Backrow looks the tightest call

RUGBY LIONS TOUR: YESTERDAY WAS a day of leisure for the Lions squad in their beachfront hotel on the outskirts of Durban. The surf rolled in from the Indian Ocean and the sun shone, but it will have been their most anxious day to date. This morning comes the moment of truth when they will learn their fate with regard to the team for the first Test.

There will be no letters under the door to greet them when they awake. Instead, they will simply be informed en bloc prior to the morning session.

Ian McGeechan and his coaches were due to go into conclave again during the day and once more last evening. Whatever about keeping the Springboks guessing, it has become clear the Lions think tank have been true to their word and had still to finalise the line-up.

Assistant/backs coach Rob Howley confirmed that James Hook (neck/head) and Euan Murray (ankle) are out of consideration for Saturday arising from injuries sustained in Tuesday’s bruiser in Port Elizabeth against the Southern Kings. Both are receiving treatment.

Hook might conceivably have been selected on the bench given he can cover outhalf, centre and fullback but for what Howley called “a quite highish tackle – being kind”.

Though O’Gara’s kicking and winning habits look in better shape than those of Stephen Jones, at least O’Gara now looks assured of a place on the bench.

Neil Jenkins, who has joined the tour as kicking coach and whose goalkicking helped win the Test series here a dozen years ago, admitted: “They did some great kicking up in the high veldt. Obviously it’s been a little bit tricky coming down to sea level in the last two games. Conditions have been totally different from what they’ve been used to up there, and this Saturday will be a little bit different; a bit more pressure in the Test match arena. Chances will be few and you’ve got to take them.”

In the wake of the Springboks picking arch poacher Heinrich Brüssow at openside, the argument for playing both David Wallace and Martyn Williams has perhaps strengthened.

In the modern game, the breakdown is king. That’s even truer on this tour, with the law amendments which allow the tackler more time to contest for the ball. Howley re-iterated that the emphasis will be on the Lions ball-carriers to stay longer on their feet; he admitted they had been guilty of going to ground too quickly.

The composition of the backrow remains the biggest riddle, and with the Tom Croft-Jamie Heaslip-David Wallace combination having been employed in the two most impressive performances to date, that is the likeliest combination. None of them was employed on Tuesday, and although Martyn Williams (whom they may simply pick instead of Wallace) was also rested, that may have been as much to do with the 33-year-old’s game management.

A Wallace-Heaslip-Williams backrow would most ably reflect the emphasis on the breakdown, though Wallace hasn’t played on the blindside on tour, or indeed this season. In any event, the loss of Stephen Ferris still seems as acute as it was at the time.

There’s also an argument for playing Rob Kearney on the left wing, not to mention Luke Fitzgerald, but otherwise the team would appear to almost pick itself: Byrne; Bowe, O’Driscoll, Roberts, Monye; Stephen Jones, Phillips; Jenkins, Mears, Vickery; Wyn Jones, O’Connell; Croft, Wallace, Heaslip.

Yet the nagging suspicion remains that the Lions may have a surprise or two for the Boks.

The other Boks selection which may influence the Lions’ kicking game is that of Frans Steyn at fullback, given his propensity for long-range drop goals.

“That’s been talked about as well,” admitted Jenkins, as Howley nodded with a broad, knowing smile.

So, box-kicks by Mike Phillips will have to be short enough for an effective chase – although Jenkins admitted Steyn is bound to have an opportunity or two.

Howley extolled Phillips’ dedication, his passing and generally being “a handful behind a dominant pack”.

That said, Howley admitted that Phillips, in his first Test against the world champions, will also be coming up against the best number nine on the planet.

“He’s a very quick thinker,” the former Welsh scrumhalf said of Fourie du Preez. “I think his ability to see the game two or three seconds before anyone else is one of the key ingredients to being a world-class player and he’s able to do that. He’s quick, he can pass and he can kick. So I think he’s quite a potent threat to any defensive line.”

On Tuesday it appeared the Southern Kings had literally taken the tackle to a new level – the jump tackle – or were on a bonus for each Lion they beheaded. “I think there was a cynical mark on the game,” added Howley. “There were a lot of off-the-ball incidents which weren’t picked up by the referee or touch judges.”

But perhaps the Lions have learned from the PR own goals of four years ago.

“In the end, we were happy to come away with the win, draw a line under it and move on. The Southern Kings were very physical and there were incidents in the game, particularly with (Gordon) D’Arcy off the ball. I think it happened twice, which for whatever reasons went undetected. It was probably the most physical game we’ve played on this tour, they were very confrontational in the tackle area and it’s an area we need to improve on.”

After something of a phoney war until now, the Kings’s aproach may have served a purpose.

Somewhat bizarrely, though, Tuesday’s independent match commissioner, Terry Willis of Australia, allowed the 12-hour post-match window set out in the tour agreement to elapse without recourse to citing any players. Perhaps he was too spoiled for choice.