Otago v The Lions: For the quintet of Irish players in the starting line-up to face Otago, no less than their Lions teammates, the challenge is simple: they can but try. The inescapable feeling this was a midweek side that happened to be playing on the weekend was merely hardened by the switch that saw Ian McGeechan, Gareth Jenkins and Mike Ford take charge while the Saturday coaching ticket stayed behind in Christchurch to work with Brian O'Driscoll and co.
Gerry Thornley
in Dunedin
Yet Clive Woodward has been as adamant with this group of players who flew to Dunedin yesterday as he was with the media the day before, insisting the Test team had not yet been picked and places were still up for grabs.
Uppermost among the leading contenders in this category must be Geordan Murphy and Gordon D'Arcy; perhaps for next Saturday's Test team, if not then for the bench, or merely to keep their names in the hat in the event of injuries or form-related changes in the remainder of the Test series.
Besides which, they are wearing the Lions crest on their hearts. Jason Robinson's performance against Wellington didn't mark a significant upturn in his form, neither in terms of breaking the line nor in the matter of breaking a run of 15 games without a try dating back to January 2nd. And it's not as if Sale weren't filling their boots on several of those days.
By contrast, Murphy went into the Otago game after running in two tries and having a big hand in another against Taranaki. While admitting "it's a last-chance saloon for a Test slot", Murphy looked remarkably relaxed about it.
"If you have a great game it might get you into a Test squad but to be honest he (Woodward) is like the complete poker player - he doesn't reveal his hand. It could do your head in thinking about it. I'm just going out to enjoy it."
That approach was shared by his teammates against Taranaki, thanks to a strange new buzz word among the players. "The chat got so loud and all the lads started having a bit of crack. They're saying an expression now - cutchin'. It's a Welsh expression for a hug. Cwtch. it's pronounced cutching.
It's kind of like a 'well done', semi-hug, backslap kind of thing, but it was a great atmosphere. I don't know many of these guys - we've known each other for two or three weeks - but it was fun. We were calling moves and enjoying ourselves."
Murphy isn't a dressing-room headbanger anyway.
"Each to their own. It's not my style. I like to be chilled out about it, just do what you have to."
With the cool-headed decision-making he needs - to wait, read and gauge the right time to arrive in support or hit the line, read opposing outhalves' kicks - in all this he looks as sharp as ever.
"Training's been fun with Ian McGeechan and Gareth (Jenkins). There's two ways of looking at it: I can put myself under pressure or I can just enjoy it, say I'm with the crème de la crème and just enjoy their company."
Simon Easterby was promoted to the starting line-up for his second game inside four days after the Lewis Moody injury saga took a new twist (by the time you read this it might yet have taken another one) when his knee injury ruled him out again, albeit with assurances from Woodward and McGeechan the Leicester flanker would be fit to play against Southland in Invercargill on Tuesday.
Michael Owen, who returned to New Zealand from the UK on Thursday having been with his family for the birth of his second child, Olivia, was promoted to the bench. He apparently remained on New Zealand time during his swift visit home as part of his jet-lag recovery programme.
For a late call-up as replacement for Lawrence Dallaglio, it seems a big ask of Easterby, but then again it's also a big opportunity, certainly bigger than the one that will be offered against Southland in Invercargill on Tuesday - when the likes of Ronan O'Gara, John Hayes and Gareth Cooper look set to start.
It may even be a stiffer task than the one provided by Wellington last Wednesday.
Easterby feels he benefited from the work of the front five, and though he would like to have made a few bigger hits, the experience seems to have done his confidence good.
"All in all for my first game, I felt comfortable. I didn't feel in any way out of depth and really enjoyed the experience, but I still feel there's plenty in me as well.
"I realise that I'm still on the outside in terms of Test selection. That's fine by me but I've got another opportunity here to show what I can do and hopefully if it goes well then I can be in the mix for a squad place in the Tests. With Lawrence's injury it's opened the door for a few of us to maybe sneak into the Test squad."
Even so, he's having to hit the ground running.
"To be honest you can do as much training as you like but it's the game that you want to play and at the end of the day that's what we're here for. Ask any player - they'd rather be playing games than training.
"I'm fine with it. I feel good, my body's good and mentally I'm fine. So I'm just delighted that I've got another opportunity before the first Test to show what I can do."
THE LIONS: G Murphy (Leicester, Ireland); D Hickie (Leinster, Ireland), W Greenwood (Harlequins, England), G D'Arcy (Leinster, Ireland), S Williams (Ospreys, Wales); C Hodgson (Sale, England), C Cusiter (Borders, Scotland); G Rowntree (Leicester, England), G Bulloch (Glasgow, Scotland, capt), M Stevens (Bath, England); S Shaw (Wasps, England), D O'Callaghan (Munster, Ireland); S Easterby (Llanelli, Ireland), M Williams (Cardiff, Wales), R Jones (Ospreys, Wales). Replacements: S Thompson (Northampton, England), A Sheridan (Sale, England), D Grewcock (Bath, England), M Owen (Dragons, Wales), M Dawson (Wasps, England), O Smith (Leicester, England), R O'Gara (Munster, Ireland).
OTAGO: G Horton; H Pedersen, N Brew, S Mapusua, M Saunders; N Evans, D Lee; C Hoeft, J Macdonald, C Dunlea; F Levi, T Donnelly; C Newby (capt), J Blackie, G Webb. Replacements: J Vercoe, J Aldworth, A McClintock, A Soakai, C Smylie, R Bambry, J Shoemark.
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand).
Previous meetings: (1888) Otago 3 Lions 8; (1888) Otago 3 Lions 4; (1888) Otago 0 Lions 0; (1908) Otago 9 Lions 6; (1930) Otago 9 Lions 33; (1950) Otago 23 Lions 9; (1959) Otago 26 Lions 8; (1966) Otago 17 Lions 9; (1971) Otago 9 Lions 21; (1977) Otago 7 Lions 12; (1993) Otago 37 Lions 24.
Odds (Paddy Powers): 6/1 Otago, 33/1 Draw, 1/12 Lions. Handicap odds (= Otago + 16pts) 10/11 Otago, 33/1 Draw, 1/12 Lions.
Forecast: Otago to win.
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