Flair to middling

Lions winger Shane Williams on his way to scoring a try against Otago at Carisbrook last night. Picture / Fotopress

In a strange way the Lions coaches were hoping to have their lives made difficult last night with the emergence of a few late test contenders.

It just didn't happen. Only the fast-stepping feet of disco-king Shane Williams looked like dancing their way into the test frame.

The tiny Welsh wing was once again one of the few highlights in a scratchy game where neither side was able to find a rhythm.

His problem is that he is considered too small to play in a Lions team whose only weapon is power and drudgery.

When he plays for Wales, Williams is a key man. The Welsh not only want to use his elusive running, they actually have the ability to get the ball to him.

Last night, as has happened all tour, Williams had to stand on his flank watching his colleagues struggle away with the simple concept of passing the ball.

Whatever happens in the test series, these Lions simply have to go back to Blighty and spend the next few years conquering the basic skills of the game.

Watching giant forwards slug it out on muddy fields may set pulses racing in Britain. But there is no accounting for taste when it comes to the Poms. They like mushy pees and jellied eels.

It's too late for anything to be done about their chronic lack of flair on this tour, which is another reason why Williams can only hope for a spot on the bench at best.

On form you would have to say he is a better option than Jason Robinson, who has only managed one game after arriving late.

Robinson is as elusive as they come, capable of dancing past defenders in the tightest of spaces.

But we can't look past the fact he is not in form and hasn't been all season. If he plays on the right wing next week, Sitiveni Sivivatu will go through the whole 80 minutes sporting a major grin.

The only other player who may have advanced his cause was the giant lock Simon Shaw. There was a lot of mumbling when the tour party was originally announced without the inclusion of Shaw.

His athletic game is tailor-made for the Lions and he has the bulk to shore up any scrum.

There is no question that with Shaw in the boiler room, the secondary shove comes on like a tidal wave.

It was his power that was helping Graham Rowntree get the better of Craig Dunlea last night.

Rowntree is as solid as they come and Woodward feels he owes the Leicester man after leaving him out of England's World Cup squad.

If Gethin Jenkins and Andy Sheridan hadn't been in such commanding form so far this trip, Rowntree would be in the frame.

The only doubt surrounding him was that he appeared to not be scrumming square-on.

He was able to get away with it last night but one would imagine that the All Blacks would have more of a say. 

- HERALD ON SUNDAY