Who Will Be The Surprise Lions Package in 2009?
Two Contributing Editors discuss top potential Lions performers.
Marcus Stones - Contributing Editor
With less than 3 weeks to go until the Lions head to South Africa for the thirteenth time in their history the anticipation is just about at boiling point. With recent visits to Australia and New Zealand ending in considerable failure only a test series victory this time around will come anywhere near to healing the wounds that were so evidently inflicted upon the Lions brand by Graham Henry and most notably Sir Clive Woodward.
If the Lions are to cause an upset and earn some new found respect from the ‘big three’ down south then the likes of; Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Williams and the big Muster man Paul O’Connell are of course going to play major roles throughout the tour. Lions’ squads however require much more than a group of experienced world class stars - all Lions squads need a bolt from the blue - a moment of brilliance or just consistency that has yet to be seen from that individual.
In 1997 we had Matt Dawson who started the tour third in line for the scrum half jersey, breaking from the base of the scrum and throwing that audacious overhead dummy to ignite the series. 2001 saw Jason Robinson and Brian O’Driscoll waltzing onto the international stage and 2005, despite being one of the worst tours in history saw Simon Easterby come in and fill the boots of Lawrence Dallaglio to many people’s surprise.
So, who in 2009 is set to burst onto the world stage or which unfashionable seasoned campaigner is going to produce the unexpected? Leigh Halfpenny of the Blues and Wales has ended the season in mesmeric form and will no doubt love the firm surfaces of South Africa alongside his Welsh compatriot Shane Williams. His boot could also prove vital - with only Ronan O’Gara and Stephen Jones as regular kickers, he may yet end up with the kicking hopes of four nations stacked upon his young shoulders.
Irishman Keith Earls backed by the army of his fellow Munster colleagues also has the running ability to trouble any defence in the world despite his international inexperience. We saw in the European Cup against The Ospreys just what a lethal finisher this man can be. Add his versatility into the mix and the young man from Limerick may just have a big say in the entire tour.
Continuing on the theme of strike runners, Ugo Monye is a winger that couldn’t be ignored after a wonderful end to the season with both Harlequins and England. For years this man has had the gift to score tries but lacked other key components such as a physicality and kicking game to really cut it at the top level; add these extras to his never say die attitude and desire to get his hands on the ball and he is now on course to play some part in the test series.
Despite a collection of attack-minded open-field running backs that have the potential to come to the fore, the back-row is where every match on tour will be decided. The man who has the capabilities to cause havoc with his ball carrying ability but even more so with his ferocious tackling is Stephen Ferris of Ulster and Ireland. Not one to pursue fame or personal reward he is the perfect Lion, who at the age of 23 has already played his part in Ireland’s Grand Slam success. The advantage however that he has on his back row rivals is that he plays for Ulster. You may argue that playing for one of European rugby’s less fashionable and powerful sides is a clear disadvantage but I would strongly disagree. He will be a relative unknown to the Springboks, something that is rare in the international rugby of the modern era. If he gets his chance in the first couple of games on tour while Jamie Heaslip of Leinster is unavailable then perhaps he will provide the perfect opposition to combat the physicality of Schalk Burger and co.
If the Lions are to overcome the power runners of the Springboks then the likes of Ferris really need to step up to the plate and knock the strike runners back before any momentum is gained. Previous tours have all had surprise performers and this tour needs a bunch of them if the wounds of 2001 and 2005 are to be healed once and for all, and pride restored to the once awe inspiring red shirt.
If the Lions are to cause an upset and earn some new found respect from the ‘big three’ down south then the likes of; Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Williams and the big Muster man Paul O’Connell are of course going to play major roles throughout the tour. Lions’ squads however require much more than a group of experienced world class stars - all Lions squads need a bolt from the blue - a moment of brilliance or just consistency that has yet to be seen from that individual.
In 1997 we had Matt Dawson who started the tour third in line for the scrum half jersey, breaking from the base of the scrum and throwing that audacious overhead dummy to ignite the series. 2001 saw Jason Robinson and Brian O’Driscoll waltzing onto the international stage and 2005, despite being one of the worst tours in history saw Simon Easterby come in and fill the boots of Lawrence Dallaglio to many people’s surprise.
So, who in 2009 is set to burst onto the world stage or which unfashionable seasoned campaigner is going to produce the unexpected? Leigh Halfpenny of the Blues and Wales has ended the season in mesmeric form and will no doubt love the firm surfaces of South Africa alongside his Welsh compatriot Shane Williams. His boot could also prove vital - with only Ronan O’Gara and Stephen Jones as regular kickers, he may yet end up with the kicking hopes of four nations stacked upon his young shoulders.
Irishman Keith Earls backed by the army of his fellow Munster colleagues also has the running ability to trouble any defence in the world despite his international inexperience. We saw in the European Cup against The Ospreys just what a lethal finisher this man can be. Add his versatility into the mix and the young man from Limerick may just have a big say in the entire tour.
