Lions to Roar: British Lions vs New Zealand Preview

The build up has been extensive nearly to the point of exhaustive, but the Lions vs New Zealand test series finally begins on Saturday, and there cannot be a rugby fan in the world who is not looking forward to it.The Lions are a unique entity in the world of sport, with four usually combative nations joining together for a prolonged period with the goal of finding cohesion and achieving greater strength. 45 players were selected to take part by Sir Clive Woodward and his massive management team, and this tour to the furthest inhabited corner of the planet is largely seen as the toughest of them all.New Zealand is the spiritual home of rugby union, and it is no secret that the whole nation is obsessed with the game. It is also the traditional tour for the Lions, although times have changed from the days where a six-week boat trip was the only way to travel. These Lions have had every possible luxury lavished upon them, and no stone has been left unturned as they try to become just the second such team to win in the Land of the long white cloud, the other being the legends of 1971.That was in the hub of an era when Wales dominated the British Isles, and there is a strong suggestion that it could be the same story on this occasion. Gethin Jenkins has been the outstanding front row player, and Ryan Jones has made the biggest impact of any in the back row so far. Dwayne Peel, Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas are also expected to start the test matches. Not only are they expected to do so, but they have genuinely flourished on this tour, where several others have not. Other men from the Principality with a major part to play include Gavin Henson, Shane Williams and Michael Owen. That rare status of legend awaits them all should they be part of a winning Lions squad in New Zealand, especially after winning the Grand Slam earlier this year.An obstacle that needs to be overcome is the assumed aura of invincibility that NZ sometimes seem to have in their homeland but in Woodward they have the best man to banish such myths. He brought England here in 2003 and won a brutal one off contest despite having just six men in the pack for the last ten minutes. The knowledge of having done this is priceless, and it is hardly surprising that he will be turning to many of the men who brought that result into being, when the test match jerseys are distributed this time around.Other success for Northern Hemisphere sides has been limited, although Wales have pushed them close on a couple of occasions in recent years, including at the World Cup. We do not expect there to be any lack of belief in the Lions set-up come kick off.The press down under will always build up their men, and this has often been their downfall. The biased commentators and journalists have latched onto the fact that the New Zealand Maoris beat the tourists and came to the unanimous conclusion that the All Blacks should win the series at a canter, 3-0. However, this fails to understand the nature of Lions Tours in particular, and the added intensity that surrounds all test level rugby. Every club or provincial side wants a piece of the Lions like no other team they play, and in the face of such fierce desire and commitment, there are almost certainly going to be some set backs.In addition to this, teething problems and disjointed displays are reasonably expected on crusades such as this, and nobody in red was panicking that night in Hamilton. Instead all the post match talk was of learning lessons, and this is exactly what was needed. A well-documented negligence of the pack, especially the loose forwards when the ball was on the ground severely undermined their efforts, and this matter has been addressed in each game since.Against Wellington, Otago, and Southland this part of the game has been far more assured, to the point in fact that opposition coaches have questioned whether such ferocity on the floor is within the rules of the game; music to the ears of Sir Clive and company to hear how his charges respond to being geed up.New Zealand are a good side, and they have a number of outstanding individuals, most notably behind the scrum. But this is not a new phenomenon. They took a supposedly great side to the last World Cup only for the fault in their game plan to be exposed in the semi final by Australia.Graham Henry has taken the reins since then, and this is the same man who led the Lions four years ago. He was highly criticised then, and he will be once more should he be on the losing side again. His approach to the job has been to simplify the game, to let the forwards do their job (i.e secure the ball) and the backs do theirs (i.e take the ball forward/ find the space/ score the tries).We have to commend this approach, and their players are of enough quality to beat most other teams in the world. However, the British Lions are not most other teams. Their back line looks superb. Dwayne Peel is impressing consistently at scrum half, and in Stephen Jones Woodward has finally found a fly half of enough quality to allow Jonny Wilkinson a berth at inside centre. This is one plan anyway, but Gavin Henson, Will Greenwood or even captain Brian O'Driscoll may take the number 12 shirt at some point during the series. Josh Lewsey is brilliant and would challenge any back three player in the world for their place, whilst Jason Robinson is simply unique as is Shane Williams who will surely be used to some extent. Lewsey will surely spend some time at full back, despite being named on the wing for the first test.The front five looks very solid also. Shane Byrne can be relied upon to hit his man, and Julian White is a scrummager of immense proportions. The other prop, Gethin Jenkins has been scintillating so far, powerful in the tight and a huge asset in the loose. Ben Kay is selected principally for his line out ability whilst Paul O'Connell has been one of the sure-fire starters for the best part of a month. Obviously it is about more than fifteen men, and there is great competition in all positions, and this is one advantage of having such a mammoth squad.And onto the back row. Only an injury to Lawrence Dallaglio thwarted a re uniting of the English holy trinity, but his replacement is very able in Martin Corry who packs down between Richard Hill and Neil Back in Christchurch. All three are reliable men who manage to have good games even when those around are not at their best. Barring injury, we may not see much change in these positions, especially as all three are men with whom Woodward has a trusted relationship.On both of the most recent Lions Tours, in 1997 to South Africa, and 2001 to Australia the squad lost a warm up match, in not dissimilar circumstances to the way that defeat was experienced against the Maoris a fortnight ago. On each occasion rational thought determined that if they could not cope with either the Blue Bulls or Australia A, there could be no hope in the test matches proper. On both occasions these sceptics were proved wrong, as the first test was won by the Lions.There is an added intensity to test match rugby that keeps the big games close. We do not expect either side to run away with any of the matches, and indeed both have chosen rather negative fifteens for the first one in Christchurch. But the Lions have thrived on the adversity of being underdogs in the past, and in Woodward they have a master tactician and personality manager at the helm.There have been no out spoken grumblings of discontent, and although his tried and tested World Cup winners from 2003 will dominate proceedings, this can only really have been expected. Experience is an invaluable commodity and those men who travelled to Australia for the World Cup and came home with the trophy know what it takes to win.If the Lions do win the first game, as we are suggesting, this is when the Kiwis will be at their most dangerous. Entering the Wellington game with something to prove will only strengthen their resolve, and it will also be mush clearer exactly how the tourists are planning to play. We strongly expect the series to come down to the deciding 3rd test in Auckland on 9th July. Injuries are likely to have played a part by this stage, but one thing that is certain by this game is that neither side will be taking anything for granted. It could come down to goal kicking, and if Jonny Wilkinson remains fit and selected it would be tough to bet against him finding his range under pressure. He is the ultimate big game player, and this is why he is included, despite some question marks regarding form.The bookies have the Lions available at 3/1 to win the series, and we feel this is a good value bet. The attractive alternative to this however is to take the 4/1 with William Hill about them winning 2-1. We are confident that the tourists can win the first test, but do find it hard to believe that the All Blacks will not bounce back in one of the other two. Therefore this is the bet that we advise going for in what is sure to be a pulsating set of encounters. In addition, it also worth backing the tourists on the handicap in the first Test. Betting VerdictLions to win series 2-1 at 4/1 with William Hill.