AS the 2017 British and Irish Lions arrive in New Zealand early next week for a tour taking in 10 matches including three Tests, they will be without two players from the original squad of 41.
England scrumhalf Ben Youngs was the first to withdraw after the wife of his brother Tom was confirmed to be suffering from late stage cancer. He will be replaced by Scotsman Greig Laidlaw.
The withdrawal with perhaps the bigger impact is that of England No. 8 Billy Vunipola due to a shoulder injury sustained in a game for his club Saracens.
His replacement is fellow England backrower James Haskell and if there is an advantage to this it is that Haskell had played a season with the Dunedin-based Highlanders in 2012 after the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
The Australia-born Vunipola has been one of England’s outstanding forwards in the last few seasons and would be a first-choice for most teams.
Coach Warren Gatland tried to persuade him to remain with the squad and try and have the injury managed but Vunipola decided against it.
Having experienced the New Zealand environment, Haskell was quick to alert his squad mates as to what to expect in a country where rugby is the number one sport.
He has spoken about the people’s passion for the game, the highly competitive environment and the challenge, much of it also tied to the traditional Maori haka which is said to be a welcome but one with challenge written all over it. Those familiar with how the All Blacks perform the haka before every Test would know exactly how intense it can be.
Lions coach Warren Gatland of course is a Kiwi and was in the Waikato team that beat the tourists in 1993, a tour which saw the Lions lose the series 2-1 and four of the 10 matches outside the Tests.
The Lions captain on that tour, Gavin Hastings, has also given his take on what to expect there.
He too has touched on the passion for rugby there and the need for the Lions to be mentally strong, which he thought was where some players failed in 1993.
There is no doubt whatsoever that it’s going to be a very tough five weeks beginning with the first game on June 3.
In their 11 tours to NZ since 1904 to 2005, including five that also took in Australia, the Lions had won the series only once, and that was way back in 1971. On their last tour in 2005, it was a 3-0 whitewash in the Tests plus a defeat to the Maori.
Where injuries are concerned, the Lions are upbeat that all of those involved will be alright once the tour starts. In the list are captain Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones, Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien.
In New Zealand the situation is far from perfect, although a few of those injured have been making a slow but sure return to the game after being out for several weeks.
Centre Sonny Bill Williams played his second game Friday at home in the 16-16 draw against the Chiefs after a return from concussion while fullback Ben Smith has been named in the Highlanders team to play the Waratahs in Dunedin Saturday.
Also back playing is lock Patrick Tuipulotu while outside back Israel Dagg is taking his rehabilitation cautiously, first turning out for a club game last week before easing his way back into the Crusaders squad. Dagg was out with an injured knee in the game against the Reds on March 11.
There are two areas though where the All Blacks should be very concerned.
One is for the position of hooker, where there is uncertainty over when Dane Coles will be declared as over his concussion issues.
If he is not available, the possible replacements do not have much experience, with almost all of them playing for the All Blacks mainly off the bench.
The ones with the most number of caps is Codie Taylor but 12 of his 15 appearances were off the bench.
Hika Elliot of the Chiefs has been around the longest amongst them but started only two of his four appearances. The others are Nathan Harris also with four caps and Liam Coltman with just one.
The other problematic area is the backrow, where captain Kieran Read and veteran Jerome Kaino are recovering from surgery. Both bring with them a wealth of experience from their combined 174 caps.
With Liam Squire also due to be out for a few more weeks, the options with some All Blacks’ experience are Steven Luatua and Ardie Savea. But there’s not a lot to work with for now.