Wilkinson says Lions like soldiers on eve of battle

Anyone unsure what importance the Lions are placing on tonight's second rugby test against the All Blacks here need only read the battle cry from Jonny Wilkinson's latest column in The Times newspaper in London.

England first five-eighth Wilkinson compares the task he and the Lions face to a soldier on the eve of battle, while being careful not to demean the bravery of those who fight for their country.

"I have sometimes wondered what soldiers feel when they go to war. Do they feel anything similar to the way we feel, a massively enhanced version of a test match?" Wilkinson wrote.

"Because, for me right now, professionally, it's life and death going out there for this second test tomorrow.

"It's something that means so much. We're going on to what is essentially a battlefield where there is a cause for which we are going to fight."

Wilkinson said he had spoken "at length" with two of the Lions security men on this tour, both former Marines, about their experiences and how they prepared mentally for battle.

- NZPA