'Slingshot effect' could catapult Lions to victory

It is one of the enduring questions of sport: how do you turn disaster into triumph?

The Lions were so comprehensively done in the first test at Christchurch last weekend, how can they have the remotest chance of going to Eden Park next week all square?

But that's the funny thing about sport, why we enjoy the twists and turns and what forms a large part of its fascination.

Remember the American League playoff series between the Boston Red Sox and arch-rivals the New York Yankees last year.

The Yankees led the best-of-seven series 3-0. The Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1918, since they sold the greatest name in the sport, Babe Ruth to ... the Yankees. There was talk of a curse. They appeared to be dog tucker.

Instead, they turned it around in the space of a week and when they clinched Game Seven they were doing it standing on one ear against a shattered Yankees. The World Series followed a few days later.

Now remember the Champions League soccer final. AC Milan led Liverpool 3-0 at halftime. The defensive maestros had it in the bag. Yeah Right. Liverpool dug deep, drew level, then won on penalties after extra time. Staggering stuff.

So what of the Lions? Have they the necessary qualities to recover from last weekend?

Set aside technical and tactical aspects. What about upstairs? What sort of shape are they in mentally?

Sports psychologist Gary Hermansson played in winning Wellington teams against the Springboks and the Lions in 1965 and 1966, and appeared for New Zealand Universities against both.

Now working for the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams, he believes there are key elements which need to come into play for the Lions.

Chief among them are fear and hunger - the fear of failure and the hunger to succeed.

The consequences of a loss are far greater for the Lions than the All Blacks, who have an extra life in the three-match series, courtesy of the 21-3 win last weekend.

Hermansson also reckons the tour-ending injury to captain Brian O'Driscoll will have had a "galvanising" effect on a squad.

"When things are rough on the outside, you gather against a common enemy, whether it's the media, the country or the All Blacks.

"That's where you gather strength. There is a point where the mental side kicks in and it can draw a lot from people.

"The team dynamic is very powerful. People start performing in ways of added value to the team."

Hermansson said the 100-point romp against Manawatu on Tuesday would have helped.

Small things such as a pass going to hand, getting a good bounce and running in a stack of tries all combined to put a smile on the faces.

That will only help the players feel better about themselves and the job ahead.

The selectorial changes will help, also. The newcomers will not have been scarred by the first test.

"They won't have that sense of failure and they will have a bit of motivation to prove they should have been there last time."

The Lions will need two elements to be in place: they need to function at the level they are capable of, and must utilise the "the slingshot effect" and turn the match's make-or-break aspect to their advantage.

But underpinning everything, Hermansson believes, the Lions must have one quality, without which they will be lost.

"Unless there is a piece of soul, it could still be a disaster waiting to happen. The psychological ingredients are there. But if your heart and soul are not it isn't going to happen.

"I wouldn't be immensely surprised if they played competitively, or even beat the All Blacks. It's by no means a lost cause."

Hermansson said "the jury is still out" on whether this is a poor Lions team or last weekend was just a dreadful one-off display.

But if the Lions use the heads wisely "there is enough there to say it could be one-all next weekend."