The real hard work starts here

BRITISH and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan has rubbished the notion that he went for brawn over brain in plotting his strategy to lower the colours of world champions in the three-test series that kicks off here tomorrow.

McGeechan has gone for power in the team for the opening match in Durban – with a third of the team Irish – but insists that physicality wasn’t the major factor in his selection, either for the tour itself or the opening Test in Kings Park.

O’Connell is joined by Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace, although two more Irish players were squeezed out, Ronan O’Gara losing out to Welshman Stephen Jones and Donncha O’Callaghan to Alun-Wyn Jones.

Both have the compensation of a place on the bench along with Rob Kearney, whose ability to play across the back three sees him into a match-day 22 ahead of the likes of Shane Williams and Luke Fitzgerald.

The South African view of the Lions squad selection has repeatedly been that the Lions want to focus on the physical rather than class in a bid to win the three match series.

“I think people should know where I’m coming from; we’re here to build up a team spirit amongst people from four different countries,” said the Lions coach. “I never put the physical factor first; I picked a team on the basis of what they (the players) have achieved as rugby players. For me, they were the best players in their groups and that is why they were chosen in the first place. Anyone that came in for any reason afterwards was chosen because they were the next best players; selection had nothing to do with size or weight.”

McGeechan reported the team selection process for tomorrow’s Test had taken over two hours. “Happily, that is the case, and I say happily because a certain number of players put their hands up for selection. There are some very disappointed guys out there. We had to be fair to everyone and I think we were. On a Lions tour you pick guys you feel are on form, you don’t pre-determine who you want.”

STILL, he admitted there were very close calls, amongst them at open side flanker where David Wallace won out over Martyn Williams and at out-half where Stephen Jones got the nod over O’Gara. “We looked very closely at both positions; it was hard to choose one over the other but we opted to start Wally, with Martyn on the bench and it would be fair to assume the call in favour of Stephen Jones had something to do with his familiarity with Mike Phillips.”

McGeechan has vast experience as a player and coach against the Springboks. He knows full well how difficult the game will be in the cluttered area of midfield, but he believes he has put together a centre partnership that can send shock waves through South African rugby.

“Brian O’Driscoll and Jamie Roberts have already shown themselves capable of working with and off of each other; they will build on that, they have been building on that over the last few days. I’m confident enough that they will be able to produce something special on Saturday,” he said.

“The great thing is that everyone is pushing the next guy to produce the goods,” said McGeechan, as tour captain Paul O’Connell insisted that productive work on the training ground would have to be replicated in a match situation against the world champions.

“The breakdown (rucks) will be a very important part of the game; we have to secure quick ball because we have a very good back division. The partnerships have been given an opportunity, more so than on the last Lions tour (to New Zealand in 2005) and we are probably more aware of how we want to play; we have been aware of that (what is required) from the day we came together four weeks ago,” said O’Connell.

McGeechan went further on the breakdown issue. “It will be important; we will need to know the exact views of the referee on that. But I think we won’t focus on it totally; we have to figure out where we are and how far we can go on the pitch.”

O’Connell offered an interesting appraisal of the unity within this 2009 squad when he said: “The success of the tour could hinge on moments like that. We have reached a certain point of the tour and this is it; it depends a lot on how the guys selected react but more importantly it depends on how the guys not selected react. I suppose we’re a long way into the tour after four weeks of hard work, but this is where the business end of it begins.”