Lions v NZ 2nd test

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />From a British perspective there was very little to be positive about in the first of the British & Irish Lions vs. New Zealand test matches, but the road show rumbles on to Wellington this week, for the second test on Saturday evening.Looking back for a moment, the All Blacks were entirely dominant in game one, most noticeably up front where the Lions never got as much as a toe hold on proceedings. The crucial area of mismatch was in the lineout where ten of Shane Byrne's throws went into opponents possession, and at test level there is no better means of securing the ball that through these set plays. It is simply impossible to play with this working against you so vehemently.Sir Clive Woodward got it wrong with the selection, and has admitted as much. Experience is all well and good when building a side over two or three years as he did with England, but when the time frame is a couple of months, it is the players with the individual brilliance that can set the team alight and these are the men that should be included. Hindsight is a wonderful thing Sir Clive.Fate played its card too, with Brian O'Driscoll being callously taken out of the series within a minute of the start, and another natural leader and ever-dependable Richard Hill suffering a tour ending knee ailment. Tom Shanklin is also ruled out for all remaining games.There is no place to hide any more and no point in pretending that they were deserving of anything other than a heavy loss. Woodward has rung the changes.Steve Thompson will be the most watched man, and will need a huge game. Considering that his poor lineout throwing was the principal reason that Shane Byrne got the nod in the first test, do we have any reason to think the Englishman can do a better job? Graham Rowntree has thrown a glimmer of hopeful light on this by revealing that the Lions changed their whole calling routine in the week leading into the first test for fear that the AB's had worked out their calls. This equated to tactical suicide, but at least Thompson and his pack will have had a week longer to learn the moves, and surely he cant do as badly as Byrne, who even managed to single handedly gift the opponents their first try from a 22 metre lineout, in a way most haven't seen outside of junior rugby.His target men have altered too, with Ben Kay as the major fall guy. Donncha O'Callaghan takes his place to go alongside his Irish team-mate Paul O'Connell. Lewis Moody offers another great jumping option following his selection at number seven.We do expect this part of the game to be better, but to simply put the Lions woes down to the lineout is to avoid the real issue. The All Blacks were simply more physical, stronger, competitive and better on the floor.Moody should help address this, and in Ryan Jones and Simon Easterby he has two men partnering him in the back row with a desire to really show themselves and all the millions watching that they are of elite class. This is a trio that nobody would have put in anything but a midweek game when the tour party departed 5 weeks ago, but on current form they merit inclusion. A good thing about choosing so many new players, and ones that are relatively inexperienced is that there will not be an ounce of complacency amongst them. This is the highest point of their careers to date and they are on the verge of becoming heroes, having been just tourists to this point. Sheer passion and desire is what the Lions should be about, with past reputations an irrelevance and everything lying there to be gained for those taking part.Opposing this, how can the Graham Henry and his men fail to be over confident? They were superb last week, and have forced Woodward to select a new team, packed with unheralded performers who have never tasted rugby of this magnitude.New Zealand are undoubtedly a strong outfit, but the Lions did themselves no favours by giving up the ball so easily in Christchurch. So long as this is rectified, we feel the match should be far closer this week. The series is on the line, and no more losses are allowable if it is to be won. If the men involved cannot get motivated for this game, one must question why they are employed in top level rugby.Even with the one sided nature of the first game, the points differential was only 18, and had it not been for the worst lineout throw in living memory, this margin would have been five points fewer. The teams will surely be better matched on Saturday, and the Lions have the talent to cause problems through the backs, assuming that the forwards win some ball. Overall the game should be massively more entertaining, not least because of the bad feeling left over from the first. Tana Umaga can expect some special attention should he find himself in any vulnerable positions, seeing how the captain has been made the villain for his part in the injury to O'Driscoll. Kevin Mealamu was the other man responsible, but generally the British contingent have to be more physical in every area and point of contact. 12 years ago when the Lions last toured the land of the long white cloud they were beaten in the first test before responding with a stirring victory in the second. This may be a little too much to ask for in this instance but we have faith in them upping the ante significantly from seven days ago. A +15 point handicap looks generous with this in mind and this is the bet we advise taking.Betting Verdict 1.10 pts Lions to win (+15) at 10/11.