Royal XV v Lions - Match Preview (+ video feature)

ROYAL XV v LIONS
Saturday, 30 May, 1400 BST
Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Rustenburg

After all the pre-tour hype, the endless Lions XV selections, the pub banter about tactics and gameplans, the Lions tour finally gets underway this Saturday at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. Most of the press emanating from the camp in the build up to this weekend has been about the harmony, humour and hard-work amongst the squad. As has been reported the players seem to be buying into the Lions ethos well, and have enjoyed their first five days in the southern hemisphere, which is fantastic news, assuming the rugby itself follows suit.

"This is as good as it's been," McGeechan said. "It's come together superbly and that's not always the case. That's down to the players. The way they've been working has been first class. It's been a great week. We know it's only a start but it's been a good one."

In terms of the previous tour to New Zealand, there couldn’t be a greater contrast, at least at this early stage. Whilst Sir Clive Woodward put plans in place to professionalise the Lions as a concept down to every minor detail, Ian McGeechan conversely has chosen to instill an amateur ethos with the tour. Most notably, McGeechan wants the tour to be a shared experience and has ended the single-room policy adopted by Sir Clive Woodward in New Zealand four years ago. The Lions were based in Auckland for most of that tour, keeping travel to a minimum, but the 2009 Lions will travel from west to east and north to south.

"Ian has put more emphasis on tradition," forwards coach Warren Gatland said. "What happened four years ago was disappointing for everyone involved and Ian has opted for a smaller squad of players and support staff. It is essential that everything gels very quickly and things are so far going very well. Ian is in charge and he has the final say, but he is comfortable with other coaches and players expressing their views. This is a partnership."

Ian McGeechan's first team of the tour has his hallmarks stamped all over it. There's a vast amount of experience up front - an average of precisely 50 caps a man in the starting front eight - an exciting-looking half-back combination mixing the flair and leadership of Scottish scrum half Mike Blair with Ronan O'Gara's steady distribution and territorial kicking ability.

England's Andrew Sheridan and Wales duo Matthew Rees and Adam Jones will pack down in the front row while a formidable back row features England's Joe Worsley and Wales' Martyn Williams and Andy Powell will look to out-muscle their part-time rivals. Powell in particular will be keen to conjure the form that brought him to the attention of the Lions last autumn when he impressed against the Springboks amongst others.

In the middle, there's a Geech experiment, two centres with complementary games but both relatively green on the Test field, never mind the Lions jersey. But backing that up is a back three who know each other inside and out, all of whom play for the Ospreys. It's a team with balance, youth and flair in the right positions but with a gnarly old pack that will provide the platform for the magicians to perform their tricks out wide.

"I want to look at different combinations, guys who have never played together before," added McGeechan.
"All the players have huge attributes and hopefully they will bring those to the fore in combination with different players. Hopefully the players will bring the best out of each other."

The quartet of Leinster players - O'Driscoll, Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald and Jamie Heaslip - plus Leicester's Tom Croft and Harry Ellis and Northampton prop Euan Murray were rested for the opening match after their exertions last weekend.

Bonus feature: Lions Lend a Hand!

Opposite them is a side that will, to a man, be playing the biggest game of their careers, but is in all honesty little more than a set of decent-quality players brought together from the second tier of South African domestic rugby.

The Lions are out to make a statement - an impressive winning start with no casualties will be the ideal result but only time will tell what kind of selection headaches McGeechan and co will have heading into the second clash against the Lions next week. The tourists will no doubt be looking for an emphatic victory this weekend but it will be the manner of that victory and the success of the new combinations that will be of the most interest to Lions management and fans.

Lions: Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales), Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland), Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales), Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales); Ronan O'Gara (Munster/Ireland), Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland); Andrew Sheridan (Sales Sharks/England), Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales), Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England), Paul O'Connell (Munster/Ireland - captain), Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales), Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales).

Replacements: Lee Mears (Bath/England), Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales), Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland), Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales), Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales), Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England).

Royal Highveld XV: Russell Jeacocks (Leopards); Egon Seconds (Griquas), Deon van Rensburg (Leopards), Hanno Coetzee (Griquas), Bjorn Basson (Griquas); Naas Olivier (Griquas), Sarel Pretorius (Griquas); Albertus Buckle (Griquas), Rayno Barnes (Griquas), Bees Roux (Griquas), Rudi Mathee (Leopards), Jacques Lombard (Griquas), Wilhelm Koch (Leopards, capt), Devon Raubenheimer (Griquas), Jonathan Makoena (Griquas).

Replacements: Pellow van der Westhuizen (Leopards), Stef Roberts (Griquas), Rynard Landman (Leopards), RW Kember (Leopards), Jacques Coetzee (Pumas), Riaan Viljoen (Griquas), Jovan Bowles (Bulldogs).


Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa).
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert and Mark Lawrence (both South Africa).