Lions/Australia name their teams; 1st Test Preview

So, like Christmas Eve (well, technically Dec. 23rd I suppose), the anticipation is building to a crescendo, the auditions of varying quality are done and the 1st Test is upon us this Saturday Morning.  Australia and The Lions have named their teams and as expected with a Lions team, as well as an Australia team in a bit of flux, there are a few interesting selections. The two teams line up like this:

Alex Corbisiero	1	Benn Robinson (Waratahs)
Tom Youngs	2	Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
Adam Jones	3	Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
Alun–Wyn Jones	4	Kane Douglas (Waratahs)
Paul O’Connell	5	James Horwill (Reds)(c)
Tom Croft	6	Ben Mowen (Brumbies)
Sam Warburton   (c)	7	Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
Jamie Heaslip	8	Wycliff Palu (Waratahs)
Mike Phillips	9	Will Genia (Reds)
Jonny Sexton	10	James O’Conner (Rebels)
George North	11	Digby Ioane (Reds)
Jonathan Davies	12	Cristian Leali’ifano (Brumbies)
Brian O’Driscroll	13	Adam Ashley-Cooper (Waratahs)
Alex Cuthbert	14	Issy Folau (Waratahs)
Leigh Halfpenny	15	Berrick Barnes (Waratahs)
Richard Hibbard	16	Saia Fainga’a (Reds)
Mako Vunipola	17	James Slipper (Reds)
Dan Cole	18	Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
Geoff Parling	19	Rob Simmons (Reds)
Dan Lydiate	20	Liam Gill (Reds)
Ben Youngs	21	Nick Phipps (Rebels)
Owen Farrell	22	Pat McCabe (Brumbies)
Sean Maitland	23	Kurtley Beale (Rebels)

Lions - Set Piece Panic?

The first two surprise selections come in the front row, with Alex Corbisiero becoming the traditional 'bolter' ahead of the generally impressive Mako Vunipola and also the inclusion of Tom Youngs at Hooker, which is just the latest step in the converted centre's meteoric rise to his current position as being named the best Hooker in the British Isles. 

These selections have a slight whiff of a kneejerk reaction following the woes at the set piece in the last few games.  But why?  Corbisiero is admittedly a better scrummager,  but Vunipola is no slouch in that department , he offers a lot more in his all round game and will feel rightly disappointed.  I would understand this selection if this Lions tour was against South Africa or even New Zealand - but against this Australian team, more specifically against this Australian pack, I feel that this selection takes away more than it offers to the team. 

Youngs, whilst a developing talent (and I personally have all the time in the world for former backs converting to hooker!), will admit himself that probably the side of his conversion that needs the most work is his lineout accuracy, yet Hibbard, clearly the most accurate chucker on the tour is suffering the ill effects from a bad day at the office too close to the tests.  Youngs' inclusion is a big gamble, with the lineout being so important to the Lions' possession based, sledgehammer backline selection.  with Horwill and Mowen in particular lurking to pick off anything that isn't bang on the money, it could be a long day at the office for the Leicester Tyro. Tom Croft getting the blindside nod and Geoff Parling making the bench ahead of Richie Grey offers further suggestion of Gatland's lineout worries.

At What Price A Captain?

Although there was some conjecture about his selection I think we all knew there was no way in Hell that Sam Warburton would not be starting the test matches as tour captain.  his inclusion, with Tom Croft's superior lineout presence giving him the 6 jersey, and Gatland's mancrush Dan Lydiate getting the bench spot means that Sean O'Brien and Justin Tipuric can be very rightfully disappointed in the selection that reflects not at all on their form and ability.

I have madebno secret of the fact that I just don't 'get' Warburton, I can't put my finger on it specifically but I find him to be generally over rated as a player and there's some good stats out there to back it up, however good a leader he is.  This is a Lions tour at the end of the day, not a an emerging Wales team and in the team named any of  PO'C, BO'D, Alun-Wyn Jones or even Heaslip could have captained without any negative impact, so that argument for his selection just doesn't fly for me.

As for Croft, I have long maintained that whilst I really like him as a player, I find him to be a luxury selection - you need the rest of the pack, as it is at Leicester to be made up with the right blend of fetchers, enforcers and hard yard earners to allow him to hang out in the tram lines and be a lineout specialist.  I'd love him so so much more if he was a second row! But I have already said that I think he has been selected as a lineout safety blanket.

These issues aside, I'm generally happy with the rest of the selection - Faletau will be upset, but Heaslip is no shoddy option.  Maitland making the bench is a weird one for me - some have said this is political as you can't name a Lions squad without a Jock in it, but this argument is irrelevant, even if it is true - how does Maitland get the nod ahead of Hogg?!  The likes of Vunipola, Youngs and Cole coming off the bench at 60 minutes could well swing a close match.

Australia - In O'Conner We Trust?

The Aussies in comparison have selected largely the pack that was expected.  I am pleased to see Ben Mowen's superb domestic form rewarded with a start, even if it is at the expense of the injured Higginbotham.   Losing Totafu to a broken arm is a blow, but Hooker is one of the positions where the Aussies have some good depth - Moore and Fainga'a both are test quality players.
The Aussie gambles for me lie in the backline.  I have no qualms about Leali'ifano at 12, he has impressed me all year and will offer the second distibuter the Lions don't have at 12, alongside a solid kicking game and he does not shy away from physical contact with or without the ball.  But a debut is a debut, and debuts don't come more pressured than against the Lions with an inexperienced 10 inside you.  James O'Conner at 10 is my real worry - I rate him as a back three player, and he flashes some quality at 10 for the Rebels, but he just doesn't look quite right in the position.  He's not a natural 10.  In fact, if I was Robbie Deans I would have switched Berrick Barnes and O'Conner around, Barnes' better game control and positional kicking could be just the tool that the Aussies need to pile the pressure on to the Lions' lineout.  In fact if I was Deans I would have been playing Quade, but that's a different matter entirely. 

The other talking point, and Gatland has already talked about the Lions focusing in on it is the selection of Issy Folau on the right wing.  I've mentioned before on this blog that I find him to be outrageously talented, but he is only 17 games old as a Rugby Union player, and 16.5 of those games have been at fullback.  Nobody is doubting his physical assets, he tackles well, but I'm led to believe there is actually some skill to defending as a winger and he could stand to get exposed.  I bet he doesn't though...

With all of these things considered, I think it is actually the boke that no-one is talking about who becomes crucial; Adam Ashley-Cooper at 13  has the consistency, the experience and the communication to help the Aussies ride out any problems, either inside or outside him.


All in all, seeing the selections and writing this article has just gotten me even more excited about a match I feel like I've been waiting 10 years for!  Roll on Saturday!!!