John Drake: C'mon, show us your best

Just on a week out from the first test and we are no clearer on what this Lions team will produce.

Take away the first 12 minutes against Bay of Plenty and a few flashes of class against a tiring Taranaki team and there is not much to admire.

So what's going on? Recent All Black prop Dave Hewett told me this week that they are either doing a great job of hiding their tactics and class, or they are in big trouble.

Looking at the matches before Wellington, the forwards have been very reluctant to drive at the lineout and maul at the breakdown.

These areas are supposed to be the strength of forward play in the north. So why not use and perfect during the leadup games?

At lineout it seems the throwers have struggled to find the jumpers and any drives have been disrupted by opposition either sacking the jumper as soon as he gets the ball or getting lower and negating any drive.

At the breakdown the Lions have failed, (a) to stay on their feet long enough for support to arrive or, (b) more importantly, the backs do not seem to have the ability or will to help the ball carrier in the way New Zealand backs are taught and willing to do.

This has meant that the ball from second phase has been messy and slow, which negates both the drive and quality for the backs to attack with.

There has been a lot of talk about the loose forward weakness at the breakdown.

It seems that Neil Back will get the test job despite almost being eligible to get free bus rides, medical care and a pension.

Frankly I find it strange to blame one individual or position when it seems to be a team issue which could be easily rectified at training.

Also, the questioning of the local referees as to interpretation seems odd, when the test will be controlled by a Frenchman, a South African and Australian.

So, either the management have secretly solved these issues and will show all in the tests or they have buried their heads and refused to acknowledge the deficiencies.

Sir Clive Woodward and co should be too smart for the latter, shouldn't they?

On this matter, are the management reading too much on reputation rather than form?

We won't know until the test selection next week, but the process has not been helped by the large squad.

While a great idea for covering injuries and so forth, it makes it hard for players to gain form, momentum and combinations, which are so important.

The backline against Wellington looked to contain a number of probable test players and yet the combination looked as if they had just met in the changing shed 10 minutes before kickoff.

Individuals showed skill and pace but this will not be enough at test time.

Therefore selections will have to be on reputation and personal knowledge of individuals.

This could be dangerous as it seems that some players - particularly the heroes of the 2003 World Cup - are well past their best.

Some coaches fail to see this and often think they have the ability to get these players back to their best when Father Time makes it impossible.

Egos can be dangerous in a closed team environment, blocked off from reality and with searching questions by independent outsiders forbidden.

Another worry must be the form of the skipper.

Maybe the pressure of captaining four nations is weighing heavily on Brian O'Driscoll. He has played more than most on tour but we have yet to see his true brilliance on attack and his defence has been average at best.

At least two tries have been conceded on tour because of his lack of technique and will to protect the line.

O'Driscoll is a great talent and let's hope we get to see the real deal before the tour has passed him, and us, by.

Back to the theory that this team is actually hiding its talent. It goes like this: At the daily secret trainings they are driving, rucking, mauling, catching and passing like - well, like the All Blacks against France last year.

The Lions management has everything under control and the environment is such that all involved are striving for a common goal by fooling all of us - by playing bumbling, inept rugby without passion and accuracy.

Don't forget that our provincial and Super 12 teams lack the mental toughness so common in the north.

Sure, we have some flashy backs but we don't tackle properly and our referees are show ponies who don't follow the rules as they should.

So it's been really, really hard to put on the act of playing so badly so far on this tour.

Seems to me that beer ad sums this theory up best - yeah right.

So we continue to wait to see which team will turn up for the test matches.

Certainly tomorrow's game against Otago is the last chance for form and selections to be finalised.