WALLABIES HAVE TO WIN THIS | Wallabies vs British & Irish Lions 2nd Test Preview

This could be the series decider if Wallabies don’t turn up. British and Irish Lions will be looking for a clean record down under and Wallabies will want to level up the series to make the 3rd test the ultimate showdown.
How do you see this one playing out?

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It’s the series decider in Melbourne and it doesn’t get bigger than this. Australia want to win this so that they can level up the series and go to the decider in the third test. And British and Irish Lions want to win this so they can go on and potentially win three from three, which hasn’t been done before in a British and Irish Lions tour in ages. Ton of changes made from both teams. more of a pick and stick from Joe Schmidt with the Walabes and there’s been some wholesale changes with the British and Irish lines. But before we get into it, let me know in the comments what you guys think of the squads named. How do you see this game playing out? What do Walabes need to do to level up the series? And what do the British and Irish lines need to do to win this game and go on and win three from three? Let me know in the comments. Hit that subscribe if you haven’t already. Let’s get into it. Okay, it’s the big one next weekend or the third test. Doesn’t matter if Wallabies don’t win this one. I’m talking the Wallabies first. This is a big big game for the Wallabies. Probably the biggest game in under Joe Schmidt’s reign and one of the biggest games the Walabes have ever played over the past couple of years. They need We want to see a react. We need to see a reaction. Walabeee’s fans need to see a reaction. And for the walabeees going on, you just need to see a reaction. What they did in that the last 20 30 minutes in that first test, we want to see it from the start in this test. So, we’ll run through the teams and then we’ll get to where I think the or some matchups and then where I think the game will be won or lost. So, for the Wallabies, you got James Slipper, David Perki, and Alan Alattoa up front. Then you got Nick Frost and Will Skelton. Will Skeleton coming back in giving you that physicality, that front foot ball, and I said it in the first in the preview of the first test because he wasn’t there, they were going to lack that and they needed guys to step up in that regard and they just didn’t have that. We saw this week that passed uh the First Nations and Pacifica what they did with the Lions. I guess it wasn’t a full fully strength Lions team, but it was still stacked with a ton of international players. And if you’re physical with them, kind of sets them on the back, but it sets any team on the back burner. You need to be physical. Will Skeleton is going to lead that for the Wabies here. Then you’ve got Rob Valentini back in. Fraser McGride, Harry Wilson. Harry Wilson still captain there. Jay Gordon, Tom Liner. So Joe Schmidt is picking those guys and sticking with them, backing them, trusting them. I don’t think Gordon or Tom Liner, they both probably didn’t have their worst games, but it’s your nine and 10. You need to be they need to be on song. They need to be playing really well. And I thought Tom Liner, while it was his first ever start for the Wallabies last week, kind of a deer in headlights and you need you need your 10 to be playing well. But he’s I I back I credit Joe Schmidt on the pick and stick. Don’t mind that at all. Then Len Ikittowal and Sui in the centers and the back three of Harry Potter, Max Jorgensson and Tom Wright. On the bench you got Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langy Gleason, Carlo Tazano, Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson. So you’ve got your big your big ball carriers back. So your Valentinis, your Will Skeletons, they’re going to give you that front foot ball. Love that. Then someone like Gleason coming off the bench, he’s giving you more of that punch as well. We know what Cola Tano and someone like Tate Mcderman can do off the bench. We’ll get into we’ll get into that in a minute. Then jumping over to the British and Irish lines. Some wholesale changes. It’s bring your kid to work day as well. Don’t don’t mind it at all. So we got Andrew Porter, Dan Sheen, and Ty Furlon up front. All Ireland front row. Don’t mind that. Mari to Ollie Chz. Then it’s all English second row to captain. And then we got Ty Burn, Tom Curry, Jack Conan. Same as last week. They were all three outstanding. Ty Burn winning man of the match. Tom Curry. Curry was fantastic as well. Was probably second man of the match. And then Conan just did what he does. Strong uh with ball in hand. Good lineup time as well. Jameson Gibson Park, Finn Russell 9 and 10. Class, class. No need to change there. Centers Bundy Aryu Jones. So no toy poll. He’s not even