Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Alamy Stock Photo FreeOn the Line 'We're expecting a war' - Martin Johnson hands out Lions jerseys The former Lions skipper visited the tourists’ camp in Melbourne yesterday evening. 8.45am, 25 Jul 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Melbourne THE LIONS WELCOMED legendary former captain Martin Johnson into their camp last night, with the Englishman handing out the jerseys to the players who have made Andy Farrell’s matchday 23 for the second Test against the Wallabies tomorrow. Johnson was part of the 1993, 1997, and 2001 Lions tours, earning eight Test caps on those three trips. He was the skipper in 1997 when the Lions beat the Springboks and for the 2001 tour of Australia. So his Lions credentials are right up there. “He had a really nice presence to him,” said Lions assistant coach John Fogarty. “He spoke about the small margins in the biggest games. He talked about the fundamentals. “He talked about the mentality for this group, and for him as a player that wasn’t an issue. It was compounding errors. These are the things you need to make sure you’re on top of during the match. “What a privilege to have him come in and he handed some jerseys out. It was a cool moment in a tour of loads of cool moments.” The Lions will clinch the series if they win in Melbourne tomorrow. A huge crowd is expected at the magnificent 100,000-capacity MCG and even though the forecast suggests there may be rain, it promises to be an electric occasion. Advertisement Tadhg Beirne playing cricket at the MCG.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo “Because we won the first Test and here we are in this amazing stadium, it’s do-or-die a little bit for Australia,” said Fogarty. “The mentality is a little bit different. “For us, knowing what we know, we need to make sure that we’re rising to the occasion, but not letting it take us out. “It’s such an iconic stadium and there’s already excitement building in the group. We’ve trained, we’ve had our meetings during the week. We’re expecting an absolute battle, a war. But when you come here, it makes it a bit more special because you understand what it’s going to be like a little bit. “I believe it’s 95,000 supporters coming. It’s all mounting to be a huge occasion for both teams. “We did a little walk around the field just now. Clarity is going to be very, very important. “It’s going to be the smallest of margins, and that’s how we’re seeing it. It’s not compounding errors, not giving teams access, it’s making sure we stay on point mentally throughout the game. What a stage, what a game it’s going to be.” The battle up front is shaping up to be feral, all the more so given that the Wallabies have welcomed back explosive flanker Rob Valetini and gigantic lock Will Skelton. Fogarty, who leads the Lions’ scrum work, is expecting a major test of the tourists’ mettle in the set-piece with Skelton back. “He’s a menace in everything he’s going to do,” said Fogarty. “Huge energy, huge size, huge power. The Lions at the MCG today.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo “Alaalatoa is a big tighthead on his own. You put Skelton behind him and it’s a different story. There are parts of the scrum that need to be nice and right for us. “I think that space at the very start of the scrum on bind will be unbelievably important. If we’re allowing Ala’alatoa to pre-engage and they get the jump on us, it’s going to be easy to push the loosehead to the ground. “For us, we’re looking forward to getting into a contest against Australia, keeping it up and staying on our feet and getting into a proper contest. “We don’t want to see a scrum to get in and collapse and have these non-contest scrums. He adds a huge amount of spice to the game. He’ll be full of energy. We’re looking forward to it. “We’re so lucky to have such good looseheads, they want to get to a contest tomorrow. They don’t want to be in a sh*t-fight. They want to be in a contest, and that takes two packs and a referee to make sure that we’re able to get to that point.” Meanwhile, the Lions have confirmed that Scotland internationals Darcy Graham, Ewan Ashman, Gregor Brown and Rory Sutherland have now left the squad to return home after being called in to play in the final midweek game on Tuesday. Ireland’s Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne have stayed with the Lions in Australia, as has England hooker Jamie George. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'We're expecting a war' - Martin Johnson hands out Lions jerseys”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'We're expecting a war' - Martin Johnson hands out Lions jerseys”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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