The Wallabies forwards ready for physical confrontation against the British and Irish Lions Wallabies captain James Horwill says his side are ready for the Lions physical, in-your-face style of rugby. Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore (L) and James Horwill. Picture: Wallis Peter Source: The Daily Telegraph THEY are the eight men tasked with bashing the British & Irish Lions into submission and carrying the Wallabies to victory tonight, but if that isn't motivation enough you should know their backgrounds. The Wallabies' starting forward pack for the first Test in Brisbane is a mixture of players who have overcome the odds, dealt with tragedy, been deemed weak, shattered by injury and dismissed as over the hill. They each have a point to prove and for different reasons, will charge onto the Suncorp Stadium turf looking to play the game of their lives. Barrack live with other fans - Live scores and stats - Rugby Gold match centre with in-game video highlights - Match reports and analysis post-game As a pointer to how fired up Australia's pack is for this clash, lock and skipper James Horwill revealed that backrower Wycliff Palu's head was split open at Thursday's brutal training session. "We certainly got stuck into each other, Cliffy split himself at training, I guess that shows where our heads are at and understanding what's coming," Horwill said. "We've been preparing since we got into camp for a physical and very confrontational battle up front, so we're as ready as we can be."In more ways than one. Each member of the pack has taken their own unique journey to this monumental game, and their experiences are fuelling an inner drive to defeat the much-vaunted Lions forwards. Australia's front-row is the most criticised of any top-tier nation, despite their relative parity with rivals in the past few years. The northerners have never let Australia live down the annihilation suffered against England in 2005 at Twickenham when the Wallaby pack was shoved backward repeatedly, prop Matt Dunning was stretchered off and Al Baxter was sent off, resulting in uncontested scrums for the final 10 minutes. The UK press described Australia as "a scrummaging disgrace," while last year's poor showing against the French pack saw similar sentiments resurface. Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander are tonight playing for the reputation of the Wallabies scrum, now the butt of many British jokes. Individually, they also have incentive. Robinson is off contract and playing for a new deal, while Alexander has come back from a life-threatening lung aneurysm, and career-threatening knee injury, to get to this point. Moore is the most capped Wallaby hooker of all time yet has played in two World Cups, eight Bledisloe Cup series and 10 Super Rugby seasons without winning any of those trophies. Lock Kane Douglas lost his mother Trish to cancer last month, and will be playing in her honour tonight. Second-row partner Horwill is Australia's fearless leader, the man all others will look to for inspiration in the toughest moments. It is a big ask for Horwill, who has not played an international for 12 months due to a serious hamstring injury. Horwill knows that if he gets dominated, his team will go down with him. The pack features one debutant, backrower Ben Mowen. If there is ever a tale of persistence it is that of Mowen, who makes an unlikely Test debut aged 28. Mowen has been written off more times in his career than a crash-test vehicle, but kept persevering to achieve his ultimate goal of representing Australia. Mowen was unwanted at the Reds so moved to the Waratahs, who flicked him in favour of Rocky Elsom. His move to the Brumbies re-ignited his career. Then there is young openside flanker Michael Hooper, who knows that if David Pocock and George Smith weren't injured, he would not be starting tonight. Hooper also has competition from back-up Liam Gill. And finally, Palu - the most criticised selection in the team. The Wallabies' oldest player, Palu, 30, has been dismissed as over the hill. The powerful No.8 is one of the world's best when in top form but injuries have stymied him in the past two years. While his coach and teammates have the ultimate faith in him, Palu will be looking to silence his many doubters tonight. "We're not going to be standing there and waiting for things to happen," Horwill said. We've got to make it happen and assert ourselves as a group and individuals.