RUGBY/Lions Tour: No doubt about it, but the stakes appear to have been raised for the Lions' meeting with Wellington in the Westpac Stadium tomorrow.
It may ultimately be only a footnote in Lions history, if a chance in a lifetime for the home team, but while defeat to the Maori was one thing, the whole tenor of Clive Woodward's response, the selection for this game and the arrival of the cavalry make a win, preferably a convincing one, imperative.
In the heel of the hunt, the Lions have upped the ante with their selection of this team and the power of four ought to cope with a pretty decent but understrength NPC side.
Admittedly, Wellington are backboned by a core of Hurricanes who took them to the semi-finals of the Super 12s on the back of last year's campaign, when they topped the NPC regular campaign for the first time since 1986, eventually losing in the final to Canterbury.
Even so they are without a quartet of All Blacks named in Graham Henry's squad on Sunday for the forthcoming Test series, Tana Umaga, Rodney So'oialo, Conrad Smith and the human wrecking ball that is Jerry Collins, as well as their injured lock Ross Kennedy and prop Neemia Tialata.
They are a little undercooked for this one as well, having lost one preparatory match to Division Two side Manawatu 15-8 last week, and coach John Plumtree has been complaining about the lack of access to his All Blacks players, or even the vagueness about their availability.
In the event, he was only given Ma'a Nonu, while winger Lome Fa'atau has also been released by Samoa, although he was playing for his country in their 74-7 defeat to Australia in Sydney only last Saturday, and thus cannot exactly be in prime nick.
Two of the Maori heroes who dismantled the Lions in Hamilton, lock Ross Filipo and scrumhalf Piri Weepu, are also turning out against the tourists again and after such an emotional high will do well to scale those heights again.
Like the Bay of Plenty, Wellington are renowned for their willingness to give the ball some air, as they say hereabouts, and are liable to offer more of a backline running threat than Taranaki did.
Nothing the Lions have encountered to date carries quite the same ball-carrying dynamism as Nonu, who has been released by the All Blacks' think tank for this game and was virtually unstoppable even in the second half of the All Blacks trial.
Likely to be an impact replacement in the Tests, Nonu was, admittedly, a little switched off in a poor defensive performance in the first half of that trial, but if he gets rumbling he has the capacity to open any defence in the world with his balance, pace and extraordinary strength.
He could hand off a bull and the key here for the first-up Lions tacklers will be to tackle below the hips. Ball-and-all tacklers are for the second man in, and very often it will take two to stop him.
Wellington are not known for their scrummaging ability and with a strikingly strong tight five, the expectation must be that the tourists can do a bit of a number on their hosts at scrum time - always presuming they will be allowed of course.
A succession of indirect penalties might once again suit the home side and once more there will be a huge focus on the performance of not just the referee, Paul Honiss, but also the touchjudges, Kelvin Deaker and, especially, Steve Walsh, who gave the Lions little or nothing on Saturday. This trio of home officials are in harness for the fourth time.
You can't but feel also that if the scrums become a weapon and Shane Byrne is his normally accurate self with the darts this could be a gilt-edged opportunity to force his way into the Test series.
The other positions that look to be up for grabs are that of Paul O'Connell's putative partner in the secondrow and the blindside flanker slot.
Woodward will be desperately hoping for a confidence-boosting, injury-free victory, in which case it could well be that Dwayne Peel's accurate passing and presence at the base, along with Gavin Henson's strong tackling and mighty right boot nail down Test spots. Indeed, if inside-the-camp murmurs of Jason Robinson's sharpness are anything to go by, this line-up could be the Test backline en bloc.
That would be tough on the Irish trio of Shane Horgan, Gordon D'Arcy and Geordan Murphy especially, who along with Tom Shanklin seem to be fighting for the reserve utility back on the bench for the first Test. Horgan's physicality makes him the favourite in my book, as indicated by his presence on the bench tomorrow.
WELLINGTON: S Paku; L Fa'atau, M Nonu, R Tu'ipulotu, R Kinikinilau; J Gopperth, P Weepu; J McDonnell (capt), M Schwalger, T Fairbrother; L Andrews, R Filipo; K Ormsby, B Herring, T Waldrom. Replacements: L Mahoney, J Schwalger, K Thompson, J Purdie, R Flutey, T Ellison, C Jane.
LIONS: J Lewsey (England); J Robinson (England), B O'Driscoll (Ireland) capt, G Henson (Wales), G Thomas (Wales); J Wilkinson (England), D Peel (Wales); G Jenkins (Wales), S Byrne (Ireland), J White (England); D Grewcock (England), B Kay (England); S Easterby (Ireland), N Back (Leicester), M Corry (England). Replacements: G Bulloch (Scotland), M Stevens (England), P O'Connell (Ireland), L Moody (England), C Cusiter (Scotland), S Jones (Wales), S Horgan (Ireland).
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand).
Previous meetings: (1888) Wellington 3 Lions 3; (1908) Wellington 19 Lions 13; (1930) Wellington 12 Lions 8; (1950) Wellington 6 Lions 12; (1966) Wellington 20 Lions 6; (1971) Wellington 9 Lions 47; (1977) Wellington 6 Lions 13; (1983) Wellington 19 Lions 27.
Odds (Paddy Powers): 6/1 Wellington, 33/1 Draw, 1/12 Lions. Handicap betting (= Wellington +17pts) 10/11 Wellington, 20/1 Draw, 10/11 Lions.
Forecast: Lions to get the tour back on track.
