Wallabies crank up pressure on Lions

13 April 2012

Australia hitman Toutai Kefu has warned the Lions that the world champions will fight fire with fire in tomorrow's opening Test.

The back row forward, banned during the last World Cup for throwing a flurry of punches at an Irish opponent in Dublin, predicted an explosive start to the three-match series and warned that the Wallabies were prepared 'to go the biff'.

'Everyone is expecting it,' said Kefu. 'We certainly won't be taking a backward step if something like that happens. We can handle ourselves.

'The first 20 minutes will be crucial and there probably will be some niggle. But nothing fazes us these days. We'll sort each other out before we settle down to play some rugby.

'I don't think either side needs to resort to thuggery to put their point across, but the most aggressive team will go a long way to securing the vital first win of the series.'

As the pre-match tension rose with the arrival of up to 20,000 British and Irish fans, the Lions found themselves embroiled in a ruck over training facilities at the Gabba cricket stadium, which is staging its first major rugby match for more than half a century. The Lions management protested over the lack of a satisfactory warm-up area, with the tourists unable to use the pitch because of a pre-match fireworks display.

The local Australian Rules football club, the Brisbane Lions, agreed to make their facilities available - but with the ground prepared for an Aussie Rules match today, the Lions were forced to mark out the pitch with cones.

Coach Graham Henry said: 'I don't understand why so many obstacles are being put in front of us when everything had been agreed months ago.'

The Wallabies denied they were taking retaliatory action over their visit to Twickenham last year when the RFU refused to let them train on the pitch the day before their injury- time defeat by England.

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said: 'We are not trying to stuff the Lions around. We didn't want an international incident and offered them a reasonable training slot. I understand they are making alternative arrangements.'

Wales hooker Robin McBryde is due to quit the tour today because of injury but the Lions insist that their injured English pair, Neil Back and Will Greenwood, could be playing again next week.

That will keep up the pressure on Rob Henderson, a man whose dramatic change of lifestyle has enabled him to claw his way back to a place in tomorrow's line-up within 18 months of being dumped on the international scrapheap.

Henderson was at an all-time low after being discarded from Ireland's World Cup 30 and then their A squad. When Ireland opened their Six Nations campaign at Twickenham, his venue to view the match suggested that he had yet to fathom the reason for his downfall.

'I was sitting in Molly Malone's watching the game and thinking that was the end of my international career,' he said.

'I had always had a preference for the social life and I thought my rugby ability would see me through. I wasted a few years just being happy to be a good club player. But Nigel Melville (the Wasps coach) made me realise that I had to do something.

'So I got my act together, found a personal trainer through Yellow Pages and changed my lifestyle. I improved my physical shape in every way. Nowadays when they get those pincers out to measure me, they can't find any body fat.'

Henderson takes his place alongside Brian O'Driscoll in only the second all-Irish centre pairing chosen for a post-war Lions Test.

'Brian is the most stunning rugby talent I have ever seen,' said Henderson. 'To play alongside him is a sheer pleasure. I give him the ball and he scores.'

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Wallabies crank up pressure on Lions

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