Lions 2013: forwards coach Graham Rowntree reveals players' every move are being watched They will have to if they are to launch themselves into Test week unbeaten. The Tahs have beefed up with the return to them of two Australia sevens players, highly regarded fly-half Bernard Foley, and Matt Lucas, as well as more significantly, two full-fledged Test players, centre Rob Horne and flanker Dave Dennis, who is their regular captain. In 2001, this fixture was a bruising affair and notorious for the battering that full-back Duncan McRae gave Ronan O'Gara, pummelling the Lions player as he lay on the turf, an assault for which McRae was sent off. Dennis promises legitimate physicality. "We are going to try and knock them off, keep it simple and go at them," said Dennis, who played in the under-16s curtain-raiser before the game in 2001. We are not going to get bogged down by the fact that they are the Lions and we are the poor old Waratahs. There are good ways of hurting them but you have to make sure you do that legally. The Lions are well equipped to deal with whatever comes their way. They have been compromised in their desire to field a shadow Test team by injuries and the cack-handed schedule. Richie Gray is the latest to be nursing an ailment and is unavailable with a shoulder problem, though the Scotland lock might have struggled to break through to the front ranks. Certainly if Alun Wyn Jones goes well tonight alongside Paul O'Connell, then the second-row partnership will be sealed. There are 11, possibly more, Test starters on parade. An impressive showing from Tom Youngs would give him the chance to upset preconceived rankings. The line-out has not been a satisfactory area of the Lions" game, little surprise when the combinations change so often. Even against the part-timers from the Combined Country, three line-outs were blobbed. Now is the time, then, for Youngs to put in a flawless throwing performance. The presence of Leicester colleague Tom Croft in the back row will help. The game is an audition for all the Lions players on show but most ­especially for the back row. Croft is the rangy, athletic option on the blindside and a precious asset in the line-out. This back row could well be the preferred trio. For all that Warren Gatland has said about places being up for gabs, it is inconceivable that captain Sam Warburton will not lead out the side at the Suncorp. "Sam is not showing any signs of stress or pressure," Rowntree said. He is a doer, a real doer, and the guys are following him. It will be fascinating to see if Simon Zebo can claim the headlines on his Lions debut as he did so vividly at the start of the Six Nations Championship before injury. With injury concerns over wings George North and Tommy Bowe, Zebo might yet force a rethink only four days after arriving from Ireland's tour of the United States. His Ireland team-mate, full-back Rob Kearney, will be itching to get on to the field for his tour debut having sat out the first four matches with a hamstring problem. He was a star turn in South Africa four years ago when there was another Welshman ahead of him in the pecking order, Lee Byrne. This time Leigh Halfpenny starts against the Tahs. "This squad is much stronger than four years ago," Kearney said. Everyone is on their mettle. There are Test spots to be won or lost. Not only Rowntree will be watching closely.