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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now then, with just six days to go until the first rugby test match against Australia, the British and Irish Lions are kind of licking their wounds this morning. Three players have been called into the squad as injury cover after last night’s tour match in Sydney. I am joined now in Leeds by the former Lions player and four times Lions coach, he is of course Sir Ian McGeechan and a very good morning to you, Sir Ian. Let’s get your vast experience of this, Sir Ian, you’ve planned for months, if not years for this, you’ve got your ideal team, your ideal tactics and you have to tear it all up with just a few days to go, how do you react?

SIR IAN McGEECHAN: Well I think you’ve got to make sure that every player in the squad understands what you’re doing and what you’re about. Funnily enough, back in 1997 we lost Rob Howley in the week before the test with a broken shoulder and Matt Dawson had to come in but because we’d been sharing everything, all the knowledge and training and together, then you hope that the same message is literally in every player and I’m sure, we did it in 2009 and I’m sure Warren Gatland is doing exactly the same this time.

DM: So can it be kind of serendipitous, if I may use the word, in the end in that sometimes you end up with a player who of course was considered to go in the original tour party, who then performs remarkably well for the test team?

SIR IAN: Yes, Tom Croft is probably a very good example of that from 2009, who was one of the players of the test series so it’s important I think just with the injuries that you try and manage it and I think what they are doing at the moment is bringing players in to try and make sure that they’ll have the right combination on the field next Saturday and not put some players under pressure by having to perform on Tuesday so I think it makes sense. I think the downside is they’ve got a group of players who probably haven’t trained together never mind played together, who are going out on the field on Tuesday.

DM: It’s remarkable this, isn’t it, bringing in Shane Williams from Japan, he’s retired from international rugby, what a great player he is but he has been brought in we’re told for one game only.

SIR IAN: Yes, but the important thing is that it takes the pressure off having two or three of the other players working on their fitness and possibly being in trouble on Tuesday and then you do have problems for Saturday. I think this way round there are no problems for Saturday. I think he’ll have the back division he needs when it matters and in the end the result in Canberra is of secondary importance to the result on Saturday in Brisbane.

DM: Yes, but it’s a test isn’t it, for the spirit of the side all together because presumably if you are picked for the game on Tuesday you are more or less know, barring severe injuries, that you are not going to play in the test.

SIR IAN: Well, not necessarily. I think there are some players there who are still in contention for a test match start, I think Faletau with Jamie Heaslip, it’s going to be an interesting discussion for the coaches; Richie Gray, Rob Kearney at full back, Rory Best and the two half backs. So yes, it might be looking at what the starting 15 is but I think it’s the balance of the 23 that’s critical so there are very important decisions that I think have to come out of what they see on Tuesday and there is no doubt that the players will be wanting to keep the Lions winning and keeping the record straight because there’s nothing better than going into your first test match undefeated.

DM: It’s the holy grail isn’t it and coming out of the whole tour undefeated as well. It’s that balance you mentioned, it applies to the so-called warm up games although many of them as we’ve seen already are pretty competitive, because you want to get, you’ve got your ideal test team in your mind and you want to get those players experienced with the conditions, you want to get them match fit at this time of the year but of course you want to protect them and you don’t want them getting duffed up.

SIR IAN: Yes but I think that’s the balance that is the Lions, the players and the coaches have to keep an open mind. You see players develop, you see combinations develop on the tour and in a Lions jersey that you probably didn’t contemplate when you watched them playing for their individual countries and it is being able to look at that and get those combinations playing that is critical. They don’t all have to play in the same team together but through the team you want those combinations developing so that when you’re training together and the message is the same, it actually does fit together like a jigsaw when it matters and you do have that complete understanding and I’m sure that’s what they will have been working on and working very hard to make sure it’s set for Saturday. I think they won’t be far off the test team they want out there, fit and ready to go and I think what they’re doing at the moment is making sure that they don’t put that into any jeopardy.

DM: And just briefly Sir Ian, we know they want to win and win well, do you think they will play expansive rugby? It could be a great game couldn’t it?

SIR IAN: It could be a fantastic game and there’s no doubt they have been playing outstanding rugby so far. They are powerful runners and I think Jamie Roberts will be a loss, it doesn’t look like he will be fit, particularly from their first phase attacks where they have been getting the backs over the gain line really early and then some really powerful runners in the back row and the front five coming in to play. They will want to keep that sort of pattern and that sort of approach and then it is up to Australia to say are they good enough to stop it because the Lions now have had a month of playing it, the Australians have had a month just training.

DM: Set it up very nicely. Sir Ian, thank you very much indeed. Sir Ian McGeechan there.