Schmidt saving best tricks for Wallabies bench to scare unproven Lions

Times

a day ago

Hopes? Prayers? Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies head coach, is a strategist of the highest order. Throughout a coaching career that has scaled the heights with Leinster, Ireland and New Zealand, the Kiwi has developed a reputation for somewhat more sophisticated tactical strategies than hoping and praying.
Which is just as well, because the rugby gods seem to have deserted the hosts of this British & Irish Lions tour. To date their club sides have retreated from the touring team and been banished with ease. Yet, maybe lulling the Lions into a false sense of security will end up being key to dwindling Australian hopes.
The selections of Andy Farrell, Schmidt's opposite number, have been based upon pre-tour thinking, tempered by a few injuries of their own. While a clear idea of a Test team is vital on short trips where the touring part is nothing but preparation for the series, there has to be room for someone to play his way into the Test squad.
Ellis Genge is a case in point. He may have propped his way past Andrew Porter in the one meaningful match to date: the defeat by Argentina in Dublin. But elsewhere Farrell has had limited evidence to go on. Joe McCarthy was magnificent on his tour debut. He sealed the other Test berth alongside Maro Itoje in the second row on the basis of a mismatch against Western Force. In contrast, Farrell stuck with Tom Curry not on the basis of tour form, but his past quality.
Tadhg Furlong, the 32-year-old Irish legend, has twice started games on this tour. The most significant selection, now obvious with the benefit of hindsight, was his deployment from the bench against the Waratahs, with Saturday's other two front-row starters, Genge and Dan Sheehan. He looked as sharp as we have seen him all season. Calf and hamstring injuries have hamstrung the great man's career in recent times.
He has become the cameo prop forward. But in Saturday's first Test he will be wearing No3, in the firing line, part of a Lions team intent on overpowering the perceived weak Wallabies in Brisbane. Weakened? Yes, but don't bet on them being weak.
The odds are that Furlong, a man who has played the past six Lions Tests against the might of New Zealand and South Africa, won't make it past 50 minutes before being replaced by the massively improved Bath and England prop Will Stuart.
On the balance of recent — albeit inadequate — evidence, there has to be a danger that the Lions will not get off to the first-half flyer they crave and expect. Australia will hope to hang on, driven by adrenaline, question marks around Furlong's readiness and first-Test nerves on the part of the Lions.
If Australia manage this, there is real hope for the home fans that Schmidt can create chaos with the advent of an intriguing bench. Angus Bell has steadily been developing a reputation as one of the world's better loose-heads. Yet in recent times, including the game against Fiji a fortnight ago, he came off the bench for the last period of play.
In the Lions' previous game in Brisbane, the victory over Queensland Reds two weeks ago, Stuart cut a forlorn figure, trudging off the pitch after a disappointing first 50 minutes. It could be that clever Joe has targeted the Lions in an area where many expect red dominance.
Dave Porecki was expected to start at hooker. He too is injured. But are the Lions being lured into a land of excessive expectation? The replacement, Billy Pollard, is not a speedster in the Sheehan mode but he's an old-fashioned, accurate tryscorer from close range. It really wouldn't be that great a surprise to see Schmidt's first-half forwards maintain parity. The Australians' reputation for weak scrummaging may be destroyed, along with expectations of the Lions sealing the game within the first hour.
The balance of the bench is fascinating. The Lions, despite the inclusion of Marcus Smith, have not opted for an overwhelmingly powerful 6-2 split with pack dynamism coming at Australia. They have instead opted for a more conservative 5-3 balance.
In contrast, Australia have an ace up their green-and-gold sleeve in the electrified presence of the hometown scrum half replacement, Tate McDermott. He was the most threatening No9 around the base throughout the Super Rugby series. Against Fiji he played in overdrive. Yet two months ago I was told by an Australian colleague that the Queenslander would not start at scrum half in the Lions series. Instead, the Waratahs' Jake Gordon was tipped to wear the No9 jersey.
And indeed here we are, on the verge of the first Test, with Gordon starting and McDermott, someone who can turn a game with the quickest of tap penalties, waiting to put the Wallaby foot down in the final 20 minutes. McDermott is a thrilling runner who has matured into a more rounded scrum half than the early head-down version. These days he scans for space, works for others — he is one of the liveliest customers on a mediocre Australian union scene, yet he doesn't start ahead of Gordon.
Could it be that Schmidt has a plan to win the game in the final quarter of the match? Could it be that, not necessarily through any fault of his own, Farrell's plan to wallop the Wallabies from the first whistle is set to be sabotaged by starting, rather than finishing, with Furlong?
All evidence suggests the Lions will blast their way through a weak looking opponent, but don't be shocked if Schmidt has a few tricks to, at the very least, scare the unproven Lions.
Australia v British & Irish Lions
First Test, Brisbane
Saturday, 11am
TV: Sky Sports Main Event