ireland), 6. Tom Croft (England), 7. Sam Warburton (captain, Wales), 8. Jamie Heaslip (Ireland).

16. Richard Hibbard (Wales), 17. Mako Vunipola (England), 18. Dan Cole (England), 19. Geoff Parling (England), 20. Dan Lydiate (Wales), 21. Conor Murray (Ireland), 22. Owen Farrell (England), 23. Sean Maitland (Scotland).

AUSTRALIA

15. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), 14. Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs), 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs), 12. Christian Lealiifano (ACT Brumbies), 11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds), 10. James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels), 9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds); 1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs), 2. Stephen Moore (ACT Brumbies), 3. Ben Alexander (ACT Brumbies), 4. James Horwill (captain, Queensland Reds), 5. Kane Douglas (NSW Waratahs), 6. Ben Mowen (ACT Brumbies), 7. Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs), 8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs).

16. Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), 17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds), 18. Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), 19. Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds), 20. Liam Gill (Queensland Reds), 21. Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels), 22. Pat McCabe (ACT Brumbies), 23. Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels).

Referee: Chris Pollock (NZ)

Assistant Referees: Craig Joubert (RSA), Romain Poite (FFR)

TMO: Vinny Munro (NZ)

Assessor: Clayton Thomas