It is worth comparing and contrasting two separate events over the past week to really get a sense of the challenge that faces the Wallabies on Saturday. Shortly before half-time in the first Test in Brisbane, Tom Curry tackled Tom Lynagh in the air. None of Australia’s players went after him. The Lions No 7 had just cut Lynagh – a young fly-half making his first Test start – in half and the Wallabies left him alone. Three days later Darcy Graham is on the receiving end of a high shot in the first few minutes. Owen Farrell piles straight in, sending a crystal clear message: “We’re not standing for it.” It’s part of the reason anyone who has played with him cannot speak highly enough of him.
Put simply, the Wallabies need to get in the Lions’ faces if they are going to level the series. They were too passive in Brisbane and they need to set that right at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I see similarities between where the Wallabies are now and where the Lions were in 2009. We didn’t show up in the first Test in Durban and we got monstered in the scrum. I remember John Smit scored a try after five minutes in what was South Africa’s first entry into our 22.
