Class of '09 running out of time to reach the summit

Assistant Coach Jim Telfer famously told the 1997 Lions that they had an opportunity, in rugby terms, "to go for Everest". An opportunity that only Lions Tour's afford. In the aftermath of defeat in Durban last weekend both captain Paul O'Connell and brace bagging blind side Tom Croft felt that the clock, and not the World Champions, had ultimately beaten the Lions. If this is the case then the squad are staring down the ticking foe with even greater anxiety in their quest to reach the aforementioned Everest. 80 minutes to save the series, to remain on the mountain for one more week.

So many questions need answering in the cauldron of Loftus today, where both oxygen and local sympathy will be at a premium. Can the Lions get any kind of platform at the set piece to allow their more incisive back division to dictate the direction of the game? Can the tourists repeat the intensity and accuracy of their showing in the last 20 minutes of the 1st Test match for the full 80? Were the World Champions exhausted or just too complacent in the last quarter? What is clear is that the Lions need to be as close to perfect as possible, or next week at Ellis Park they will be the sideshow entertainment for a Springbok carnival.

The scrum, a disaster zone in the first Test as we know for the Lions has been beefed up and makes a lot more sense. Rob Howley pre-tour had spoken a lot of the need for mobility and moving the big South African pack around, but as we suggested here at The XV, that's all very well but you do need to secure your own ball and slow the oppositions down and for that you need that pace blended with physicality. As was suggested by myself and columnist Jack Travers the Lions did not add enough of the physicality. I still worry today whether the selection of Adam Jones at tight-head is the right call. I personally would have preferred to have seen Sheridan go loose and the versatile Jenkins come across to the tight to start. The start of the game and momentum are going to be so important that I feel the Lions cannot allow any opportunity for things to go as wrong as they did last week early on. To this ends Sheridan, who admittedly has looked a liability in the loose on this Tour, is needed to set the tone early on at scrum time and then replace him with the more dynamic Jones once they have garnered some control.

Shaw looks a strong selection in beefing up the lock position and giving the Lions another on field totem of leadership. One must feel desperately for Hines however, skilful and hugely physical his a big loss, to sadly yet another poor officiating decision. If that is a dangerous tackle we may as well all pack up now and take up billiards Because the game of rugby is a lost cause. In the backs Fitzgerald has looked lively all tour and the Lions must look to bring him and Bowe of their wings to expose the lack of pace in the Springbok midfield. The understanding the Ireland back 3 all have will also be significant in an arena where kicking will be hugely influential. On this note Stephen Jones must take his chances, both out of hand and off the tee. This blog has already argued about the importance of clutch kicking and it is an undoubted chink in Jones' armour.

On the South African side, I would like to see them be more creative with their wing talent. Whilst the axis of Jones, Roberts, and O'Driscoll is defensively daunting their one weakness, would be out and out speed, particularly laterally. Instead of trying to reverse kick or chip being to get Pieterson and Habana on the ball I would like to see Pienaar bring the of the wing and up the 9,10 channel, or use De Villiers as a dummy runner up that channel and play the wingers in behind him to test the centres movement. Berger's extra physicality and nous should help tame Roberts if the Berger of '07, the IRB world player of the year turns up, and not the look-alike act that has masqueraded as one of the World's premier back row forwards for the Stormers all year.

So many questions of which 80 minutes will give us the answers. Perhaps the overriding one will be is this Lions team a good one or great one? We're about to find out.