The stakes are intensifying on all fronts with the first Test now just a fortnight away. The British & Irish Lions are still trying to construct the fundamental forward pillars underpinning their game while some key Wallaby figures are nursing injuries and are missing from their side’s warm-up game against Fiji. These are the moments when, behind the scenes, elite coaches really earn their money.
Despite two comfortable victories on Australian soil so far, Andy Farrell will certainly be wanting his side to shift everything up a gear, both for the sake of the collective and their own individual ambitions. For one or two this is in effect a final trial for places in the Test matchday 23, particularly so in certain fiercely contested positions.