on the bench. strange one. This his home uh it’s where he grew up. It’s where he started his rugby in Melbourne. You would think it’ be a bit of a homecoming getting to play. Definitely rotating the squad around. There was definitely I think u transparency before the test started with how they were going to play the games or how they were going to rotate the squads around because Toy Palottu didn’t do anything wrong. There was no talk of him being injured. You look at in the locks, Joe McCarthy was outstanding in the test, but he did have an injury. So that’s why Chzum I think has come in. So I wonder I wonder what the chat was around dropping to Balotto and bringing Bundyaki in. Then we’ve got the back three of the same James Low, Tommy Freeman, and Yugo Keenan. On the bench, we got Callah, Genjon, Stewart, uh James Ryan, Jack Morgan is in. Gets his opportunity. Love it. him coming on later in the game locking horns with someone like Carlo Dano. Let’s go. Love I’ll love that matchup if it happens. And then we got Alex Mitchell, a big man, Owen Farrell, and Blair Kinghorn all getting their opportunities off the bench, I’m guessing, a little bit later on in the game. So, my big matchups, I’m picking the big boys in the back row, ones that dominated the first test. So, the British and Irish Lions guys in burn, uh, Tom Curry and Jack Conan coming up against a newly reshuffled Rob Valentini, Fraser Mcright, and Harry Wilson. Quite harsh on Nick Champion decrepne that of Rob Valentini. Man, you can’t deny this guy. I could have I would have liked if they found space for both of them, but I get it. I get it. Rob Valentini coming in. He’s going to have to lead the charge with physical carries. I can’t wait for that matchup between him and someone like Tom Curry or Jack Conan or uh Ty Burn. I think we need to see a little bit more from guys like Fraser Mcright and Harry Wilson. Well, we know what Valentini is going to bring. He’s going to come around the corner. He’s going to run hard. He’s going to hit hard in defense. I need Fraser Mcright to get involved in the game a bit more. He was good. kind of an Energizer Bunny in the first test, but be more effective in that regard. And then I need Harry, we need Walabes need Harry Wilson to stand up and bring those strong carries like he did all year for the Reds. Just bite down on the mouth guard and run straight, run over the top of guys. They need that physicality. You need that front foot ball. And the back row of walabes are going to lead that for them. But the back row of British and Irish lines are going to stand up and face them head-to-head as well. So I’m I’m looking forward to that battle. The nine and 10 again is always is it is those guys play well your team wins. Yes, it depends on the forwards or the forwards going forward for sure. But man, we saw in that first test Gibson Park and Finn Russell had the ball on the string. They were fantastic. We need to see that from Jake Gordon and Tom Liner. Yes, their forwards need to give them options or need to give them good go forward ball, good set piece as well. And then I think their backs out wide can give them a bit more with regards to attack giving them options having guys running short guys out the back. So it’ll be a big game for Tom Lina and Jake Gordon for sure. The nerves kind of probably settled after that first test. They need to start strong and carry on that form throughout the game. Stay strong, start strong, stay strong. But again, it’s what platform their forwards can set for them. The centers big big matchup here. Obviously, Bundi Aaki coming in. Eu Jones was there last week. Len Ikital, Ausu, Joseph, Akuso, Su Ali. I picked out Aui with regards to his one-on-one tackles. Need to be better there. Need to stick your tackles. Need to get up off the line, make your big hits, but stick those tackles. not try and tackle too high and not necessarily try and put a shot a big shot on every tackle. Just make your tackles, mate. Especially when you’ve got Hugh Jones, uh Bondi running in your channel, need to need to get in there and make your tackles and then offer Tom Liner some more bits on attack. While yes, Wabies probably didn’t have a lot of the ball, especially in that first half, they still when they have the ball, you need to execute on your plays. You need to have options. Your 10 needs to have options. Your centers need to give your 10 options and they need to relay that message across. All of that was probably happening, but from the outside looking in, it didn’t look like they were giving much options to Lina. So, we need Len Ikittow and Si to have an even better game on attack than they did last week. Like they didn’t do much on attack last week, but they need to give Lina more. The bench is going to be a massive part of this game on the matchups there. So, whoever comes