‘Let’s wrap up series now’: Warren Gatland

LIONS TOUR - SECOND TEST: Australia v Lions

Having taken a 1-0 lead in the best of three series last weekend, the Lions can grab glory over the next two weekends, but Gatland will urge his 2013 squad to emulate Martin Johnson’s 1997 conquerors of world champions South Africa, by winning and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead tomorrow at the Etihad Stadium.

To that end he has made five changes from the side that won at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday. Gatland described it as a horses for courses side with a victory in mind not just for the series but the long-term well-being of the Lions.

“We are desperate to win the game, desperate to win the series,” he said, before adding: “People are aware of the positive impact the Lions can have on the future of the game. These players want to be part of a successful Lions tour.

“I spoke to Brian O’Driscoll at training this morning, and he just said he’s a little bit worried because having come out here as a 21-year-old, and having been part of a series that was close and just losing, and 1997 was fresh in the minds.

“He thought he would get another chance, and he is sort of on the cusp of this being his last chance to be part of a winning Lions series. He wants to be able to communicate that to the players to say, ‘don’t leave this opportunity behind’ because it can be you don’t get that chance again. Don’t waste the moment is the message to our players.”

Gatland, though, must balance that desperation as well as the burden of history with the need for clarity in terms of the players’ performance tomorrow.

“It is something we are well aware of. You can’t let that weight of expectation dominate your performance in the game,” he said.

“It can’t consume us. We need to have that clarity of being mentally strong. If that weight of expectation is too heavy, you can sometimes go into your shell and it can constrict your play.

“We have to make sure we get the balance right between identifying that, talking about that, but also giving the players the freedom to play, go out there and express themselves and win this Test series.”

Gatland explained Mike Phillips’ omission despite his availability was a testament to the form on this tour of both Leicester’s Ben Youngs and Munster’s Conor Murray.

“He is fit to play. But he hasn’t done a lot of training because he has been staying off the knee. He admitted the knee was a bit sore after the game. It was prudent to not put him out this week. The luxury is how good the other nines have been going.”

The make-up of the Lions bench is just as relevant, with both Tom Croft and fellow back rower Sean O’Brien named as replacements at the expense of a second row. England flanker Croft is a key lineout option but not a specialist and the Lions head coach admitted he had taken a gamble with his decision of forsaking a lock for more impact from his substitutes.

“We’ve done some stuff with Tom Croft. He is an outstanding lineout forward, so we feel like we’ve got that covered. We’ve done a few scrums with Dan Lydiate in the second row.

“We know that’s a calculated risk, and we just felt with the potential of Tom and Sean coming off the bench it gives us a lot of impact, particularly in the second half. We are well aware there is some risk involved, as with all selections.”

Given the Lions were the winning side last Saturday, one might have expected more changes from the Wallabies, particularly given the injury chaos wreaked on his back line during the first Test, but head coach Robbie Deans made just two changes, both in the backs, to the home side for what is a must-win Test match in Melbourne.

Kurtley Beale will start at full-back while Joe Tomane regains his place on the left wing, the pair replacing the injured Berrick Barnes and Digby Ioane respectively.

Beale might have been named at fly-half given James O’Connor’s shaky performance there in Brisbane, but Deans has kept faith with him as a playmaker, believing he will benefit both from his experience last week and the return of Christian Leali’ifano at inside centre having lasted less than a minute on his Test debut before being knocked out cold in a collision with opposite number Jon Davies.

The Wallabies’ loss of their designated kicker Leali’ifano came back to bite them and Deans also welcomed the return to fitness of outside centre Adam Ashley-Cooper, who has recovered from a shoulder injury suffered in the second half last week.