Lyons - a 117kg Wallaby pressure cooker

The return of 1.92m, 117kg No 8 David Lyons gives a more robust look to the Wallabies loose forward trio. Picture / Reuters

Ask Wallaby No 8 David Lyons about his favourite Australian cricketers and he immediately singles out former skipper Steve Waugh. Close behind he nominates current captain Ricky Ponting and opening bowler Glenn McGrath.

All three, he said, had mastered the ability to create pressure on their opponents and also deliver in times of great stress.

It is a characteristic Lyons has been working hard to emulate since his introduction to test rugby against Argentina in 2000.

The bulky ball-running forward has just turned 25 and returns to the Wallaby pack tomorrow for the Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney, which doubles as part of the Tri-Nations series.

Lyons was a late withdrawal from the Wallabies' opening test against the Springboks because of a stomach upset and an infected hand. His absence upset the Wallabies' loose-forward impact but he has recovered to be reunited with George Smith and John Roe.

In his early Wallaby years, Lyons was the understudy to Toutai Kefu, learning his trade as he tried to broaden his range of skills. For some time there was criticism that he was too one-dimensional - a battering ram without any finesse.

Similar views were aimed at All Black power runner Jerry Collins but both players have added neat offloads to their repertoire. The improvement had the 1.92m, 117kg Lyons voted the Wallaby player of the year last season.

"I feel my game has improved," he said this week. "I am still learning plenty about this game and working on being much more consistent.

"I also want to improve my leadership in the team, I want to be able to lift the side when we are under pressure. I want to respond regularly."

Lyons' thoughts turn to the Australian cricketers who have set the benchmark in their sport in recent years, a team he has been following closely in the Ashes series.

"It was a shame we didn't achieve one of the great comebacks in modern sport in that last test but it was one of the great spectacles," Lyons said.

He cited Waugh, Ponting and McGrath as sportsmen who had conquered the mental side of top-level contests; blokes who would revel in the pressure facing the Wallabies and All Blacks tomorrow.

Like McGrath, Lyons was raised a country lad in Molong, a town of about 2000 people four hours' drive west of Sydney.

Until he shifted to boarding school in Sydney when he was 15, Lyons' sporting involvement had been in hockey and cricket. After the move he began playing rugby in the backs until genetics and a few hearty school meals had him moving to the forwards.

He made the Australian Schools side and then graduated to the international ranks not long after. Along the way Lyons has also found time to study for a science and business degree as he considers life after rugby.

He was part of the Wallaby side beaten in the extra-time World Cup final in 2003 and, while still young, is one of the solid weapons available to the side.

"I still haven't watched a replay of that game but the last minutes are still all very vivid," Lyons said.

"The whole magnitude of the occasion is still hard to fathom and I have really tried to put it all behind me.

"There is no point dwelling on it. It is history, although I have used it to learn for the games ahead."

Lyons' power running in midfield and bulk off the back of the pack have been important assets to counter some of the perceived weaknesses in the Wallaby scrum.

"The key to this game will be all about which team is able to achieve some dominance; all about coming up in defence and dictating play.

"That was the way South Africa played against both of us and they were able to achieve the tempo they wanted to play at. They were able to play their own game while the Wallabies and All Blacks were moved away from theirs."

The Wallabies have a strong record in Sydney against the All Blacks, although they suffered one extreme defeat in 2003.

"We have usually been able to put together good performances in Sydney and that is comforting.

"It is hard to know why home advantage seems to be so influential - it doesn't add up. If we knew the reason it might mean we could win more offshore.

"But this will be special. There is nothing bigger than playing the All Blacks and it is all about enjoying the big occasion."