Lions coach Graham Henry has warned his Brisbane heroes that they will have to be better and sharper in next Saturday's second Test showdown with the Wallabies. Although the Lions produced a stunning display to beat Australia 29-13 and set themselves up nicely for Test series glory if they can repeat the feat at Melbourne's 52,000-capacity Colonial Stadium next weekend, Henry spotted a number of weaknesses after he scrutinised video footage of that game.
While the Lions coach was suitably impressed by much of what he saw - notably, the opening 55 minutes when Jason Robinson, Dafydd James, Brian O'Driscoll and Scott Quinnell all scored tries - a poor final quarter gave him much cause for concern. As the world champion Wallabies plot a potential backlash at their Melbourne training base, Henry has targeted an 80-minute effort from the tourists.
"We played particularly well for 55 minutes, but if we play in the last 25 minutes like we did on Saturday, then we will get smashed by possibly a big score. We've got to improve on how we finish games - we haven't played for 80 minutes yet," he stressed.
"The penalty count against us in the last quarter was 10-1, including a spell of five in five minutes, so there is a lot of improving to do. We played exceptionally well for periods of that game, but Australia played the better rugby in the last 25 minutes. I would imagine that the world champion side will play to its potential in the second Test, and I think it is going to be the game of the tour. From our point of view, we have got to be better and sharper than we were last Saturday," he warned.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
