If the Lions thought they were getting things a little too easy on this tour then the game against the Queensland Reds certainly woke them from any false sense of security that they may have been lulled into.
It was a brutal match played at an unbelievable pace.
It was exactly what the Lions needed and what Warren Gatland would have been hoping for. After that I don’t think they will head into the first Test a little undercooked, as could have been the case.
Queensland were excellent, their insatiable appetite to run the ball from anywhere and everywhere was great to watch. The first 20 minutes was played at such a pace I thought I was watching a sevens game.
At the centre of everything creative for the Reds was Quade Cooper. It would have been a game plan totally up his street – try whatever you like and don’t worry about the result, just focus on the performance.
It is still staggering that Robbie Deans will not bring him into the Test training squad. I believe it is a huge mistake, and even the Lions have admitted this week that they are glad to see him omitted as he is such a threat.
If the Aussies lose this series, and they are odds on to do so, then it is a decision that Deans could live to regret. He will not survive an inquest afterwards, and many will point to the exclusion of Cooper as one reason why they failed.
The Lions needed that run-out to blow out some cobwebs. The positives of the Lions game were expected, they dominated the set-piece and were defensively pretty sound.
However I can’t help but think what might have happened had Queensland been allowed to field a full-strength team on the pitch – they certainly would have fared better at the set-piece with the likes of Wallabies skipper James Horwill at the helm – and the game, tight as it could, probably would have produced a very different result.
Looking at the Reds’ game plan and how they really rattled the Lions with the constant pace and tempo of the game, many Aussie fans are calling for the Wallabies to adopt a similar approach.
It would be great to think they would, but it is not in Deans’ make up to be so bold. It would be a hugely high-risk strategy to do so, but boy would it be something to watch.
I believe there is a lot for the Australian team to think about, but to play like that they would need Cooper involved, and I cannot see that happening now unless everybody who qualifies for Australia and plays at fly-half suddenly pulls up with an injury.
The Lions management will now have a pretty good idea who will be making up their Test squad this time next week.
Several players put their hand up again on Saturday; firstly George North who was excellent yet again and who I cannot wait to see in a Saints shirt in September.
I hope that the scare with his hamstring and his early exit during Tuesday’s game is merely a precaution. North is now a certainty to start the first Test and if Tommy Bowe hadn’t picked up his hand injury he would have been on the other flank.
He was back to his very best on Saturday and it’s a shame for him, and a blow to the squad, that he will miss at minimum the next two weeks.
It’s also a concern for the management that Manu Tuilagi left the field early with an injury and that now probably means Jamie Roberts will start the first Test with Brian O’Driscoll, who is looking really sharp so far on the tour. This weekend’s clash with the New South Wales Waratahs is not what it could have been as they are shorn of most of their international players.
It should be another formality for this impressive looking Lions squad.
THERE are very few teams that head to Argentina and come away with such a comprehensive win as England did last Saturday evening.
The first-half performance was some of the best rugby I have seen from an England team for a long while. It was shame that they lost their way somewhat in the second half, but much of that was down to a more determined response from the Pumas.
There was plenty to get excited about, in particular Christian Wade.
He was everywhere, working hard to get into the game and causing the Argentina defence all sorts of problems.
The question has to be asked, just what could Wade have done in the Six Nations had he been given the opportunity? I would have liked to have seen that happen as Chris Ashton was clearly struggling for form. I believe Ashton is going to find it very hard to oust Wade from that jersey, particularly if Wade can back up that performance in the second Test this coming weekend.
The other big pluses for England were the performances of Billy Twelvetrees and the front five in general.
If we look back to the Six Nations, for me the period that England look most threatening in attack was against Scotland with Twelvetrees on the field.
He creates space superbly well and reminds me very much of a young Will Greenwood, but Will won’t mind me saying the Billy has a more physical edge to his game.