Forward makes first Lions Test start against Wallabies at iconic MCG as he collides with mountainous adversary
T
he visiting dressing rooms at the Melbourne Cricket Ground are more spacious than most. Big enough to accommodate the red army of British & Irish Lions players, coaches and backroom staff – the entire tour party is now almost 100-strong – but short on cosy intimacy. And when the players walk out into this iconic arena with 90,000-odd fans filling the distant stands they will feel even smaller.
The field of play is such a vast expanse that the Australian Rules footballers who roam here can cover up to 17 kilometres during a single game. When it hosts rugby matches the participants are so far away from their audience they are almost in a different postcode. People like to talk about there being nowhere to hide in top-level sport and, outside a heavyweight boxing ring, there are few better examples.
Spare a thought, then, for anyone preparing to make their first Lions Test start. Against opposition so motivated you can smell the desperation. And against a direct adversary, in the mountainous Will Skelton, who hits harder than a St Kilda-bound tram. For the incoming Ollie Chessum this is truly a massive game in every respect.
