George Gregan today set his sights on tackling the Lions, and admitted: "This is a once-in-a-career opportunity." At 28, Wallabies scrum-half Gregan has achieved virtually everything southern hemisphere rugby has to offer - Tri-Nations title, Bledisloe Cup success and Super 12 glory as captain of ACT Brumbies.
Gregan was also a key figure in Australia's 1999 World Cup triumph, and with 61 Test caps already collected, poses a huge threat to the Lions' prospects. Gregan's half-back partnership with Stephen Larkham provides a potentially lethal combination, one that could orchestrate the Lions' downfall if they are allowed any headway.
And Gregan has underlined what beating the Lions would mean as the tourists prepare for their first Test series mission Down Under since 1989.
"We have won just about everything in the past 18 months or so, but we know that the Lions are going to present us with a very hard challenge," he said. "I would be very surprised in any of the players in this current Wallabies squad will be around the next time the Lions visit Australia, so this represents a once-in-a-career opportunity."
"I was at school in 1989, but I remember watching the Tests on television. It was a really exciting series, and the Lions showed just how much passion they had in the jersey."
That series featured a punishing, frequently ugly second Test in Brisbane, infamously dubbed the battle of Ballymore, but Gregan believes any repeat performance is highly unlikely. "Sometimes things flare up in games, but the Lions have shown on this tour that they are all about playing positive rugby," he added.
"The games they've played so far have been good to watch, and we are looking forward to the series. Three Tests on successive weekends is an extremely tough prospect."
Strong-running centre Nathan Grey, recalled to the Wallabies' line-up for Saturday's Test opener at The Gabba, has no doubt that both Gregan and Larkham will be closely marked. "They are definitely going to try to attack them, but we have got a pretty good game plan put together to try and combat things so that we can really get on top of them," he said.
Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen added: "In every big match, teams are saying 'get Larkham and Gregan' but the reality is that the reason Larkham does so well is because he off-loads and gives other people options. The game is not going to be won or lost around Larkham. Like any game, the winner is going to be the team which does best with ball-work, restarts and so on."
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
