How Lions skipper Maro Itoje views ‘non-traditional lock’ Will Skelton and second Test referee Andrea Piardi
Will Skelton at Wallabies training in Melbourne
British and Irish Lions skipper Maro Itoje has given his verdict on the threat posed this weekend by recalled Wallabies lock Will Skelton.
The rival second-rows used to be teammates at Saracens in England before the Australian moved over to La Rochelle in France.
Unavailable for last weekend’s first Test in Brisbane due to injury, Skelton has now been included in Joe Schmidt’s starting XV at the expense of the benched Jeremy Williams, and his positional clash with Itoje is set to be a Saturday highlight at the MCG.
“I played a few good years with Will, played against him a few times as well,” said Itoje, setting the scene for the weekend at Thursday’s Lions media briefing.
“He is a fantastic player. He is a talisman for La Rochelle and any side he plays in, he adds a sense of dynamism, size, power to the team, so I am delighted for him that he is able to play. I know he was hoping he would get an opportunity. It’s something that we are excited about.
“We don’t want to get too distracted…”
“Obviously, Will presents, due to the size of him and his strengths, different challenges to your traditional lock, but as always the focus will be on us. We don’t want to get too distracted by what they may or may not do.”
The fit-again Rob Valetini has also been added to the beefed-up Wallabies pack while they have altered their bench split as well, going with a six/two forwards/backs divide compared to last weekend’s five/three in Brisbane.
“It is what it says on the tin,” reckoned Lions head coach Andy Farrell, who has stuck with a five/three split on his bench. “It’s obvious what they [Skelton and Valetini] are going to bring and why they are selected, so I suppose they are delighted with that, and the six/two bench just backs that up a little bit. It’s not unexpected.
“We always consider it [six/two], any type of split, and what is right for the team is all that matters. I suppose there are all sort of risks and rewards for any type of different combination, but I am not privy to the ins and outs of how their team is fitness-wise or feeling or what their tactics may be. I suppose we can guess with the combination there.”
Last Saturday’s Test series opener was refereed by Ben O’Keeffe of New Zealand. This Saturday, it is the turn of Andrea Piardi of Italy to take charge, and skipper Itoje is confident there will be no issue in having his fair say, particularly when it comes to scrummaging.
“Given my role, I want to build a relationship, and I have been fortunate enough to work with all of the referees who will be working on the weekend before. There is somewhat of a relationship there,” he added.
“But as always, we just want to get our house in order. We want to present positive pictures. We back our scrum. We scrummed incredibly well throughout this whole campaign, so we just want to get to the competition and have our scrum nice and solid.
Saturday’s Test will take place at the 100,000 capacity MCG, the famed cricket ground. It’s a prospect that has got the Lions squad very excited. “We have been talking a little bit about that, especially when you spend time in Melbourne and speak to the locals.
“They hold the MCG in a real special regard, and we do have some big cricket fans in our squad. I know they are very excited to be there.
“It’s a huge opportunity, it’s a huge privilege for us to play there in what will be an amazing stadium and what will be an amazing crowd. If it reaches full capacity, it will definitely be the biggest stadium that I have played in, so it’s something that we are looking to relish.”
Victory will clinch the Test series for the Lions with a match to spare. It’s a feat Farrell wants to achieve. “That has been spoken about from day one when we met as a group, that we are the privileged ones that get to do something special and hopefully create a bit of history.
“There is a determined Australia side that is in our way that wants to try and stop us from doing that. It will be a hell of a Test.”