Herbert praise for impressive Lions
Brisbane
June 18, 2001

Wallabies star Daniel Herbert today paid the Lions a glowing tribute after seeing his Queensland Reds side blown away at Ballymore.

The Super 12 semi-finalists suffered a crushing 42-8 defeat, conceding tries to Dan Luger, Rob Henderson, Dafydd James, Richard Hill and Brian O'Driscoll, while fly-half orchestrator Jonny Wilkinson kicked 17 points.

Even though the Reds were without injured international trio John Eales, Ben Tune and Chris Latham, they still paraded six players on Wallabies duty against the New Zealand Maoris seven days earlier.

Herbert will tangle with the Lions again on Saturday week in an eagerly-awaited first Test confrontation, and he expects a monumental collision.

``The Lions are living up to their reputations,'' he said. ``They are possibly the best side the Wallabies have faced in a number of years.

``We haven't faced a side over the last 12 months which has been as good as the Lions, but I don't think Rod Macqueen (Wallabies coach) saw too much different in the Queensland match to what he already knew about them.''

Herbert though, also believes that the world champions are capable of stopping Martin Johnson's men in their tracks.

``I don't think there is anything beyond this Wallaby team,'' he added. ``We will be up against it, and it could go either way, but we have achieved enough over the last few years to be able to do anything in any given situation.

``We've been in some great comebacks, and we have shown that we can win the tight games.''

There was nothing close about Saturday's match, especially after the Lions roared into a 32-3 interval lead following an unsettling opening marred by both teams literally punching their weight.

The independent match commissioner witnessed nothing to prompt further investigation, yet that didn't stop Australia A coach Eddie Jones stoking the fires ahead of his team's appointment with the Lions in Gosford tomorrow.

``There were a number of incidents off the ball against Queensland that were disappointing,'' he claimed. ``Hopefully, the match officials will keep a strict eye on this and take the appropriate action on Tuesday night.''

But Lions manager Donal Lenihan immediately hit back, stating: ``It was our intention right from the start of the game to play football, and that is our intention for the whole tour.

``When you play Queensland, traditionally the most physical of the Australian provinces, it is not unexpected that people will size up the opposition and see what they are made of.

``There seems to be a hangover (in Australia) from the 1989 Lions tour. Every time you seem to pick up a newspaper, you read about 1989, and every time you open a rugby magazine there are photographs of incidents from 1989.

``I wish people would just realise that in those 12 years, a huge amount has happened in rugby. It's a totally different game now, and I wish people would close the book on it and leave it go. ``We are here to play rugby, and that's it.''

Henry, although concerned about the Lions scrum and amount of ruck and maul ball they turned over, witnessed some outstanding individual displays against Queensland.

Wilkinson ran the show majestically, while tour replacement Martin Corry excelled at number eight, making a mockery of his non-selection among Henry's initial 37-man squad.

After easy wins against Western Australia and a Queensland President's XV, it was exactly the physical test required, with Australia A and next Saturday's opponents New South Wales ready to provide more of the same.

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