ROARING SUCCESS OR BLACK MARKS?

With just five days to go until the first Test, Sportsmail’s experts debate whether the tour is heading in right direction

What an eventful few days it has been for the Lions. they made a huge statement on the pitch by beating the NZ Maoris in what was billed as the fourth test.

In fact, they didn’t just beat the Maoris. they totally dominated them in attack and smothered them in defence. the team, just like the week before against the Crusaders, looked like the test team for next week without Owen Farrell, who had picked up an injury.

this is why the victory was so much sweeter because it showed that the Lions can win the big games without Farrell on the pitch. this was not something I was sure of because he had been so influential up until now with Johnny Sexton nowhere near his level.

this changed on Saturday because Sexton was back to his best alongside Ben te’o, who just gets better and better. the forwards look very good and will fancy their chances against the New Zealand pack on Saturday.

If the Lions made a statement on the pitch, Warren Gatland certainly made a statement off it with the announcement that six players were being added to the squad for a ten-day period.

I agree with the reason why he has done this. he wants to ring-fence the matchday squad of 25 for the first and second tests and ensure none of these players have to sit on the bench in the midweek games against the Chiefs tomorrow and the hurricanes next week.

this makes absolute sense to me because, if the Lions have any chance in the test series, we need the key players fit and fresh to play.

Lions tours are remembered and judged by what happens in the tests. therefore, Gatland’s sole purpose is to prepare a side to win the tests and he has shown in the past that he is not scared to make tough decisions to achieve this goal.

he dropped Brian O’Driscoll for the deciding third test four years ago in australia and was vilified for doing so. the criticism died down when Welsh centres Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies combined well in O’Driscoll’s absence and played a key role in the Lions winning the game.

he is a Kiwi and they don’t do compassion. they fully focus on the task at hand and, for Gatland, that is preparing the test team for the huge match on Saturday.

Of the six players brought in, only two are there on merit: Gareth Davies and our own Finn Russell, with the others selected purely on geography. It would be wrong for me to dismiss the geography issue as I benefited from being in Sydney in 2001 when the Lions needed a fit scrum-half and I was brought in on the morning of the final test to sit on the bench.

there is no question that some of the English players in argentina, the Irish in Japan and the Scots in australia are better than some of the Welsh players brought into the Lions, but they will not need any time to acclimatise because they were touring New Zealand.

Gatland has gone with them so training is not disrupted in any way. For me, the decision is the right one if it means the Lions are better prepared to take on the all Blacks in the test series.

the last thing Russell did before joining up with the Lions was produce a scintillating performance to lead Scotland to a famous win over australia. Scotland fully deserved this win, playing a high-tempo game in attack and having a very accurate and committed defence. they dominated the breakdown, with skipper John Barclay to the fore and this didn’t allow australia any platform to mount their attack. they pressurised australia into mistakes. Both of the first two tries were a result of huge pressure but the third and decisive try was one of the best team tries you will ever see and one that sums up Gregor townsend’s philosophy on how to play the game.

the attack was fast, accurate and stretched australia the width of the pitch before great handling and support play allowed hamish Watson to finish off an absolute stunner. It was a joy to watch.

this was a remarkable victory, which continues the progress this team is making. It was huge for townsend as well because getting a few wins early on after taking over from Vern Cotter was crucial and he has done that in style.

With the Under-20 side beating australia to finish fifth in the Junior World Cup yesterday, it has been some weekend for Scottish rugby and one that points to an exciting and successful future.