Lions need to start series by mauling Wallabies

By CHRIS HEWETT

BRISBANE - Twelve years ago Finlay Calder's band of red-shirted brethren created modern Lions history by absorbing the mother and father of a beating in their first meeting with the Wallabies before winning the three-Test series on a split decision.

Martin Johnson's 2001 vintage would be well advised to adopt a less fraught approach.

Defeat at The Gabba tonight will raise the spectre of a 3-0 hiding, not just because these Australians are certain to get better rather than worse, but because the hosts have effectively conceded home advantage for this one match in an effort to spread the union gospel in this part of the world.

This game could have been played at Ballymore, where Wales were thumped by 60-odd points before the 1991 World Cup and then fought among themselves at the after-match function; or at the Suncorp Stadium, where the red roses of England wilted to the unprecedented tune of 76 points in 1998.

Instead, the Australian rugby hierarchy has opted for the local cricket arena, a 37,000 capacity venue that might as well be situated on the dark side of the moon for all the experience the Wallabies have of playing there.

What is more, Brisbane has turned wet. Andy Robinson, the Lions assistant coach, could barely contain his delight when the rain arrived in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday and followed the tourists up the coast to the capital of Queensland.

A heavy pitch would undoubtedly help Johnson, Danny Grewcock, Scott Quinnell and the other heavies in the visiting pack.

For one thing, the Poms know what it is to play in six inches of mud; for another, the Wallabies are dependent to a large degree on the superior handling skills of Steve Larkham, Jeremy Paul and the two button-bright Georges, Gregan and Smith.

A slippery ball will cramp their style and level the playing field ... or, in this case, the cricket square.

As late as yesterday evening, the pitch had not been marked for rugby; a big Australian Rules match involving the Brisbane Lions (no relations) meant that the ground was closed from 2 pm local time and prevented Jonny Wilkinson, the England first five-eighths, embarking on his minutely detailed eve-of-test goal-kicking routine.

There again, the Wallabies have their own little paranoias and neuroses on the marksmanship front.

The injury to Stirling Mortlock and Matthew Burke's lack of form has left Andrew Walker, the specialist counter-attacker from the Super 12-winning Brumbies, holding the short straw.

Walker is a genuine kicker, but Mortlock has been the Brumbies' preferred option all season. A potential weakness? Certainly.

There are so many imponderables surrounding this test that the likely outcome is wickedly difficult to call.

The Wallabies have played only once since coming together off the back of the Super 12 tournament, and their victory over the New Zealand Maoris was not earth-shattering by any stretch of the imagination.

Their front row is hardly a southern hemisphere version of Pontypool's legendary "Viet Gwent" - Charlie Faulkner, Bobby Windsor and Graham Price would have died of laughter rather than fear - while their decision to field the route-one New South Wales midfielder Nathan Grey in the problem position of second five-eighths suggests that subtlety and sophistication are less of a priority than usual.

Yet the Wallabies still manage to look more solid and more settled than the Lions, who have played six matches of varying intensity without answering the really important questions.

"Familiarity is the big challenge of the tour for us," acknowledged Graham Henry, the tourists' head coach.

"The Wallabies are the best team in the world, so by definition we will have to play at the very limit of our ability to give ourselves a show in this series. They have experienced a lot of Test rugby together, and most of their players come from either the Brumbies or the Queensland Reds, so their combinations know their way around a big game."

Many Australians expect Smith, the dreadlocked devil who has taken on the breakaway role performed with such distinction for so long by the marvellous David Wilson, to make the difference; especially as Neil Back, similarly guerrilla-like in style, will be nursing a battered rib-cage rather than pilfering opposition ball from the rucks and mauls.

However, the Wallaby coach, Rod Macqueen, anticipates a quality contribution from Richard Hill, the form back-rower of the tour.

"Smith's ground skills are exceptional, and I'm hoping to get a bit from that department," said Macqueen.

"But there is nothing too shabby about Hill, and the fact that the Lions are a strong mauling side may not suit George too well."

In the end, it may all come down to the 31st man on the field: Andre Watson, the South African referee, who controlled England's narrow victory over the Wallabies at Twickenham last November and, perhaps more pertinently, lost his patience with the Australians' deeply cynical time-wasting stunts towards the end of that particular contest.

Both sides were angling for a meeting with Watson before kick-off, and if the Lions management can persuade him that the scrummage is a battle zone rather than a love-in and that the back-foot rule at the ruck is not a figment of the imagination, they will be in with a decent shout.

At least Henry is beginning to handle the constant Wallaby barbs with a degree of quick-witted humour.

"How do you react to being called the 'grumpy Lions'," he was asked yesterday. "I think it's a load of rubbish," he replied. "How's that for grumpiness?"

Teams:

Australia: Chris Latham, Andrew Walker, Daniel Herbert, Nathan Grey, Joe Roff, Stephen Larkham, George Gregan, Toutai Kefu, George Smith, Owen Finegan, John Eales (captain), David Giffin; Glenn Panoho, Jeremy Paul, Nick Stiles.

Reserves: Michael Foley, Ben Darwin, Matt Cockbain, David Lyons, Chris Whitaker, Elton Flatley, Matthew Burke.

Lions: Matt Perry, Dafydd James, Brian O'Driscoll, Rob Henderson, Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson, Rob Howley, Scott Quinnell, Richard Hill, Martin Corry, Danny Grewcock, Martin Johnson (captain), Phil Vickery, Keith Wood, Tom Smith.

Reserves: Jason Leonard, Gordon Bulloch, Colin Charvis, Martyn Williams, Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Iain Balshaw.

Referee: Andre Watson

- INDEPENDENT