Dallaglio must set the tone for Lions to deliver

THEY say paper never refused ink. That said, the amount of column inches that have been dedicated to the Lions tour even before a ball has been kicked on New Zealand soil is incredible.

The phenomenon that has become the Lions on tour is now in full swing.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Cardiff last week for the warm-up test against Argentina. The city was awash with Lions merchandise. In 1997, kit manufacturers Adidas badly miscalculated the demand for replica jerseys, which resulted in a universal scarcity when the test series commenced against South Africa.

Learning from that experience they increased the supply by a factor of four for the Australian tour in 2001.

Again, this proved inadequate. It was no surprise therefore to learn that even before the squad left Heathrow last week, over 350,000 replica shirts had been sold.

Against this background there was obvious disappointment with the pre-departure performance against an under-strength Puma side. While one suspects the primary motivation for this exercise was monetary, one hopes that the additional game will prove beneficial to the tour party in the long term.

Given that this clash was broadcast live throughout New Zealand, it has given the hosts a false sense of the Lions worth. That may be no bad thing. Typically, the propaganda war has already started with former All Blacks coaches Laurie Mains and John Mitchell predicting a 3-0 series victory to the home side. The tour party had better get used to this type of thing.

It is vital therefore, that Brian O'Driscoll's men lay down a marker in Rotorua tomorrow. While a win is imperative, a positive performance in terms of power and pace is also

required. For that reason, Clive Woodward has selected a side of test quality.

Given the performance of the Canterbury Crusaders in the Super 12 Final last Saturday, the All Blacks currently hold the psychological high ground. The Super 12 franchises in New Zealand are made up of an amalgam of national provincial championship teams. Tomorrow's opposition, Bay of Plenty, is one of four provinces that combine to form the Waikato Chiefs in Super 12. As a result, a number of their players have experience at a high level.

For the Lions to succeed it is vital their key players set the standard from the off. Therefore, it will be interesting to see Lawrence Dallaglio and Gavin Henson in action tomorrow.

Dallaglio has a huge role to play if the Lions are to win the series. In the absence of Martin Johnson, he is the one to whom the Lions forwards will look for leadership and direction. He has been through it all before and is an inspirational character. Despite his self-imposed international exile he has performed heroically for Wasps this season.

I am also intrigued to see how Henson will be received by his fellow Lions. While his Welsh team-mates are used to his eccentric nature off the field, it may not sit easy with some of his Lions colleagues. The

recent addition of his red highlights will only increase the desire of every half-decent New Zealand back to cut him in two. He has attracted more publicity than his performances in the Six Nations warranted.

Yet he seems to possess the big match temperament. The Lions could be tailor-made for him and his centre partnership with O'Driscoll tomorrow will be well worth watching.

Despite the presence of so many players in the squad I am somewhat surprised that the tour party left three members Gareth Thomas, Stephen Jones and Jason Robinson behind.

It can be difficult for players to feel part of a tour party when they arrive late. It will be interesting to see how it impacts on their ability to challenge for test places.

I was also surprised to read suggestions from players within the Lions party that they would be unlikely to face such a physical examination in New Zealand as they did from Argentine forwards last week. Given that this was, at best, Argentina's second string pack, some of those Lions

forwards are in for a rude awakening over the coming weeks. While many New Zealand sides are struggling in the set-piece, the physical nature of the collisions at the break down is massive. This was very much in evidence when the Crusaders smashed a Waratahs' pack containing seven Wallabies in last Saturday's final.

The one thing that the Lions tourists can be assured of is that every game will present a massive physical challenge. In a land where rugby gives meaning to life for most of the population, the opportunity of playing against the Lions will transform the performances of little known players from the likes of Manawatu, Taranaki and Southland.

Tomorrow the show begins in earnest. The majority of the players in this Lions party will never have played against provincial opposition in New Zealand. The ground rules for the next seven weeks are about to be set. It is vital that the Lions are the architects of these rules.

The success of the tour will depend on it.