This time next week things will finally be getting real. The streets of Brisbane will be awash with red jerseys and, as Andy Farrell has been stressing from day one, the intensity of this Lions tour will soar to a whole new level. At which point it will all boil down to one essential question: are the Lions ready for what is coming over the horizon?<\/p>\n
As the players stretched and flexed in front of Adelaide Oval\u2019s famous old scoreboard for their last fixture before the first Test, the answer is that no one can be entirely certain. The squad have spent the past fortnight frantically crisscrossing this great southern land like time-poor captains of industry and, deliberately or not, have revealed the best of themselves only fleetingly.<\/p>\n
Close your eyes and it is possible to visualise it being all right on the night. The Lions have plenty of depth, are genuinely enjoying each other\u2019s company and, in the fleeting moments when everything clicks, they look a more than decent side. If top teams are characterised by the quality of the spine running through them, they pass the test: Dan Sheehan, Maro Itoje, Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell are world class in their different ways.<\/p>\n
Which, as it happens, is pretty much what the Lions are telling themselves. \u201cThere\u2019s a big thing we\u2019ve been speaking about, about being one of the best Lions teams,\u201d said Ben Earl, eagerly awaiting another opportunity at No\u00a08 against a power-packed Australia & New Zealand Invitational XV.<\/p>\n
Statistically, it is not a complete pipe dream: a 3-0 clean sweep of the Wallabies would ensure a superior strike rate in percentage terms to the legendary 1974 Lions, who won three and drew one of their four Tests in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Even to be mentioned in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence, as true greats such as Gareth Edwards, Willie John McBride, Phil Bennett, JJ Williams et al would be special. To reach that state of nirvana, though, they need to fix the tiny bits and pieces of rugby engineering that can go unnoticed but matter hugely. Breakdown effectiveness, ball retention, set-piece accuracy, restart consistency: too often the Lions have improved in one area only to splutter elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Jamison Gibson-Park is one of the world-class players in this British & Irish Lions squad. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hence why Saturday\u2019s game has become more relevant than it might otherwise have been. Regardless of the opposition \u2013 there are 17 internationals in their squad \u2013 Farrell wants to see greater continuity and his players are similarly aware that collective momentum before the Test series has to trump individual ambition.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone wants to be in that Test team and everyone wants to put their hand up but the second you try to do that on your own you\u2019re being desperate,\u201d said Tadhg Beirne, who captains again in Itoje\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re being desperate you\u2019re really doing yourself and your teammates no favours. So the focus is on making sure we\u2019re the best teammates we can be for one another. If I can make someone else look good and it gets them into the Test team then I\u2019ve done a pretty good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the more seasoned members of the squad there is also a sense that, regardless of the recent mixed performances against the NSW Waratahs<\/a> and ACT Brumbies<\/a>, this Lions squad has the potential to roar louder than most. \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s coming together,\u201d said Tadhg Furlong this week, recalling the way the 2017 tour of New Zealand came good from uncertain beginnings. \u201cWe just need to iron out the last bit. It doesn\u2019t probably feel like we\u2019re there yet, but it doesn\u2019t feel like we\u2019re far away.\u201d<\/p>\n Quick GuideAU & NZ Invitational XV v Lions teamsShow<\/p>\n Adelaide Oval, Saturday 12 July, 7.30pm AEST\/11am BST<\/b><\/p>\n AU & NZ Invitational XV:<\/b> Stevenson; Lam, Laumape, Havili (co-capt), Koroibete; Edmed, Fakatava; Ross, Paenga-Amosa, Toomaga-Allen, Blyth, Salakaia-Loto (co-capt), Frizell, Samu, Sotutu.<\/p>\n Replacements:<\/b> Eklund, Fusitu\u2019a, Dyer, Philip, Brial, Thomas, McLaughlin-Phillips, Campbell.<\/p>\n British & Irish Lions:<\/b> Keenan; Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; F Smith, White; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Ryan, Beirne (capt), Pollock, Morgan, Earl.<\/p>\n Replacements:<\/b> Kelleher, Porter, Bealham, Cummings, Van der Flier, Mitchell, M Smith, O Farrell.<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n Earl is similarly optimistic, suggesting he already feels an improved player simply for having been a part of this tour. \u201cI can wholeheartedly tell you it\u2019s the best thing I\u2019ve ever done by a mile. I\u2019ve learned more in the last five weeks than I probably have in the last four years, in terms of seeing the game differently, playing with different people and competing on the training pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been unbelievable. At this time of the year \u2013 what are we, 54 weeks into the season now? \u2013 just playing is so fun, so enjoyable, so exciting. It\u2019s the coolest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n An unexpected chance to sit down and pick the brains of Ricky Stuart, the Canberra Raiders rugby league coach, has also opened Earl\u2019s eyes in other respects. Take the old-school notion that driving players hard on the training ground before a big game is a non-negotiable prerequisite. \u201cThat\u2019s probably something I\u2019ve learned as well. You don\u2019t have to flog them on the training pitch or do seven days in a monastery to get the rewards on a Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n Being \u201ctreated like adults\u201d \u2013 hopefully the Lions communications team will extend the same courtesy to the travelling media \u2013 has been another hefty plus in Earl\u2019s view. The more immediate priority, though, is to rise above the logistical headaches of short turnarounds and limited training time that could affect the weak-minded.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the games where you have short preparation and sore bodies at the end of a tough two-week block,\u201d said Earl. \u201cYou\u2019ve got some excuses there if you wanted to roll over and not put your best stuff forward but then you\u2019d be doing yourself and the jersey a complete disservice.\u201d<\/p>\n