Dan Lydiate beamed with pride after being named British and Irish Lions captain for today's final midweek match against the Melbourne Rebels.
Lydiate, the Wales flanker, has been asked to lead the side at AAMI Park after the original choice as captain, Geoff Parling, was withdrawn to protect him for Saturday's second Test against Australia.
Parling will partner Alun-Wyn Jones at the Etihad Stadium due to the broken arm that has ended Paul O'Connell's tour and brought down the curtain on his Lions career.
"When [coach] Warren Gatland asked me I didn't hesitate to say yes," said Lydiate. I'm chuffed to represent the boys as captain and really excited for tomorrow. We flew in this morning and did our team run. Nothing changes really, the calls are the same it's just different voices. It's a massive honour to run out holding Bill the Lion. Saturday was a massive win and tomorrow we have the chance to prove ourselves and keep that momentum going."
Lydiate, whose captaincy experience has been limited to taking charge of the Newport-Gwent Dragons on a handful of occasions, intends to lead by example.
"I won't keep talking, talking gibberish. I'll just try to get my point across – lead as I play," he said. "I'll go out there and play as hard as I can, that's me really. I won't try to over-complicate things and do things I don't usually do."
Ian Evans has taken Parling's place in the second row with Tom Croft drafted onto the replacements' bench, while Manu Tuilagi will be making his first appearance since recovering from a shoulder problem.
While O'Connell will not play again on tour, the towering Ireland lock could stay on in a supporting role. He attended yesterday's final training session. "He is one of the best, and he's in the form of his life as well," Lions assistant coach and forwards specialist Graham Rowntree said. "He came into selection quite late because he had been out for so long with injuries during the season. Suddenly, he came back on the radar after that game [for Munster] against Harlequins in the European Cup. He was fit. In fact, I don't think he's ever been fitter. But you have got to get on with these things, which is why we brought so many players. Losing someone like Paul galvanises a squad like us. We are a very tight group." Asked if there was a case of siege mentality, Rowntree replied: "Yes".
Rowntree went on to explain the promotion of Parling to a starting role in the second row for the second Test. "I am not going to try and lie there. Geoff is our next lineout caller, he has been doing very well coming off the bench and has taken his chance when he has started for us as well. He has been exceptional for England, but Geoff is more than just a lineout forward. He's a very clever footballer, a good ball carrier, his work-rate involvement is very high and he is getting better and better, but he has got to in a squad like this one."
The Lions are awaiting further news on the prop Alex Corbisiero, who is battling to overcome a calf muscle problem. It is uncertain at this stage whether or not he will be fit for next weekend. We will know more in the next 24-48 hours," Rowntree said. "He played very well on Saturday. He stepped up to the challenge very well and was very accurate in everything he did. It [losing Corbisiero] would be a big blow, but it would be another test for the strength in depth that we've got in the squad. So far, that strength in depth hasn't let us down."
After the highs of Brisbane, O'Connell's injury and the James Horwill verdict (the Australia captain escaped a ban for stamping in the first Test), have possibly returned matters to a level playing field.
"We are very mindful of training volumes. I can only attribute it [Lions injuries] to the intensity of the opposition," Rowntree added. "We've been very accurate with our training. We have a lot of GPS data and heart-rate data. We very much train in short, intense sessions, so it's not from over-training. Such is the feeling and culture we have within the group, it will definitely bring us together.
"I thought we deserved that victory last weekend, but our intensity and accuracy have to go up another couple of gears, and I'm pretty confident we can do that."
Today's match against Rebels will give Scotland wing Sean Maitland and his compatriots Richie Gray and Ryan Grant a chance to show what they can do ahead of the Melbourne Test. All three will start the match with Stuart Hogg on the subsitutes' bench.
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