Tight five in

Graham Henry was sure that Lions coach Clive Woodward would have learned a great deal from the All Blacks' 91-0 drubbing of Fiji.

He probably did and much of it will have left him reasonably heavy in the heart.

He already knew the All Blacks are crammed with brilliant runners and clever ball players. And he already knew that Richie McCaw looms as his side's nemesis.

He was probably hoping that Sitiveni Sivivatu would turn out to be all hype and no substance. It was forlorn. The Fijian-born wing looks like being just as bothersome at test level as he has been at Super 12.

And not just with the ball in hand either. Sivivatu isn't one of those wings whose body gets taken over by Kermit the Frog whenever he is asked to defend.

But where Woodward will have been most disappointed was in the performance of the tight five. He is dreaming if he thinks his Lions are going to dominate this mob.

The Lions have arrived with an unshakeable belief that they can dominate the All Blacks up front. That belief has stayed intact, even after both Bay of Plenty and Taranaki had worried them for 60 minutes.

They even released a statement of intent with a press release detailing that their front row who played the Maori - Julian White, Steve Thompson and Andy Sheridan - is the heaviest in Lions history.

There is nothing powder-puff about the All Black front five. Those who reckon New Zealand's tight forwards have spent the last three months messing about playing pyjama rugby in the Super 12 might want to ponder how on earth the likes of Tony Woodcock and Derren Witcombe have become such aggressive scrummagers.

There was a sense that they may have scrummed in third gear for much of the night to avoid totally destroying the Fijians.

The lineout, however, was in overdrive and both locks Ali Williams and James Ryan can be pretty pleased with their efforts.

And while the doubters are pondering the power of the All Black tight five, they may want to re-assess the misconception that there is no contest at the breakdown over here. There is and it's fierce. It's also a contest All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen wants to see kept fair.

"We set ourselves a goal to be highly effective in scrum, lineout, kick-offs and clean-out," said Hansen. "We started slowly at kick-offs but we came solid. Scrum, obviously we were happy with that. We were aware the Fijians tired quite badly in that area. Lineout, again we were pretty happy.

"The clean-out area was pretty difficult. There were a lot of people flopping over the ball. It was very similar to the Lions games. When you play the All Blacks the main aim is to slow the ball.

"The Lions are very good at it and we need refs to be pretty staunch. We want a game of rugby that people can enjoy and we can't afford to have people diving off their feet."

But it needs to be said, before anyone gets carried away, that Fiji were more awful than wearing white socks with a lounge suit. Their coach, Wayne Pivac, would have gone even further and put them on a par with wearing white socks with a lounge suit while carrying your keys and mobile phone (in a leather cover) on your belt.

For that reason, too many key questions returned unsatisfying answers. Aaron Mauger and Tana Umaga combined well in midfield but did so under no pressure.

Byron Kelleher was at his industrious best but Justin Marshall came on and looked just as composed. If Kelleher did do enough to secure a start for the first Lions test, Henry wasn't letting on. "They are neck and neck," was his only response.

Although the wing decision still remains probably the toughest call, Doug Howlett certainly did all he could to retain his jersey.

His confidence is returning and backs coach Wayne Smith was pleased. "He looked hungry," said Smith. "He was back to that bustling type of game that he is good at. He is strong in contact and is a committed player. He lost confidence last year and early on in the Super 12 but he ran hard. We were all pleased with Dougie's performance."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY