Howley: ‘Phenomenal’ North will bring physical edge

The importance of George North to Warren Gatland’s plan for the British & Irish Lions to beat Australia in Saturday’s first Test was underlined by the relief that greeted his clearance to play in Suncorp Stadium.

North, 21, was yesterday passed fit to face the Wallabies after overcoming a hamstring strain that kept the Lions’ most imposing wing out of the last two tour matches.

The Wales star, handed his first Test cap by Gatland aged 18 years and 214 days has been making an impact on the game since that debut in 2010 against South Africa when he scored two tries. His 6ft 4ins, 17st-plus frame is difficult enough to deal with but already on this Lions tour, North has shown just how effective that presence can be allied to the power, speed and rugby intuition he possesses in abundance.

According to Lions backs coach and fellow Welshman Rob Howley, there is plenty more to come from the Northampton-bound wing and fingers crossed for Lions supporters, the bigger picture will start to emerge in Brisbane on Saturday. “It’s great to have someone of his physicality,” Howley said yesterday ahead of North’s expected inclusion in head coach Gatland’s team due to be announced overnight. “We’ve only seen glimpses of North. I think he’s a phenomenal athlete, and hopefully he’ll have the opportunity to show it over the next three weeks.

“He’s probably one of the best athletes I’ve been involved with as a coach. He’s got depth to his game and when he made his debut against South Africa aged 18, he had 21-22 touches. That’s what we want our wings to do, have lots of involvement. He works tirelessly at his game and is very diligent.”

The good news about North was tempered by Howley’s admission that Tommy Bowe, Jamie Roberts and Manu Tuilagi were definitely unavailable for Saturday. Yet having both North and Welsh wing partner Alex Cuthbert, even taller at 6ft 6ins, at their disposal means the Lions can go into the Test series with the “big wing” gameplan Gatland has been planning from the outset. Roberts and Tuilagi’s absence leaves the Lions without some direct-running centres but Brian O’Driscoll and Jon Davies are hardly lightweights either and Howley was certainly not too concerned about their absence.

“When we look at the centres — Jamie, Manu, Jon and Brian — it’s a great mix. I think we’ve got the ability to play a gain-line game, a passing game with a lot of magic in there as well.

“We saw Manu and Brian together against the Force, and Jamie and Jon Davies. I’m looking forward to the combinations and the mix that is going to come in the next few weeks. It’s about changing things up and being clever and smart.”

The Lions backs coach was confident the tourists had already shown enough creativity to get them off to a winning start in the Test series.

“I said from the outset how many points we need to score against Australia in the Tests and what their defensive systems are about. I believe we need to score between 19-23 points and we need to score and create tries.

“I think we’ve scored about 27 tries, some with very cute passing and some exciting running angles. It’s important we keep that going over the next few weeks. We’re going to be tested. They’ve got great line speed, good defenders, that’s what you’d expect when you play against Southern Hemisphere sides.”

With the make-up now confirmed of the Wallabies’ Test line-up, the Lions know what to expect from Robbie Deans’ side. The inclusion of Digby Ioane and uncapped recent rugby league convert Isreal Folau on the wings with Berrick Barnes at full-back as well as a centre partnership of Adam Ashley-Cooper and another debutant in Christian Lealiifano suggests the Australians intend to play with some width. Yet any concern that the Wallabies will have been buoyed by the Lions’ midweek 14-12 defeat by the Brumbies, were countered with Howley’s assertion that his players will rebound with a furious commitment to righting the wrongs perpetrated in Canberra on Tuesday.

“Sometimes a loss gets you on edge,” Howley said. “Our pride has been hurt; we are disappointed and frustrated at losing. You take that hit and it’s how you react to that hit. I’ve seen the midweek team put the Saturday team back on track and on Saturday, that team that’s selected has to put the midweek team back on track, because many factors were very disappointing, but you have to move on when you’re on a Lions tour and our aim is to win that Test series.”