Lions call on Johnson for second Test inspiration

If anyone can give this British and Irish Lions squad a sense of what to expect on Saturday, it's Martin Johnson.

The former England head coach and captain was skipper when the Lions came to Melbourne in 2001 off the back of an impressive first Test win, only for the Wallabies to emphatically level the series.

Four years earlier, Johnson was also captain of the great 1997 side, who clinched the series with a game to spare against the Springboks at Kings Park in Durban.

And as the Lions look to make their own piece of history at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow, it was appropriate for the former captain to come in and pass on some words of wisdom.

Johnson presented the squad with their jerseys ahead of Saturday’s MCG Test, and spoke to the squad about what to expect, as someone who has been through both the highs and lows of Lions’ tours.

"The room was completely quiet for the whole time he was there and spoke. There were guys just staring up at him," scrum coach John Fogarty (below) said of Johnson’s presentation.

"He talked a bit about the Lions series they won [1997] and the Lions series they lost [2001] and the difference in either.

"He spoke about how in the biggest games the fundamentals are incredibly important. There’s going to be errors but not compounding errors on errors is a huge part of winning big games. It was really cool.

"Maro [Itoje] asked him a question or two and then he handed out the jerseys. It has been such a privilege this whole journey to have someone like him come in and talk to the lads was another privilege. It’s cool."

Some of the current squad Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Jamie Osborne weren’t even born when Johnson captained the Lions on that 2001 tour, while many others were yet to even be walking or talking 24 years ago.

However, Fogarty said the significance of having Johnson in camp wasn’t lost on the younger crop.

"They knew who he was for sure.

"There was a bit of contemplation and reflection after he talked, which is a good thing. It is what you want. You don’t just want to turn around and get your dinner.

"There was a bit of thinking and there were conversations, but it was a quiet room because they wanted to listen to a guy they see as an icon. It was pretty cool.

The Lions held their captain's run at the MCG this morning

"He said it is the smallest of margins in the biggest of games [that matter].

"The error bit, what he is talking about there is being able to get back to neutral and talking about being in the moment. All that stuff is difficult when you’re playing in front of 95,000 people in a stadium as iconic as this."

While Johnson’s game for the Lions in Melbourne in 2001, and the 2013 Melbourne Test, were both across town at the Docklands – now Marvel – Stadium, tomorrow’s game will be played in a much grander setting, where an estimated 90,000 supporters will be packed into the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The MCG was looking spectacular on Friday afternoon as Fogarty spoke to the media pitchside, less than 24 hours after an AFL game on the same pitch between Hawthorn and Carlton.

And the Lions assistant was blown away by the size and history of the venue.

"What a stage, what a game it's going to be.

"I have never watched cricket, never seen the game, we didn’t play it when we were kids so I hadn’t got a clue [about the MCG].

Tadhg Beirne tries his hand at some cricket

"Andy [Farrell] has been telling us: 'Wait until you see this’. When he got back from doing a recce he was ‘Oh my God, this stadium, that stadium’ but nothing landed until we walked out.

"My brother Denis is over and he came to the game last night and was telling me it was going to be some stadium to play in, it is an amazing place.

"I remember the first time I walked out to Croke Park when I was a kid and I was ‘Oh God, look at this’ so when we walked out you could see a lot of us looking around and going ‘Jesus, this is bigger than anything we have been in before’.

"Certainly for me it is bigger than anything I have been in before, it is an unbelievable privilege to be here, I know have said it a couple of times but I mean it. I feel unbelievably lucky, and the players are the same, to be able to do this stuff. It is not normal."

There may be temptation to approach the game from a cold perspective, but Fogarty wants the players to embrace the occasion of playing a Lions Test in one of the world’s most famous sporting venues.

"You've got to lean in a little bit, don't you?

"The boys are going to be building to 8pm, so we need to simmer away tomorrow so that we're at the right level when we arrive here and then we can hit the ground running and do things properly.

"We're expecting an absolute battle, a war. But when you come here it makes it a bit more special because you understand what it's going to be like a little bit.

"All the little things will matter tomorrow."

Meanwhile, the Lions have confirmed that Ewan Ashman, Gregor Brown, Rory Sutherland and Darcy Graham have returned home after they were drafted in on a temporary basis to help with Tuesday’s fixture against the First Nations and Pasifika XV.

Irish pair Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne remain with the squad.

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