The wide range of opinions expressed on this thread and the Wallabies Watch thread, I think, illustrates the uncertainty surrounding the way the Lions tests should be played being felt by the rugby community. This seems to manifest itself in debates about the selection of particular players as well as the selection strategies that should be adopted, ie whether incumbancy should overrule current form and/or potential, particularly when the latter would involve a debutant, or whether a conservative game plan is needed against the Lions. To a degree, I can understand where various posters are coming from. A few Tahs fans have argued strongly in favour of incumbancy maybe because that will see more of their players making the matchday 22. Reds fans seem to favour changing the Wallabies' game plan to be more attacking, and the only way to get that is to have Genia, Cooper and Taps at 9, 10 and 12. Brumbies' fans, including me, tend to say that incumbancy should not take precedence, hoping that a few more in-form Brumbies will be selected.
I would like to put forward the proposition that the Lions tests are not the be-all and end-all of the Wallabies' season. In fact, the real game is still the RC and Bledisloe contests. Will winning or losing to the Lions affect the Wallabies' ranking in any fashion. I don't know, but would be extremely disappointed if that was the case. The Lions do not represent a single rugby playing nation and to my knowledge do not have a ranking. In fact, they are more in the nature of Barbarians matches, though will play a more traditional and competitive game because they are together for a comprehensive tour rather than just being thrown together with almost no preparation time.
So what type of approach and game plan should the Wallabies adopt? Would winning or losing the series affect the Wallabies' position in world rugby? Or would it see Deans appointed for a further period, or alternatively sacked? To my way of thinking, this series should be seen as a forerunner to the real contests later in the year. It would be great to win 3-0, but I would prefer it to be an opportunity to set the Wallabies up for the All Blacks et al. I therefore believe we should be adopting a more attacking game plan, and be selecting the players who are in form and capable of playing to that plan. I do not subscribe to the notion that players should be selected simply because they are incumbant. In similar vein, I do not believe the Lions series should prevent worthy debutants from gaining selection.
I would submit that players who are known to be heading overseas or to other codes ought to be omitted if they will not be available for the later tests. The players selected should otherwise be the best available even if it means they are debuting. Most importantly, they need to be those who have consistently demonstrated sufficient attacking flair to contribute to a game plan that could threaten or even defeat the All Blacks, Saffas and Argies later in the year.
