Lions XV to face the NZ Maori

this is prob the most important XV of the series yet.. prob the closest yet to the test XV:

Andy Sheridan, Steve Thompson, Julian White, Simon Shaw, Paul O'Connell, Richard Hill, Martyn Williams, Simon Taylor, Matt Dawson, Stephen Jones, Shane Williams, Gordon D'Arcy, Brian O'Driscoll, Tom Shanklin, Josh Lewsey

SUBS: Shane Byrne, Gethin Jenkins, Ben Kay, Michael Owen, Dwayne Peel, Ronan O'Gara, Shane Horgan

well that should be a much better front row than the one that faced up against Taranaki.. i have a feeling if u put Gethin Jenkins in Sheridan's place - although Sherry is quite a good prop too - that is one heck of a front row.. Simon Shaw is underrated and we know what Paul O'Connell.. it'll also be a good chance to see how Simon Taylor measures as a no.8 particularly against Marty Holah.. wait no.7 v no. 8? yes.. while Taylor prob may have the upper hand over Angus McDonald, Holah is McCaw's sub and if McCaw weren't there, Holah would be in there.. he is an underrated flanker..

also get to see how Stephen Jones copes at no. 10 with the hype seeing him and Jonny boy fight out for that coveted position in the test.. get to see how Shane Williams copes against a top winger in Rico Gear.. that should be an acid test for both.. if either gets on top of each other, might be the end of meaningful action for that one who loses.. and Lewsey is beginning to impress me with his pace and line breaks.. should be the Lions most dangerous weapon..

this is it..this is prob the one match to watch before the test matches.. while we won't see Jonny boy until next Wednesday, but this should be a great clash..

p/s on a non-rugby note, Argentina have also qualified for the World Cup with a terrific 3-1 win against Brazil in Buenos Aires.. Brazil were disappointing.. but it was only a qualifier though so we prob haven't seen the real Brazil..