Steve Richardson has all the best advice for Tuesday's big clash in Dunedin.
Highlanders v Lions - Tuesday 08:35, Sky Sports 1
Tuesday in Dunedin looks like being the game when this Lions tour catches fire.
Rain and a soggy pitch will not come into the equation as the match is being played beneath the Forsyth Barr Stadium's glass roof.
The Lions silenced their critics defensively by shutting down the Crusaders on Saturday and their team, led by Sam Warburton, will be urged by Head Coach Warren Gatland to make a bold statement for inclusion in first-Test match thinking.
This means that there will be no more being relaxed if the rolling maul does not function or pick-and-go tries are ruled out for colliding with a teammate. Offloads and passes will be expected to stick rather than go to ground.
The majority of this Lions team will have been working on the training ground together for the best part of a week. There should be an understanding of running lines and excuses cannot be made much longer for proven internationals.
The Highlanders, shorn of eight All Blacks and Maori All Blacks and missing last year's Super Rugby regular-season top tryscorer Matt Faddes because of injury, will feel that it is in their best interests to attack at every opportunity and they have pace to burn in their backline. Right Wing Waisake Naholo has been released from the All Blacks camp, Inside Centre Malakai Fekitoa will be fired up to show he should have been selected by Steve Hansen, Full-Back Richard Buckman and Left Wing Tevita Li are elusive runners, as is replacement outside back Patrick Osborne.
There have been six tries in the three Lions games so far - four by Kiwis. Go for six or more in this match.
Two weeks ago, the Highlanders lost their first Super Rugby game in ten outings. A mark of their nine-match winning streak was just how well they were attacking with the ball in hand, scoring six tries or more on six occasions. Even in defeat to the Crusaders a fortnight ago, there were three tries apiece and six tries or more have been scored in seven of the Highlanders' last ten matches.
Richard Buckman and Tevita Li have scored tries in each of their last three Super Rugby outings but the Highlanders player that is begging to be backed to touch down against the Lions is Waisake Naholo. The 11-5 on offer for a try is huge and the 8-1 that he scores two is value too. He has done that four times in Super Rugby this season, including against the Crusaders a fortnight ago.
Injuries hide just how explosive off the mark and how well regarded by All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen, Naholo is.
The Highlanders will have taken note of how disguised passes and cross- kicks/grubbas have worked well against the Lions' rush defence.
Just because the Lions will want more tries and better play from the backline, does not mean that they will not look to make gains through their forwards and No.8 CJ Stander is worth a bet at 3-1 to add to his effort against the Blues.
The lineout and scrums have been functioning well for the Lions and Stander, often at the heart of Munster, Ireland and now Lions rolling mauls, is extremely hard to stop with ball in hand when the forwards get a rumble on.
