Lions Tour: Tourists Defy Storm Warning

It may be yet another illusion but there is a sense of absolute calm in the British and Irish Lions camp before tomorrow's first Test against New Zealand. Not even the forecast of a strong southerly wind and heavy showers over the weekend can ruffle their composure; if it turns out wet and cold, the Lions forwards suspect that the All Blacks will shiver more than they will.

As Sir Clive Woodward clearly hoped it would, the fuss over the number on Jonny Wilkinson's back has obscured the battleground before the most eagerly awaited game in this country for years. With a sleight of hand worthy of an expert magician, Woodward has diverted attention from the area where New Zealanders should be focusing most of their attention. While Wilkinson has fielded question after question, the Lions' forwards have been allowed to prepare in virtual peace.

For any keen student of All Black rugby this must be concerning. True, New Zealand put 91 points on Fiji a fortnight ago. But what they have not experienced for a while, certainly not in Super 12, is a grind 'em down, percussive-edged brute of a forward slog where progress is sometimes measured in millimetres. The Lions have backs of quality but, for this most elemental of occasions, they seem certain to go back to basics.

It would clearly have helped if Lawrence Dallaglio had still been around to add even more gristle to a mix which could, in theory at least, yield one of the least attractive Lions Test performances in recent memory. Beauty, though, remains in the eye of the beholder and the hard-nosed English back row of Richard Hill, Neil Back and Martin Corry have 174 Test caps between them compared with their opponents' 58, a ratio of precisely three to one.

In Gethin Jenkins they also have one of the best emerging props in world rugby and in Paul O'Connell they have a warrior who is potentially in the Martin Johnson class. Furthermore they have Wilkinson's boot, wherever it is stationed. Try telling Brian O'Driscoll's team they are certain to be brushed aside, particularly with a northern-hemisphere referee - France's Joël Jutge - in charge.

Amid all the talk and expectant chatter, Back's pre-match words have stood out. He does not need telling the importance of his work at the breakdown, the need to stand up to the extraordinary power and alacrity of Richie McCaw around the tackle area. Equally he is determined to produce one final tour de force, not only for his own sake but Dallaglio's as well.

"When they gave him the honour of handing out our shirts before the Maori game he gave one of the most moving and motivational speeches I've heard from anyone," Back recalled this week. "It was on a par with Jim Telfer's words to the Lions in South Africa in 1997, not to mention the likes of Ian McGeechan and Martin Johnson. I was even moved to go over, tears in my eyes, and kiss him on the head."

In other words, although New Zealand have not lost at the old Lancaster Park, now Jade Stadium, since Australia won 27-23 in 1998, these Lions are not intimidated. For some time the management have tried to avoid using the term All Blacks in hopes of demystifying the team in, well, black.

History may paint a gloomy picture - the Lions have won only two first Tests in New Zealand in 10 attempts - but six of the current 22 were involved in the famous first-Test victory over Australia in Brisbane four years ago under Graham Henry.

Henry, of course, is nobody's fool. Together with his assistants, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, he may even know more about the Welsh players in the touring team than the Lions do themselves. But will the ball ever get to his fleet-footed wings? Not if Back and friends have their way at the breakdown, where so much attention has been focused on this tour.

"It is a key area," acknowledges the 36-year-old Back, the oldest player ever selected in an original Lions squad. "I'm not saying I'm the best player in the world but I do know instinctively what to do there." So, too, do most of Woodward's side in their particular areas of expertise as they seek to become the first Lions team since 1971 to win a series in New Zealand.

It promises to be desperately tight: a maelstrom of red and black, a clash of blood and thunder. How interesting to hear Tana Umaga, the New Zealand captain, breathe a sigh of relief that Michael Campbell's US Open win had temporarily deflected some of the pressure from his side. The respite may be only temporary.