on, you’re looking at Langi Gleason coming up against Jack Morgan to Colano coming up there against someone like uh James Ryan. So, it’ll be interesting to see how that goes. And it’s like the walabeees, a 6-2 split. So, we can definitely see how they’re going to want to play. You bringing on Langy Glee and Cara Tano. They want to bash you up front. They want to be more physical, have guys that can come on and change the game up front with carrying the ball or uh disrupting breakdown. That’s how Pacifica did it. That’s how Waratars did it. Yes, they didn’t win those games, but they were heavily in those games and they had British and Irish lines on the back foot there for a lot of those games just from being physical and bashing you up front. So, I like to see that bit of intent from Joe Schmidt. 6-2 split kind of know how he wants to play. Then where I see the game one or lost. So firstly, and I’ve probably mentioned it throughout this whole video already, is physical. Have to be physical. It starts with a set piece. Strong scrum, strong lineup. I thought Wallabies did really well at scrum time in the first test. Build on that. Smash them up front. Bring Angus Bell, Tom Robinson, Billy Pollard on later on and smash them again. Ireland or British and Irish lines have got that all Irish front row. I think that’s why they’ve got the continuity there. Andy Farrell knows what he’s getting from those guys at scrum time and they need to match that fire with fire. Lions coming into the tour were really strong at scrum time. Walabee showed them up a bit in that first test. That’s where it’s going to start here. It’s always is at the set piece. Line outs again. I’ll give give Wabies like Nick Frost, Will Skeleton all good line out options. I even think Rob Valentini is a good line out option. You’ve got Jeremy Williams coming on later. But then you look at the Lions, they’ve got Chzm Ittoj that English partnership there and then you’ve got Ty Burn also a line out option as well as Jack Conan. So Lionus will be touch and go. I think Wabes will get the scrum. And I’m while I’m saying that I’m like I it’s all Irish front row so they know how to work and manipulate those dark arts. So set piece up front being physical carrying the ball. So your will skeletons, your Valentinis and then on the other side you’ve got your Curry’s uh your Jack Conan’s those guys Olly Chza Maro Toge coming around the corner need to be physical and then the big one for me I’m only doing two reasons why so my first reason or where I think the game will be won or lost is physicality and setpiece pretty much go hand in hand and then the bench how the bench is used and what energy that bench brings on. We saw in that first test wal uh British and Orange lines kind of came out and just won the game in the first half Wabies came back brought their subs on at perfect time and um scored those last few tries and it’s not just that just scored those those they earned those last few tries. So how the bench is used is obviously a 6-2 split here for Joe Schmidt. So he’s going to use these piggies up front to come on later in the game and bring that energy and match the physicality that they’ll start the game with throughout the game or hoping to do so. Then bringing on hopefully there’s no injuries early on that can hamp or tamper with that how he wants to do or deploy his bench but the bench is going to be so important. And then you’re looking at British and Irish lines, someone like Owen Farrell again, they’ve been there, done that. He was cl I wouldn’t say classy, but he was just cool, calm, and collected in the game during the week uh verse the Pacifica side and can cover your 10 and center. Then you’ve got Blair Kinghorn who can cover the back three and obviously Mitchell that’s covering nine. how they get used or when they get used will be obviously up to Frell and how he wants to play out the game, but it’s quality to bring on later in the game. And you someone like Owen Frell who’s got that calm, the cool head when things are the intensity is high and energy is high and everyone is maybe a bit unsettled or a bit rattled, you bring someone like him on just to cool just to calm everything down. Uh definitely definitely something you want to have later on in the game. Can’t wait for it. I want the walabeees to win this game so that we can have a all to play for in the third test, but I understand British and Irish lines haven’t won three from three on tour in ages. So they’ll be gunning for this one. Absolutely. I’m just going to go Walabes to win this one by two just so we can have that third test as a nailbiter as a all to play for. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments. Are you going to the game? What’s your score prediction? How do you see this one playing out? And I’ll see you afterwards. I’ll see you next time.