Macqueen gives Lions top rating

SYDNEY - Wallaby rugby coach Rod Macqueen sees both a plus and a minus in having just the one match against the New Zealand Maori side before meeting the British Lions.

Macqueen yesterday described the Lions party, coached by New Zealander Graham Henry and with Six Nations champions England providing the nucleus of the squad, as the best prepared to tour Australia.

He said the short build-up until the first test in Brisbane on June 30 created a challenge for his own team.

"One of the issues we have is that we don't have that much preparation for the Lions tour, probably less preparation than for any of the other major goals we've set ourselves," he said.

"This is going to be the best prepared side to hit our shores and I've seen nothing to change my mind on that. We are under no illusions."

The Wallabies, who under Macqueen have won the World Cup, the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations, meet the Maori side in Sydney on June 9.

Macqueen said Henry would have only one look at the Australians before the three-test series.

"Graham is one of the best coaches in the world and I've no doubt he will be doing his homework," he said.

"One of the good things from our point of view is that he won't have seen a lot of us playing, because we're getting the one game."

Macqueen said the Maori side, with 14 present or past All Blacks, would provide a stern test for the Wallabies.

"We're calling it a warm-up, but it probably gives the name warm-up a different meaning," he said.

"It will be a very tough match for us, which is a good thing, because it will give us a good hit-out."

Newly crowned Super 12 champions the ACT Brumbies were rewarded with 13 players in a 31-man Australian squad named for the Lions tour and the Tri-Nations.

Brumbies loose forward Owen Finegan, who missed the Super 12 final and is unavailable for the Maori match because of suspension, made the squad.

Macqueen said the blindside flanker would be considered for the first Lions test when he finished his five-week ban for stomping.

The ACT contingent would have been increased further, but centre Stirling Mortlock has a shoulder injury.

The selectors have included five uncapped players: ACT winger Graeme Bond, prop Ben Darwin and lock Justin Harrison, and Queensland prop Nick Stiles and lock Nathan Sharpe.

However, the international career of No 8 Jim Williams, the 32-year-old who had an outstanding season for the Brumbies, appears to be over.

- NZPA