Ollie Chessum: It's my turn to set the tone physically for Lions

Telegraph

4 days ago

There were just 12 seconds on the clock in the first Test last week when Tom Curry folded James Slipper, the Australia prop, in half like an ironing board in the first of a dozen thunderous tackles.
Two seconds and one phase later with Australia on the back foot, centre Joseph Suaalii carried timidly into contact allowing Tadhg Beirne to swoop in for a holding-on penalty.
At a stroke, the Lions flankers had combined to set the tone for a first half of complete physical dominance. Australia fought back after half-time but the damage had already been done. Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt later complained that his side had been too 'submissive' but in the eyes of Ollie Chessum, who had a sideline seat as a replacement, that was a result of the early Curry-Beirne one-two punch.
'I'd been sat down for about 30 seconds when that first hit went in,' said Chessum, who starts in the second Test as one of three changes. 'I think we knew from then on that the tone was set for the game, for us and for them. It's a huge energy lift. It's exactly how you plan for a game to go, that first contact you get to lay down a marker and that's what Curry did for the team.
'Largely for the first half, you could see the boys built off the back of that and the second half we didn't and you see the knock-on effect, a team grows a leg and comes back into the game. I suppose the fix-up for us this week is that whoever lays down the marker this week, whoever is lucky enough to get that first shot, we keep that intensity for the other 79 minutes of the game.'
Ollie Chessum levels it up 👊 pic.twitter.com/joM7Fdx0wP
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Coming in for Ireland enforcer Joe McCarthy, who has a foot injury, it is Chessum's task not just to match that level of physicality but raise it against an Australia desperately fighting to rescue the Test series. To counteract any hint of submissiveness, Schmidt has brought in second row Will Skelton and flanker Rob Valetini as well as deploying a six-two bench. While weather forecasters are expecting Melbourne to escape the torrential rain that has affected other parts of the country, Chessum knows that a storm will still be coming at the MCG on Saturday.
'I expect no different this week, I expect it to go up another level,' Chessum said. 'Maro [Itoje] said it to us in the week, what we produced last Saturday will not be good enough this Saturday. There's a whole different beast coming down the road and we'll have to front up and tackle it head-on.
'This is everything that international rugby is all about. Physicality goes up through the roof, the intensity goes up through the roof, the speed of the game goes up through the roof and you have to walk towards it because if you don't, you'll get found out pretty quickly.'
Chessum, who was once let go by Leicester's academy, says that he still suffers from impostor syndrome playing at a venue such as the MCG where he remembers watching England's cricket team toil. 'You think, 'How on earth did I get here?',' the 24-year-old said. 'But you genuinely have to believe in why you're here and why Faz has put the trust in you to play in a Test match.'
At 1-6 on, Lions go into the second Test as even bigger favourites than in Brisbane and it feels that obituaries have already been prepared for the Wallabies. Captain Itoje made a point of saying that Australia are 'not a pub team' and Chessum insists there is no trace of complacency in the Lions camp.
'They're going to draw on every emotional aspect of this game that they can,' Chessum said. 'They are 1-0 down in the series but they are at the MCG, in front of their fans, on their home soil with the series on the line. They know they're going to throw the kitchen sink at us and that's a real statement in the team they've named as well. So it's a proper challenge laid down to us.
'What was it last weekend – an eight-point game? They are no mugs and they've just announced a team with some huge names back in the side so absolutely have to treat them with the respect they deserve. If you go walking and cruising into this one, then I think we'll get shown up early doors.'
'We said right from the start that we want to lay down a marker and be the best Lions team there has ever been. If we are to do that, we've got to make ourselves part of that history and do the job at the weekend. It's all part of it. At the end of the day, you've got to bring it back to the basics of your own game, go through your match prep and what gets you going for the weekend. But there is no game like this ever. It's completely different in that respect.'
'Icon' Johnson presents shirts to players
The Lions will seek to make history by closing out back-to-back series wins over Australia for the first time after Martin Johnson presented the squad with their Test jerseys.
Johnson handed a shirt to each individual member of their match-day squad in a special ceremony at the team hotel in Melbourne before dinner on Thursday night before the Lions take on Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Most of the squad were not yet born when Johnson led the Lions to a series victory over South Africa in 1997 before suffering a 2-1 loss to the Wallabies four years later, but according to Lions assistant coach John Fogarty, the World Cup-winning captain held the players spellbound.
'Martin came in last night and he speaks nice and calmly,' Fogarty said. 'It was so cool to have him there. It was a privilege really. The room was completely quiet for the whole time he was there and spoke. There were guys just staring up at him. Maro 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.
'They [the players] knew who he was for sure. There was a bit of contemplation and reflection after he talked which is a good thing. 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.'
In 2001, the series hinged on Joe Roff's interception of Jonny Wilkinson's pass in the second Test at the MCG and Johnson's main message to the squad was the need to keep their cool in front of an expected crowd of 95,000.
'He talked a bit about the Lions series they won [1997] and the Lions series they lost [2001],' Fogarty said. '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.
'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.
'When you are under pressure or applying pressure your emotions can go up and down so being able to get back to neutral or find a way to get clarity back in your mind in the shortest of times is difficult for players. I think that's really important for us tomorrow. We are not going to get everything our own way and we understand what type of a game and how big a game it is going to be for both teams and we know it is going to be a game of small margins. So that's good advice.'