Seeing the future from a new perspective

For Stephen Larkham the notion of the Lions coming more sharply into focus this past two weeks can actually be taken literally. The Wallaby outhalf has spent £1,000 per eye on laser surgery to correct myopia. Heaven help 'em, but Larkham can see clearly now.

Contact lenses weren't an option for the world's foremost outhalf ("I just couldn't get them into my eyes") and he admits his short-sightedness had inconvenienced him throughout his career.

"Oh, probably through every game I'd have a little bit of a stage where I couldn't see the ball, or couldn't see the sidelines, that sort of stuff. I've played with it now for 10 years, so it was just something I got used to, reacting to the players." He's already noticed a difference at training.

"Certainly with kicking and finding the sidelines. We really haven't done a lot of contact work but the little bit that we've done it's improved my vision."

He earned his nickname Bernie unflatteringly when first breaking into the Wallaby squad five years ago. A few years before there'd been a movie entitled A Weekend At Bernie's, a black comedy in which the eponymous figure was actually a dead man but was being taken out publicly and propped up as if alive. Back then Larkham wouldn't say "boo" to a fly.

The 27-year-old has broken out of his shell since. Much more boyish in appearance without his headgear and surprisingly softly spoken, you can perhaps see a certain shyness underneath the surface, but he comes across as a typically unprepossessing Aussie, and almost sheepish about the rare talent he has been blessed with.

His story is testimony to his own ability primarily, but also in a major way to Rod Macqueen's eye for a talent and where best to employ it.

In 1995 Larkham had been playing seconds club rugby, when having completed the first of a double-header he then appeared as a replacement centre in the ensuing first-team match.

Macqueen happened to be there scouting for the ACT Brumbies. "I probably had a good game I suppose," is how Larkham remembers it. Macqueen recalls it slightly more clearly.

"Well he played against a very good player, I think it was Jimmy Hoelbeck, who is now back in the (ACT) squad. He (Larkham) got around him a couple of times very easily and made him look a bit silly. Even then he had the ability to look like he was running slowly but in fact he was motoring along fairly fast.

"We brought him into the squad. We were looking for new players and he really never looked back from there. He always had a lot of skills, he'd been a half back (scrumhalf) originally, he'd played outside centre, he'd played on the wing and at full back , but it was only later when I was involved with the Wallabies that I started to think that the attributes he had could be applied to a modern type of five-eighth."

Larkham is both a one-off and an off the cuff player, with distribution and visionary ability to put team-mates into space which is second to no one right now and admits Macqueen has given him a free rein.

"He was quite aware I was moving from full back and he didn't want me to lose aspects of my full back game when I went to five-eighth, such as coming down the blind side or whatever, just trying something when I felt it was necessary. I try to be a little more structured off set-play but then when it comes to phases I certainly have a free rein.

"I'm certainly comfortable with the five-eighth role now but back in '98 when Rod Macqueen asked me to play five-eighth for the Brumbies I was very reluctant and so was (the rest of) the coaching staff, and we had David Knox back then.

"I hadn't played at full back until '96, so I was just feeling comfortable at full back and they wanted to move me again. Even towards the end of '98 I'd played six test matches but I still wanted to play full back."

It's incredible to think that he's only won the last 25 of his 37 caps at outhalf, and by his own estimation has scarcely played 50 games in the number 10 jersey. Knee surgery sidelined him for months until a seamless return for the World Cup in 1999 and his fragile frame has clearly benefitted from being rested from the Wallabies Autumnal tour to Europe. As the Brumbies' and Wallabies' orchestrator in chief, he's a marked man but he shrugs his shoulders about it.

"I suppose I expect it for every game now." He is expecting a physical buffeting from the Lions. "Oh definitely." More than ever though, he'll see them coming.

Robin McBryde's tour looks to be ending due to his troublesome thigh injury. By contrast, Will Greenwood will not need a scan on his ankle ligament problem after all. He could be fit for next Tuesday's game against the ACT Brumbies. A similar prognosis applies to Neil Back.

On visiting the Gabba yesterday for tomorrow's first test, Donal Lenihan was annoyed by the dressing-room allotted to the Lions, which he claimed was contrary to their initial agreement, and by the poor warm-up facilities accorded the tourists.

But the latter was improved to his satisfaction thanks to arrangement with rugby league tenants the Brisbane Lions, who have allowed the Lions to use their warm-up facilities.