PHIL Vickery believes the British and Irish Lions have reached ‘‘a very dangerous time’’ in their South Africa tour.
Vickery, England’s 2007 World Cup final skipper, will captain the unbeaten Lions in today’s clash against Western Province at Newlands.
The first Test appointment with world champions South Africa is just a week away, and anticipation of that threegame series has gone up a notch with Lions fans now starting to arrive in escalating numbers.
Vickery, though, knows his team cannot be distracted by what awaits in Durban next week as they prepare to tackle possibly their toughest opponents so far.
The Western Province lineup, led by number eight Luke Watson, features four Springboks, while a crowd of around 50,000 will guarantee the Lions a white-hot welcome.
‘‘Purely from a personal point of view, I think we are at a very dangerous time in the tour,’’ said Vickery.
‘‘The big realisation for me was arriving (in Cape Town) last night and probably for the first time seeing so many supporters here.
‘‘We were talking to people at the airport and they were saying how the red army is on its way.
‘‘The worrying thing for me, more than anything, is all the talk is of the Test next week, but we’ve got two games to go before then.
‘‘There is everything to play for tomorrow.
“I want to make sure the guys go out and give no less than 100 per cent and make it as difficult as possible for the coaches to select that (Test) team.
‘‘I don’t want to be part of a Lions team that loses and I certainly don’t want to captain a Lions team that loses for the first time on tour.
‘‘It is a big, big game for us.
Everyone is aware of that, and we will be doing everything we can to make sure we keep the ball rolling.’’ Lions head coach Ian McGeechan fields possibly a fifth of his first Test line-up in 33-year-old Vickery, wings Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye, fly-half Stephen Jones and prop Andrew Sheridan.
Big performances, too, from the likes of Nathan Hines and Martyn Williams could thrust them firmly into Test contention, so the looming Springboks should not prove a distraction.
‘‘I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of tomorrow’s game,’’ added Vickery.
‘‘If I was in the opposition team I would be thinking ‘they are seven days away from the first Test, are they really going to be going hell for leather for it?’ ‘‘We’ve got to be careful not to be carried away by the peripheries and ultimately go out and win a game of rugby.
‘‘There are going to be a lot of bitterly disappointed guys when that Test team is announced.
‘‘We are not children, we all realise we can’t all play in the Test match, but there are going to be some disappointed people.
‘‘It’s how you react. We all knew before we arrived we couldn’t all get on the field at the same time.
‘‘There has been lots of talk about the Test team, but let’s not forget about tomorrow or next Tuesday.
‘‘We have to be at the top end of our game, because if we are not then it it going to turn into a big dog-fight.’’ World Cup winner Vickery’s ascent to the Lions captaincy represents another career peak that confirms his remarkable durability.
‘‘I can remember being at the press conference when I joined Wasps, and I remember all the questions going to Chris Wright (former club owner) about whether he had taken a big gamble.
“I remember thinking it probably was.
‘‘But since then I’ve captained England to a World Cup final and been selected for a Lions tour to South Africa, and now been asked to be the captain.
“It’s been an unbelievable experience.”
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