Dallaglio warns Barbarians will put heat on Lions

HONG KONG (AFP) –

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio poses with the Webb Ellis Cup at Twickenham Stadium in London on May 2, 2013. He has warned the British and Irish Lions not to expect an easy ride against the Barbarians when they kick off their tour in Hong Kong on Saturday.

England World Cup-winner Lawrence Dallaglio has warned the British and Irish Lions not to expect an easy ride against the Barbarians when they kick off their tour in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Dallaglio, a hero of the victorious 1997 Lions side, countered suggestions that the game would simply be a warm-up for the three-Test series against Australia after the Barbarians lost 40-12 to England on Sunday.

“Everybody’s calling it a warm-up,” Dallaglio told AFP in an interview. “If you’ve ever played a game of rugby you will know there are no warm-ups or friendlies. Especially when you play for the Lions.”

“I don’t see this as a warm-up. It is quite an historic fixture now,” he added. “Nearly every player in that Barbarians side is a Test player. They will want to do themselves justice and want to be very competitive.”

The maiden match in Asia for the Lions, who first toured in 1888, is set to be played in 30C temperatures and high humidity at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium, despite a 7:30 pm (1130 GMT) kick-off time.

British and Irish Lions player Paul O’Connell (L) talks to Wales coach Warren Gatland in Hong Kong on May 29, 2013. Gatland has 15 Welshmen and 10 Irishmen at his disposal, since the late inclusion of hooker Rory Best.

Only 22 of the Lions’ 37-man squad have been together since training began two weeks ago, with the missing men involved in big club matches across Europe until last weekend.

But Dallaglio believes Warren Gatland, even at this early stage of the 10-match tour, should resist temptation to rest the 15 others who only came together a few days ago.

“I can only speak from my own experience. I wanted to play every week, whether I played last weekend or not. Personally I’d want to play the first game on tour,” Dallaglio said.

“There’s only so many games you get as a player before the Test match. Every player’s aim and ambition has to be to play in the Test series and there will be two, maybe three, opportunities for each player to put his case forward.

“Warren obviously wants to make sure he doesn’t run the risk of overplaying players. On the flip-side of that, there’s a number of players who probably haven’t pulled on their boots for about four weeks.”

The Lions will play nine games in total in Australia, with only five tour matches in the country before the first Test on June 22. Tours in past eras saw 20 or more games outside of the Tests.

British and Irish Lions players attend a training session in Hong Kong on May 29, 2013. Lions coach Warren Gatland will name his side later on Thursday.

Dallaglio, speaking alongside the launch of the new Land Rover Sport in Hong Kong as the Lions official car, said it was not ideal preparation but world-class players could cope.

“As long as each player gets three games each, or some involvement in three games, then each player will believe he has had the opportunity to put his case forward,” the former England flanker said.

“The itinerary is what it is, and you have to work to that schedule. I think there are enough games. The good thing about Warren is that he has been on previous Lions tours.”

Gatland, the Lions forwards coach under Ian McGeechan four years ago in South Africa, has 15 Welshmen and 10 Irishmen at his disposal, since the late inclusion of hooker Rory Best.

“Remember Gatland’s coached Wales for quite a few years,” said Dallaglio. “He’s also coached Ireland. He’s worked with a lot of these players before.

“They’ve got a good understanding of him. And he will have a very clear philosophy how he wants to play the game.”

Dallaglio knows from his own Lions experiences that anything can happen once the action begins and players have to grasp every chance to stake a Test claim.

The former England captain was credited with a try-saving tackle that enabled the Lions to hang on for victory in the final Test and beat South Africa 2-1 in the 1997 series.

But in 2005 in New Zealand, his third Lions tour, he fractured his ankle in the very first match against Bay of Plenty.

“Every player wants to play in the Tests, but you don’t look beyond your next opportunity. So this weekend, this Saturday, is so important,” he said.

“It’s a big game. For many of these guys it’s going to be the first time they’ve pulled on a Lions jersey and people react in different ways. Whoever gets the privilege and honour, it is an opportunity to put in a really solid performance.

“And that might give Warren a few selection headaches for the Tests.”

British and Irish Lions team to face the Barbarians at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday:

15-1

Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/SCO); Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues/WAL), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/WAL), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/WAL), Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/SCO); Owen Farrell (Saracens/ENG), Mike Phillips (Bayonne/WAL); Toby Faletau (Dragons/WAL), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/WAL), Dan Lydiate (Dragons/WAL); Paul O’Connell (capt – Munster/IRL), Richie Gray (SCO); Adam Jones (Ospreys/WAL), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/WAL), Mako Vunipola (Saracens/ENG)

Replacements: Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/ENG), Cian Healy (Leinster/IRL), Matt Stevens (Saracens/ENG), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/WAL), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/IRL), Conor Murray (Munster/IRL), Johnny Sexton (Leinster/IRL), George North (Scarlets/WAL)