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Many British rugby scribes are trumpeting the Lions’ pack, predicting they will steam-roll the Wallabies in the three-Test series.
Think again fellas, the Lions’ men-mountain will have their hands full Down Under.
The tale of the tape and the scales among the tight five provide the proof.
Lions props in cms and kgs:
180 – 130 – Mako Vunipola
180 – 122 – Matt Stevens
188 – 120 – Gethin Jenkins
183 – 120 – Adam Jones
183 – 118 – Dan Cole
183 – 112 – Cian Healy
185 – 109 – Ryan Grant
Total 731 kgs
Wallaby contenders in cms and kgs:
189 – 120 – Ben Alexander
188 – 120 – Sekope Kepu
189 – 120 – Paddy Ryan
185 – 117 – James Slipper
183 – 113 – Benn Robinson
180 – 112 – Dan Palmer
183 – 112 – Greg Holmes
Total 714 kgs
Behemoth Vunipola gives the Lions an edge, depending on how many minutes he’s on duty.
Lions hookers:
183 – 114 – Richard Hibbard
185 – 110 – Dylan Hartley
175 – 102 – Tom Youngs
Total 326 kgs
Wallaby hookers:
181 – 113 – Tatafu Polota-Nau
185 – 112 – Stephen Moore
187 – 103 – Saia Fainga’a
Total 328 kgs
Line ball, perhaps a shade in the Wallabies’ favour.
Now the telling numbers.
Lions locks:
208 – 128 – Richard Gray
198 – 119 – Alun-Wyn Jones
203 – 116 – Ian Evans
198 – 114 – Geoff Parling
198 – 110 – Paul O’Connell
Total 587 kgs
Wallaby locks:
202 – 123 – Kane Douglas
203 – 120 – Siteleki Timani
201 – 118 – Hugh Pyle
201 – 117 – James Horwill
200 – 115 – Rob Simmons
Total 593 kgs
Not a lot in that either, but Gray at 208cm has a significant lineout advantage, again depending on game time.
To offset that, all five Wallaby contenders are 200cm or taller, giving the men-in-gold a far wider spread.
The crucial factor will be the Wallaby hooker finding his lineout target on a regular basis. That, as we all know, is a lottery.
Where the Wallabies will enjoy a huge advantage is the backrow, and especially the flankers.
None of the Lions 7s and 6s – skipper Sam Warburton, Tom Croft, Dan Lydiate, Sean O’Brien, and Justin Tipuric – can match George Smith, Michael Hooper, or Liam Gill for reading the play, speed around the park, and ferreting.
Smith is still the maestro open-side flanker, with the two youngsters learning fast.
And you can bank on Ben Mowen, Wycliff Palu, or Scott Higginbotham to out-play the Lions’ selected 8s – Toby Faletau and Jamie Heaslip.
So we are set for a bone-crunching series of collisions up-front – a look at the backs tomorrow.