Continuing on the theme of strike runners, Ugo Monye is a winger that couldn’t be ignored after a wonderful end to the season with both Harlequins and England. For years this man has had the gift to score tries but lacked other key components such as a physicality and kicking game to really cut it at the top level; add these extras to his never say die attitude and desire to get his hands on the ball and he is now on course to play some part in the test series.
Despite a collection of attack-minded open-field running backs that have the potential to come to the fore, the back-row is where every match on tour will be decided. The man who has the capabilities to cause havoc with his ball carrying ability but even more so with his ferocious tackling is Stephen Ferris of Ulster and Ireland. Not one to pursue fame or personal reward he is the perfect Lion, who at the age of 23 has already played his part in Ireland’s Grand Slam success. The advantage however that he has on his back row rivals is that he plays for Ulster. You may argue that playing for one of European rugby’s less fashionable and powerful sides is a clear disadvantage but I would strongly disagree. He will be a relative unknown to the Springboks, something that is rare in the international rugby of the modern era. If he gets his chance in the first couple of games on tour while Jamie Heaslip of Leinster is unavailable then perhaps he will provide the perfect opposition to combat the physicality of Schalk Burger and co.
If the Lions are to overcome the power runners of the Springboks then the likes of Ferris really need to step up to the plate and knock the strike runners back before any momentum is gained. Previous tours have all had surprise performers and this tour needs a bunch of them if the wounds of 2001 and 2005 are to be healed once and for all, and pride restored to the once awe inspiring red shirt.
Marcus Stones - 1:30 13th May 2009
Gareth Rise - Contributing Editor
Amongst any tour party there are always the legends, the respected and the unknown, although all this counts for nothing if the performance is missing.
On every tour there are surprises, the players that come from nowhere to become legends of that famous red jersey for eternity, a young Jerry Guscott grubbering through to seal the series win in 89. John Bentley coming from Union obscurity to star as a character of the tour and win a place in the test team for the final two tests or a young Brian O’Driscoll cutting the whole of Australia in two, and who could forget a young Ryan Jones coming from a Wales Pacific tour and showing the Kiwis we had some stomach for the fight.
This season the standout forward going on tour has to be Gethin Jenkins, any front rower that pushes sixteen tackles a game whilst doing the work at the coal face is worth a mention. His scrummaging is direct and his style is very technical, using intelligence and technique to nullify opponents. For these reason he has been a cornerstone of a good Welsh scrummaging pack for the last three seasons. If the Lions are to compete they need at the very least parity at scrum time. It will be interesting to see if Jenkins can maintain his tireless work ethic around the paddock after scrummaging the twenty stone biltong-fed front rowers that are so prevalent in the Rainbow Nation.
If Jenkins is one of our go to guys up front then one player who could make a huge impact on tour will be Leigh Halfpenny. His stage has already been set.
Halfpenny was playing for Cardiff in the Principality Premier League at the end of last season, having been told by the Ospreys that he was two small for the stratosphere of International rugby. His rise has been a sharp ascent through the levels of club, regional and international rugby, an ascent usually reserved for the night time dreams of young rugby hopefuls.
With a sidestep that seems to be almost Welsh heritage and pace to burn Halfpenny looks to have the sparks that any world class winger needs, however, for this Lions fan it’s the subtle part to Halfpenny’s game that gives him the promise to be a surprise performer this summer in South Africa.
His positional play is excellent. Halfpenny would probably be equally as comfortable at full-back as in his native wing position. His presence under the high ball is commanding - I can only remember one missed catch this season, in the EDF final versus Gloucester, where he was so scything with ball in hand that this misdemeanor was almost forgotten.
He has what I believe to be the most important skill a winger should have, the instinct for natural finishing. Too many modern wingers rely on pace and power, not the guile and finishing instinct so relevant in the wingers of the past. Not Halfpenny. He reads play well, has the capacity to get onto the end of attacking moves and then use his array of skills - an array that includes chip kicks of both feet, a sidestep that defies motion and pace to burn - to finish off try scoring opportunities. These opportunities will be gold dust in the test arena and every South African side the Lions meet will be brutal in denying them.
His defence is equal to his attacking ability, on numerous times this season teams sent strong carriers down his channel to test a supposed weak link, Halfpenny consistently stood firm.
His cover tackling is also a real strength. He showed this in the Six Nations, slicing down players who had breached the Welsh defensive line and on numerous occasions got back to his feet to challenge for the ball in a style the great Neil Back would have been proud off.
The only question that hangs over this potential superstar’s head is whether the pressure and fervour created by a Lions series (which I feel is bigger than anything in rugby) can be handled. However the beauty of youth is that it has yet to meet fear and does not know it, and I feel that any player that can slot fifty meter penalties in Heineken Cup semis and Grand Slam deciders is ready for the theatre of Lions rugby.
There will always be surprises and players who perform beyond their normal ability level, but we all know the real secret to Lions success has been how well and how fast the tour party have bonded and whether the belief in each other is there to make the dream work.
Gareth Rise - 1:30 13th May 2009
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