NZ Maori did Lions a favour, says O'Connell

Paul O'Connell reckons the Lions' loss to New Zealand Maori did them a favour.

The big, ginger-haired Munsterman believes the 19-13 defeat in Hamilton helped to focus the Lions' minds like a clip round the ear.

O'Connell says it threw a necessary ingredient into the mix which he hopes will help the Lions to victory at Jade Stadium tomorrow.

"We failed to match their intensity. It was a match that needed to happen for us. Had it happened in the first test it would have been worse." The logic has a certain ring to it.

O'Connell said the Lions were working on organisation and getting the blend of players from different nations right. Elements such as work ethic, passion and aggression weren't what they should have been.

For an Irishman, you can't play rugby without those factors.

O'Connell was an outside contender to lead the Lions. He's softly spoken, but that hides a hard edge and he's no one's teddy bear.

O'Connell first took serious notice of Lions rugby on the successful South African tour of 1997.

And he knows the No 4 shirt has special symbolism. Martin Johnson wore it on the last three Lions tours. So too did Irish legend Willie John McBride, the most capped of all Lions.

"Lawrence Dallaglio said, 'Look at the number and remember the guys who played in it down the years. You're taking ownership.' Such a great a line. That romanticised it.

"You know you're not going to look the part if you don't step up. You think, 'If I can't fill the jersey like the others, what will people think?"'

Powerful stuff. The All Blacks hold no fear of the 25-year-old. He's played them once before, at Carisbrook in 2002. A 15-6 loss, which still grates.

"Every time I get asked, I remember we should have won it."

O'Connell played rugby at a young age, gave it up at 12, and returned to it five years later. He made his Irish debut in 2002 against Wales, was a kingpin at the World Cup, has 29 caps and with his lineout expertise has become one of the pre-eminent locks in the Northern Hemisphere.

O'Connell doesn't do nerves on the morning of a big game. He has a simple philosophy.

"I'll be relaxed enough, just as long as I know my role and everyone around me knows theirs.

"You can get a bit jittery if you think people aren't on the ball. That won't be happening here.

"You treat it as a normal game. But it's a chance to make history and if you're worth your salt you take it."

There's no getting away from the fact this is a big step up, for all the Lions players. Coach Sir Clive Woodward has stressed the point that this will be the biggest deal for all involved if they can win the series.

"You've got to prove yourself, and if you don't have the mental strength to do it you fade away. If you do, you make history," O'Connell said.

He believes the key tomorrow for the Lions is making sure the basics are right, being aggressive at the breakdown and being efficient in all that they do.

As for what will be in his mind running out, O'Connell told of talking to team-mate Matt Dawson, a three-time Lions tourist.

"He said that a lot of us are going to a place we've never been before emotionally. That's a cool thought."