In the Jade Stadium tomorrow night, Sir Clive and his XXII charges will take on the mighty New Zealanders in a game that many believe to be a bridge too far. Shaky midweek performances and a hollow loss to the New Zealand Maori in Hamilton have given rise to some intense criticism in the week building up to tomorrow’s potentially explosive showdown, but the Lions, who have won only one Test match series in New Zealand, are clearly ready to throw down the gauntlet. Admittedly, the selection of certain players has come as something of a surprise to many of the 18,000 Brits who have now arrived on New Zealand soil.
As Woodward said this week: “There is no good judging me and the team now, let’s make our judggments after Saturday night.” It’s a fair point. The Lions have won five of their six games to date and though others would beg to differ, the fact is that they have rarely been troubled.
It took them time to get going against Taranaki and Otago, but they won those games with room to spare, just as they did in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington; and those victories were achieved with Woodward having to experiment with various combinations, both at forward and behind the scrum.
One of the biggest talking points with regard to combinations has come at half back where, tomorrow, Welsh pair Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones will start a game together for the first time since Mike Ruddock’s dragons carried off the Grand Slam against Ireland. Peel has been in wonderful form to date, whilst Jones has come under the spotlight for the simple fact that his form this season, means Jonny Wilkinson is pushed out to inside centre.
A gamble? Yes. Could it work? Well, there is no reason why not, although the twin threat of openside Richie McCaw and centre Tana Umaga, means Wilkinson could be a busy boy. Elsewhere, the Lions might struggle a little if the game is played at pace, although if they can things tight there is no reason why they can’t frustrate the All Blacks who displayed their soft underbelly in last season’s Tri Nations. Whatever the outcome, it promises to be a torrid affair with two sides desperate to move on to Wellington with a significant advantage.
British & Irish Lions v New Zealand, 1st Test
Christchurch, 25th June 2005, 8.10am (BST)
British & Irish Lions
15. JASON ROBINSON (Sale Sharks and England)
14. JOSH LEWSEY (London Wasps and England)
13. BRIAN ODRISCOLL (Leinster and Ireland (captain))
12. JONNY WILKINSON (Newcastle and England)
11. GARETH THOMAS (Toulouse and Wales)
10. STEPHEN JONES (Clermont-Auvergne and Wales)
09. DWAYNE PEEL (Scarlets and Wales)
01. GETHIN JENKINS (Cardiff and Wales)
02. SHANE BYRNE (Leinster and Ireland)
03. JULIAN WHITE (Leicester and England)
04. PAUL OCONNELL (Munster and Ireland)
05. BEN KAY (Leicester and England)
06. RICHARD HILL (Saracens and England)
07. NEIL BACK (Leicester and England)
08. MARTIN CORRY (Leicester and England)
Replacements
16. STEVE THOMPSON (Northampton Saints and England)
17. GRAHAM ROWNTREE (Leicester Tigers and England)
18. DANNY GREWCOCK (Bath and England)
19. RYAN JONES (Ospreys and Wales)
20. MATT DAWSON (London Wasps and England)
21. WILL GREENWOOD (NEC Harlequins and England)
22. SHANE HORGAN (Leinster and Ireland)
New Zealand
15. LEON MACDONALD (Canterbury and Crusaders)
14. DOUG HOWLETT (Auckland and Blues)
13. TANA UMAGA (Wellington and Hurricanes (captain))
12. AARON MAUGER (Canterbury and Crusaders)
11. SITIVENI SIVIVATU (Waikato and Chiefs)
10. DANIEL CARTER (Canterbury and Crusaders)
09. JUSTIN MARSHALL (Canterbury and Crusaders)
01. TONY WOODCOCK (North Harbour and Blues)
02. KEVEN MEALAMU (Auckland and Blues)
03. CARL HAYMAN (Otago and Highlanders)
04. CHRIS JACK (Canterbury and Crusaders)
05. ALI WILLIAMS (Auckland and Blues)
06. JERRY COLLINS (Wellington and Hurricanes)
07. RICHIE MCCAW (Canterbury and Crusaders)
08. RODNEY SOOIALO (Wellington and Hurricanes)
Replacements
16. DERREN WITCOMBE (Auckland and Blues)
17. GREG SOMERVILLE (Canterbury and Crusaders)
18. JONO GIBBES (Waikato and Chiefs)
19. SIONE LAUAKI (Waikato and Chiefs)
20. BYRON KELLEHER (Waikato and Chiefs)
21. RICO GEAR (Nelson Bays and Crusaders)
22. MALILI MULIAINA (Auckland and Blues)
