COMBINED COUNTRY COACH Cam Blades has called for his side to try and stand up to the British and Irish Lions’ physical threat tomorrow.
The New South Wales and Queensland combined representative outfit are looking to inflict the Lions’ first defeat of their Australian tour when the teams meet in Newcastle. And Blades, a former Australia international, has underlined the importance of not backing down against Warren Gatland’s team.
“To play the Lions, you’ve got to take them on head-to-head. If you stand back, watch them and let them get the rumble going, you’ll be a spectator in the game,” he said.
“We’ve certainly got to take on the physical challenge, without getting buried in an arm wrestle with them. It’s a balanced act and effective through the contact area, without getting bogged down in it, that’s the challenge I’ve given the players.
“To be massively physical, to work with really good body height, which will try and give us a little bit of free ball to try and have a run.”
The Lions have beaten the Barbarians, Western Force and Queensland Reds in their first three games, and Blades admits he has been surprised by the tourists’ fluency. I’ve been really massively impressed with the Lions. They are playing a lot more expansively than I’ve seen them play before,” he said.
“Their counter-attack has been outstanding, against the Western Force especially. Their ball in hand work, some of their tries off just a basic catch-and-pass, was pretty impressive itself. I think we’ve got a fantastic series coming up, if the Wallabies bring their A-game and bring stability up front, it gives them a massive chance of doing the job again, but I think it’s going to be a really, really tight series.”
