THE REAL business of the first Lions tour to South Africa for 17 years begins today with a game against an Eastern Province Invitation XV that promises to be a huge shock to the system.
Jason Leonard, captain for the day, expects a tough contest of no little skill, even though the hosts are a scratch side of mainly non international players.
As Jim Telfer, the forwards coach, pointed out, the Lions will be delighted to taste the whiff of gun smoke after a phoney war of training and tactical preparation that has tasted nearly a fortnight.
A demanding domestic season has left a residue of niggling injuries that yesterday claimed two more victims from today's team, Scott Gibbs with a thigh strain and John Bentley with a bruised toe. Their places at centre and rightwing respectively go to Wilt Greenwood and Ieuan Evans.
"I've sidestepped England in getting picked for the Lions, and now I'm keen to give my all here for the next six weeks," said Greenwood. "It may seem back to front to develop an international career this way, but I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to playing alongside Jeremy Guscott, whom I first saw scoring a try for the Lions on television in 1989."
Telfer, whose charismatic style commands instant respect, has rapidly indoctrinated the Lions in the art of coordinated rucking, cajoling them relentlessly to stay on their feet and present the ball like a fresh egg. The man who coached the 1983 Lions is working on the theory that the awesome power of South Africa's provincial packs can be undermined by driving in hard and low, with the kind of disciplined rucking that has become second nature to the Scots.
"We don't want to be leaving bodies on the ground," said Telfer succinctly, making it clear that he wilt not allow the Lions the option of killing the ball or creating the kind of chaos that produces abundant stoppages. Certainly the presence of ball playing forwards like Richard Hilt, Simon Shaw, Lawrence Dallaglio and the young Scottish prop Tom Smith should make it that much easier to develop the positive strategy Telfer favours.
"Being a Lion brings in different responsibilities, because it represents a change in identity," Telfer explained. "It's always very different to play with a guy you've never played with before. The most important thing is that the players must forget where they come from or what their past is, in an opening tour match, players cannot take anything for granted."
It will be instructive to see how successfully Eastern Province use the Test experience of the lock Kobus Wiese, the out-half Hennie Le Roux, and the full back Theo van Rensburg as focal points around which they can build their game plan.
Wiese's reputation for violent play is matched by his known skill as a ball winner, white Le Roux's ability to shape a game with his calm distribution and Van Rensburg's taste for counter attack make up a formidable armoury.
The Lions will be aware that the Boet Erasmus Stadium has often been the scene of grisly encounters involving touring sides, not least England's damaging experience there three years ago when Tim Rodber was sent off for punching and Jon Callard had to have 10 stitches inserted in an eye wound.
If both sides pursue a game of substance and movement, then the Lions half backs Robert Howley and Gregor Townsend may get the chance to show their paces as a potential Test combination. Townsend, though, reminded everyone he has not played a representative game in the number 10 shirt since last year.
This recent Scotland roll has been centre - which makes speculation on his Test future premature.
Nevertheless, the versatile Scot relishes the prospect of working with Howley, indisputably the most effective scrum half in Europe over the past 12 months. As Townsend remarked: "Robert is a great player. I like the way he spots a gap and goes for it, his service is very good, and his box kicking is good too. In fact he's a terrific all round scrum half."
It is perhaps ironic that the most experienced international out half in the squad, Neil Jenkins, wilt be playing at full back, the position he has recently occupied for Wales. Jenkins' play making skills have been instrumental in winning the league title for Pontypridd, yet the Lions have selected him primarily for his goal kicking which is marked by the coolness and accuracy of a Grant Fox. The Welshman's broken arm seems to have healed without adverse effect on his general play.
Irrespective of how well individual Lions perform, it is imperative that the tourists defeat Eastern Province - and Border in next Wednesday's game in East London - because those fixtures are regarded as a relatively gentle prelude to the tougher battles that tie ahead.
The morale of the Lions, already remarkably high, would be fortified by a couple of early wins under their belt, while a defeat at this stage would raise doubts.
