By common consent this was to be the Lions' second easiest game of the tour, and an even bigger throwaway than the tour opener against Western Australia given the week that was in it.
On an ideal tour, the 15 players not involved in the first test would have started tonight, so allowing an established test team every opportunity to go into Saturday's game refreshed. Alas, it's been anything but ideal lately. So not only do the Lions go into this game with the management clearly unsure about the make-up of their test 22 and most probably even their starting line-up, but the whole party could do with a shot in the arm.
Indeed, it has been a somewhat rudderless team if the needlessly complex line-out calls in makeshift line-ups against the Queensland President's XV and Australia A have been anything to go by.
It may be no harm that the likes of Scott Gibbs and Tyrone Howe have been fast-tracked straight into the team, for some fresh faces with desire are just what the Lions mid-weekers need. Judging by Malcolm O'Kelly's improved demeanour yesterday, the broad grin was back, the resolve may have improved too. That may be something to do with him being back in his favoured middle of the line role, and it's good to see Jeremy Davidson being granted only his second tour start, though this in turn begs the question: Whatever happened to the great Scott Murray?
There's been some harshly treated players on this tour, Graham Henry admitting that Colin Charvis (making only his second start) was one, but he ain't the only one.
The Welsh, with six starters, and English, with five, still form the bulk of this team and the former have been the poorest contributors on tour relative to their numbers.
Neil Jenkins particularly has looked utterly out of sorts, taking the ball flat, rather than coming on to the ball, and like Mike Catt and Lawerence Dallaglio has possibly not been right from the outset given recent keyhole surgery on his right knee.
"It's very important that the team plays very well," said Henry yesterday, so as to give the tour a positive injection at a timely stage, and this was a couple of hours before news of the injuries to Lawrence Dallaglio and Keith Wood broke. Henry also revealed that "there are still some positions up for grabs in the 22 man selection for the test team." And as if continuing his motivational speeches to tomorrow's line-up, Henry then went a step further than his earlier comment when saying: "People are playing for positions, there are 15 guys not playing, and some (of tomorrow's selection) may well get into the test XV." Somehow you sense it might be a nice day for Tyrone Howe.
NSW Country Cockatoos: N Croft; V Tailasa, R Macdougal, K Shepherd, W Crosby; C Doyle, R Petty; A Baldwin, J McCormack, M Bowman, D Lubans, B Wright, B Dale, B Klasen, C Taylor. Replacements: M Brown, M Ellis, D Banovich, D Thomas, J Vaalotu, G Refshauge, D Dimmock.
Lions: I Balshaw (England); B Cohen (England), M Taylor (Wales), S Gibbs (Wales), T Howe (Ireland); N Jenkins (Wales), A Healey (England); J Leonard (England), G Bulloch (Scotland), D Young (Wales, capt), J Davidson (Ireland), M O'Kelly (Ireland), C Charvis (Wales), M Corry (England), M Williams (Wales). Replacements to be named.
Previous meetings: ('89) NSW Country 13 Lions 72; ('66) NSW Country 3 Lions 6; ('59) NSW Country 14 Lions 27; ('50) Combined Country 3 Lions 47.
