The most iconic team in rugby is back. We only get to see the Lions every four years when the best of the northern hemisphere become one and I’m so excited to be going up to Murrayfield to see the magic happen today.
The game against Japan will act as a useful pointer towards the South Africa series but it is also a Test match in its own right.
A player shoulders a big responsibility every time he pulls on that red jersey. The first team chosen to represent the 2021 Lions doesn’t want to be first team to lose.
Even without any of the England contingent in the starting line-up, they have put out a strong side led by Alun Wyn Jones but the first two or three matches of any Lions tour are the trickiest.
The squad will still be getting used to how players from different nations play and trying to glue together new combinations.
But if the likes of Conor Murray and Dan Biggar can click at half-back this is a chance to nip ahead of the rest and stake their claim for a Test spot in South Africa.
None of today’s back three of Liam Williams, Josh Adams and Duhan van der Merwe are in my starting team for the First Test against the Springboks but any of them could force their way in with a couple of strong performances.
Van der Merwe’s power will be of particular interest to Warren Gatland.
For Owen Farrell and Jamie George – Test Lions in New Zealand in 2017 – it would be smart to give them half an hour off the bench to try to get them up the level they need to be at having been operating in the Championship since the Six Nations.
Japan might not have played a Test since the World Cup but they will be challenging opposition.
The one thing you do not want to do against the Brave Blossoms is to try to play them at their own superspeed game.
It’s not an easy tempo to play at. You have to strangle them and starve them of possession and wear them down at the setpiece.
I think this Lions side has the capacity to do that and start what will be a unique and memorable tour off with a win in Scotland.
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