Combined Country XV v British & Irish Lions
Blades aiming to repeat Lions upset
ESPN Staff
June 10, 2013
The Rebels' Tim Davidson claims a lineout, Melbourne Rebels v Cheetahs, Super Rugby, AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia, March 18, 2012
Combined Country captain Tim Davidson is expecting his players to lift as they represent their regional backgrounds © Getty Images
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Combined NSW-Queensland Country coach Cameron Blades hopes history repeats on Tuesday night as his side looks to upset the undefeated British & Irish Lions in Newcastle.

The former Wallabies prop told The Daily Telegraph he has fond memories of the tourists fourth match in 2001, when his Australia A outfit shocked the Lions with a 28-25 victory in Gosford.

"That night the Lions were pretty disappointed in their performance, after the game they didn't want to have a bar of us at all," Blades said. "That was probably where things started to go a bit pear-shaped for the Lions on tour, they were starting to get stuff in the press going. They'd set themselves up to have an unbeaten tour, and we were the first side to beat them. They locked themselves away. We ended up getting away with a victory that I'll savour for the rest of my days."

Cameron Blades expects a physical challenge
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Blades, however, is under no illusions over the size of the task facing his players, many of whom are amateurs.

"In a two-horse race you're always a chance, but we're not kidding ourselves, this is an outstanding Lions team," Blades said. "We're 17 years into professionalism and they're all full-time, hardened professional players, and half our squad are amateurs. We'll be going in there with a strong physical approach, but it will all be by the book, there's no instruction to do anything silly."

Combined Country No. 8 and captain Tim Davidson, who comes from a wheat farm near Young in the south west region of southern NSW, told The Sydney Morning Herald that doing the simple things right will be key to challenging a Lions outfit expected to rout their hosts as they continue to fine-tune for the first Test against the Wallabies on June 22.

The Lions prepare for their tour match in Newcastle

"We've had to keep it simple,'' Davidson said. ''We've cut it right back and made sure everyone knows their roles and how we want to play the game and then the biggest thing is how we limit their threats and attack their strengths to nullify where they're very strong. We can't afford to hesitate, because a side like [the Lions] will look to capitalise every time.''

''The biggest thing we've been driving is that if someone commits to something then we back them up. Right or wrong, we're in there with them because, as soon as one guy hesitates or is out of the line, the Lions will find the gaps pretty quickly. I know the guys will be up for the game - it's just about committing to one thing and seeing it through.''

Ragardless of the result, Davidson knows Tuesday night's contest will live long in his memory and fulfils one of his sporting dreams.

''To represent where you're from has always been something I've wanted to do and to do that against the British and Irish Lions is massive,'' he said.

© ESPN Australia / New Zealand

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