Vickery ready to scrum for glory
July 13, 2001

Phil Vickery is determined that the Lions will get their scrum right in tomorrow's Stadium Australia showdown with the Wallabies.

The Lions front-row of Vickery, Keith Wood and Tom Smith suffered a collective dent to their pride in Melbourne last Saturday when wing Joe Roff scored Australia's crucial second try.

Their opposite numbers managed to dominate for a few critical seconds, the Lions scrum crumpled and Roff finished off an attack that started through Australia securing turnover possession.

Roff's touchdown helped take Australia 10 points clear and send them on their way to a record 35-14 win against the tourists.

In terms of striking a psychological blow, it was arguably the game's most influential moment, leaving England prop Vickery and company with plenty to think about.

``We scrummaged well in the first Test, and perhaps we were a little bit complacent last weekend,'' said the Gloucester tighthead. ``They were a wounded animal, a proud pack of forwards that came out and disrupted our scrum,'' he added.

``We've had to get back to basics this week, and make sure that area goes well. If your scrum doesn't function properly, then it doesn't matter who you have got playing for you, because you are not going to win a Test match.

``When you are picked for the Lions, you are the happiest person in the world, but when things don't go so well, everything seems twice as bad when things go badly. It hurts.

``I don't think we needed a kick up the backside last Saturday, but if we did, then we certainly got one. Come Saturday, we've got to hold our hands up and do the business,'' he added.

Vickery, one of 11 players set to start all three Tests Down Under, is relishing tomorrow's sell-out occasion, when 80,000 spectators will pack Sydney's main Olympic venue.

``This is the final Test, it's 1-1 and we are playing for the Lions at Stadium Australia,'' he said. ``You can either be overawed by it, or you can use it as fuel for the fire.

Playing in front of a packed house, with the vast majority of people being Australian supporters, certainly inspires me to want to play well.

``We've got to stay positive, When we look at the video from last weekend, then there are a lot of things we can improve on, but there is no reason why we can't go out there on Saturday and get a result.''

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