Aussies fear centres of excellence

THE shell-shocked Wallabies have spent this week desperately seeking an answer to a problem they never thought would exist going into Saturday's Second Test in Melbourne.

The Wallabies won the 1999 World Cup thanks to a defence that was the envy of the rugby world and seemed to remain an unbreakable shield despite the retirement of key men such as Jason Little, Tim Horan and David Wilson.

That all changed in Brisbane last Saturday when Lions centres Brian O'Driscoll and Rob Henderson left the Wallaby midfield in disarray with a series of marvellous breaks.

One of the dumfounded faces in The Gabba stands belonged to Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen and it has been his task this week to rebuild shattered confidence and give his players the belief they can regain lost ground.

The Lions are in the enviable position of holding a huge psychological advantage and can opt to produce more of the same or bring subtle changes to their attacking game plan at the Colonial Stadium.

When you have taken a critical aspect of your game for granted - and that's exactly the attitude the Wallabies adopted about their defence - then facing up to the truth is both difficult and painful.

O'Driscoll and Henderson, the men who made Ireland so hard to beat in the Six Nations, are canny enough to recognise the potential backlash coming their way on Saturday.

The pair are a heady combination of experience and youth that when mixed, can produce something very special. The sight of first, 28- year-old Henderson and then O'Driscoll breaking tackles and racing into open space behind the Wallaby defence lifted their team-mates and the thousands of Lions fans in the stands.

O'Driscoll, who is already being compared to legendary Irish centre Mike Gibson, is only 22 years old, but is astute enough to know it won't be that easy again.

He said: "This game is going to be an awful lot tougher because they are going to be up for it and a wounded Wallaby is very dangerous.

"Having watched the Lions Tests against South Africa in 1997 on television at home, it was very special to be out there for the First Test this time, although I was more of a nervous wreck watching than playing.

"It's a very nice prospect to possibly help the Lions to a 2-0 series-winning position on Saturday.

"It gives you confidence when Hendo makes an early break because if it works once then there's no reason why it cannot be done again and that happened.

"If Hendo runs at you, he is very difficult to stop and I am not looking forward to facing him for Leinster against Munster next season.

"But, if you want to talk about backs tackling big fellas then that's Jonny Wilkinson. He was thumbing them down all match.

"You are always looking for a match-up between a back and a forward in attack and when they tried to attack our pack, we stopped them."

A large Wallaby forward running into, or trying to stop Henderson is not a mismatch.

The ex-London Wasps centre is a real physical threat as John Eales's team discovered on Saturday, and he played with a confidence that seemed to be missing a week earlier.

Henderson was an unhappy sight outside the team hotel in Manly after learning he would not be in the match squad to face New South Wales in Sydney - the last big game before the First Test.

Then Will Greenwood was ruled out and Henderson's name was read out when the Lions announced their team for Brisbane.

Henderson's fall from grace came at a time when rumours of discontent, proved by Matt Dawson's outburst in a newspaper column, suggested morale was hitting rock bottom in the midweek team.

HENDERSON readily admits to feeling real despair during those days in Manly and he could have stayed in that frame of mind.

He said: "Being in a pit of despair is probably too much - I was just looking into it at Manly.

"When you are on tour and don't get picked then there is disappointment and I thought the writing was on the wall. However, even before Will Greenwood got injured, I tried to get my head right.

"You do that by looking to your mates and in my case that's Keith Wood, who had been there before.

"He gave me advice about how to carry myself in that situation plus a few wise words about making sure you are ready to take any chance that comes along. I didn't doubt my ability and if you start doing that, then the alarm bells should ring."

The only alarm last Saturday was in that fragmenting Wallaby defence and if Henderson can find a way through again early in the Second Test it will send out a powerful message to the home side and the Lions.

It's a challenge he is relishing and he said: "My role is to keep talking to the other backs and ensure we are reading from the same script and while that was a bit nerve-racking at first, I am now more confident.

"There was a time a few years ago when I wouldn't have even attempted the kind of break I succeeded with on Saturday, but I am not frightened to try things any more.

"We have to be even better in the Second Test because there is no doubt that the Wallabies will come out all guns blazing to turn around things."

To achieve that end they will have to silence O'Driscoll and Henderson, something they, patently, could not do in the First Test.

Copyright 2001
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