Unlucky No 8 can finally Corry favour

As the ultimate team man, Martin Corry could speak with steady voice and temper when asked if the departure of Lawrence Dallaglio has opened the door for Michael Owen of Wales.

The questioner probably didn't deserve such a dignified response. He'd missed the obvious. The loss of Dallaglio would appear to have opened the door for Corry rather than Owen.

The Welsh No 8 is a fine player, athletic and skilled with the vision to exploit opportunities. But in the absence of Dallaglio, the Lions need a leader. They require an uncompromising brute like Corry who has that unflinching courage Vera Lynn used to sing about.

In his two games so far Corry has been the Lions' guiding light.

An oak tree sort of bloke who has stood tall while a few of the saplings around him have uprooted and gone looking for shelter.

Long before the Lions hopped onto their Auckland-bound jumbo-jets, Sir Clive Woodward was adamant that to win in New Zealand he needed players who could handle the pressure.

He needed proven winners. As he spoke, it was apparent that he did so with Dallaglio in mind.

Now the template is Corry. It's nothing new for the 31-year-old. For most of his career he has had to live in the shadow of Dallaglio. His opportunities coming only once calamity has struck.

But every time he gets his chance, Corry takes it and makes you wonder if he is the unluckiest man on the planet. He originally missed out on selection for the 2001 Lions tour, only getting the call when Scotland's Simon Taylor ruptured knee ligaments in the opening game.

A week later Dallaglio was on the plane home, too, and it was Corry who made that loss bearable.

He played with the very same intensity as Dallaglio, smashing bravely into yellow jumpers with that unquenchable determination.

When he returned to Australia two years later for the World Cup, he was back in his familiar position on the sidelines.

It might have broken a lesser man's spirits. But once again, it fortified Corry. He knew the drill. Knew he had to be patient once more and play the waiting game again.

The path to his favoured No 8 jersey cleared when Dallaglio retired from test football in July last year. Corry was England's outstanding player during the 2005 Six Nations, enjoying massive games against Ireland and France.

With that background, Corry is very much in the test picture, probably as a No 8 rather than blindside.

Richard Hill seems certain to play at six, with Taylor and Owen challenging Corry. Owen earned big raps for his performance against Taranaki, where assistant coach Gareth Jenkins said: "What we have seen with Michael is that not only is he prepared to be in the physical aspect of the game but he's a touch player as well. He's got the X-factor. A bit of vision."

Taylor offered much the same, before he was injured with his tour future in question. Neither Taylor nor Owen, though, has that ability to exert a mysterious gravitational pull on the game.

Corry should see it as a compliment that so far on this tour he has played like a more dynamic version of Dean Richards, the Lions No 8 of 12 years ago.

He's been at the heart of everything good the Lions forwards have done, usually with his big mitts on the pill, keeping it safe and keeping it going forward.

When it comes to the tests, these basics will be so very important. And when it comes to the tests, Corry will be delighted just to play and not have to captain the team.

While he loved being the skipper against Taranaki, it wasn't all smooth running. First he forgot to run out with the cuddly mascot and then he stood mute when the Lions' new song was played.

He said: "'I forgot the lion when I was running out. I was so pumped up I ran straight past manager Louise Ramsay and forgot all about the lion.

"When we were lining up for the anthem I saw her standing with the lion and thought 'oh bollocks'. I am somebody who if you have ever heard me sing will know I'm tone deaf so songs are not that appealing.

"The problem is everyone seems to be singing in such a high pitch we can never retain those things. It was just good to start the game. I think that I made a balls up of everything before that."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY