Maori defeat ideal spur to get the Lions roaring

IF Paul O’Connell and his fellow Lions emerge victorious from the first Test against the All Blacks at Jade Stadium tomorrow, the Ireland lock will be grateful to the wake-up call received a fortnight earlier from the New Zealand Maori.

O’Connell & Co were found seriously wanting at the Waikato Stadium on June 11 when the Maori delivered the only defeat for the Lions on the tour to date in the so-called unofficial fourth Test. Lions players, including O’Connell, admitted they had lacked sufficient aggression in that game and had come up short at both the breakdown and the lineout as the Maori won 19-13.

“It was probably a game we all needed,” O’Connell said. “We were working on our line-outs, our scrums and our organisation but we probably forgot the most important thing in rugby which is to get stuck in, be aggressive and put numbers to rucks.