Every single member of the British & Irish Lions squad is in the perfect sweet spot at the moment. Blair Kinghorn aside, they all arrived into camp with a spring in their step and a smile on their face because their dreams have been realised. Speaking from experience, it is amazing how quickly you can leave national allegiances at the door.
At this stage, there is no sense of what the Test team will be, no division, or feeling that you have to make do with being a midweek dirt-tracker – the thing you are probably most nervous about is who your roommate will be. You know it will be someone from a different country and my first roommate was Keith Earls. As the youngest member of the 2009 squad, he was responsible for looking after the Lions mascot and I felt like I needed to mind him. I soon realised there are few as competitive as Keith and he did not need minding at all.
You can arrive into camp with preconceived ideas of what certain people will be like. Whenever I had played against Ronan O’Gara I had to be so mentally switched on because he was such a fierce competitor with incredible drive and had this uncanny ability to catch you out of position with a spiral kick. He was pretty chirpy on the pitch too, but he is someone I am still in touch with to this day.
There were quite a few players about whom I was thinking: “I’m not quite sure about you, I may not even like you.” But you then meet them and spend time in their company and you switch to: “This is my teammate,” and feeling: “This means everything,” really quickly.
I’m sure the current bunch have already had a few good nights out and they need that. They will learn more about each other from 30 minutes in the pub than they ever would in the gym or on the training ground.
Friday’s match against Argentina is a first hit-out but, at the same time, it is probably the hardest game they will play before the Test series. If Argentina were playing against Australia on Friday, I’m not sure who my money would be on.
It’s a daunting fixture but the Lions have to embrace it. They can’t worry themselves about underdogs tags – this is the best of the best from the four nations and there can be no excuses. I don’t expect them to be perfect against the Pumas but the minimum I want to see is evidence of what they are trying to do in attack and defence.
Make no mistake, everyone wants to play in the first match. Evenall the Leinster playerswho were in action against the Bulls last Saturday, even Finn Russell after histopless celebrations during Bath’sopen-top bus parade on Sunday. That said, as much as there can be a sense of Fomo for all those not involved, there can be some Romo – relief at missing out – too.
In 2009, I was desperate to play in the first match of the tour against the Royal XV and gutted to be overlooked. As it turned out, those who were selected didn’t cover themselves in glory, needed a late comeback to avoid defeat and those players suddenly had some catching up to do. It’s amazing how your currency can rise when you’re not involved.
The team Andy Farrell has selected is largely as you’d expect, all players who were at the Portugal camp, but I’m delightedMarcus Smith gets an early opportunityto show what he’s all about. During the Six Nations he just got on with the job, having last year been England’s most dominant player only to find himself out of favour or playing in a position that isn’t his most preferred.
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As it has turned out, that versatility has worked to his advantage and when I look at this Lions backline, I see a lot of muscle, a lot of physical specimens, and the need for a second pair of playmaking hands becomes clear.
You would still say Kinghorn is the favourite to fill that role, but given he is still involved with Toulouse, Smith has the chance to lay down a marker. And he must stay true to himself to do that. He is an incredible individual talent but he’s also a selfless player. Everything he does is with an eye on creating space for his teammates and Farrell will be aware of the threat he poses if Duhan van der Merwe, Bundee Aki, Sione Tuipulotu and Tommy Freeman can deliver front-foot ball.
Smith will have to be mindful of the aerial threat Argentina pose. He will be only too familiar with how strong Rodrigo Isgró is in the air given they are teammates at Harlequins. Smith constantly looks to Isgró with the boot to win the ball back, so effective is the winger in that regard. But Argentina have threats all over the park.
It is a mighty challenge for the Lions first up, but the XV selected have got the ability to deal with it.