Geoff Parling can boss the Lions, says Aussie great Nathan Sharpe

Nathan Sharpe, one of the great Wallaby locks, believes Geoff Parling will be given the responsibility to ‘marshal the cattle’ as the Lions lineout caller against Australia this summer.
Sharpe retired last year after 116 caps and having done battle with virtually all of the Lions contenders.
Parling made his debut only 12 months ago but former Australia captain Sharpe has seen enough of the Leicester second row to be convinced he will win the nod to call the shots.
“Parling runs a clinical lineout,” Sharpe told The Rugby Paper. “He understands the mechanics of the lineout and he knows how to marshal the cattle he has got.
“I watched the way he went about his rugby against South Africa last year. They are probably the hardest team to play against in that area but not only did he do a good job on England ball, he challenged their ball and made it uncomfortable.
“If he does play for the Lions then he well be marshalling a lot better calibre of cattle. The important thing for the lineout is the balance you have in the back row.
“You cannot just rely on two locks to secure you ball, you need your back row to contribute as well and that’s where you need someone who is confident to dish out the orders.”
Picking a partner for Parling is trickier, but Sharpe was impressed by his skirmishes last year with two of the younger contenders – Richie Gray and Joe Launchbury.
“You have the big Scottish guy,” he added. “He is an outstanding player I have only played him once in howling rain in Newcastle when Scotland won and he was a brilliant.
“He covered a lot of ground and made life very hard for us.  The other guy I was impressed with was Joe Launchbury who seemed a very good player.
“He made a lot of yards, tackles and has great hands for a second row. He seems like he will have a big future.”
As much as Australia have traditionally been spoilt for choice behind the scrum, Sharpe maintains the Wallabies are under no illusions as to the importance of the set piece in the Lions series.
That was brought into sharp focus 12 years ago when Justin Harrison’s decoding – however deceitfully gained – of the Lions lineout was arguably the decisive factor of the 2001 series.
“The set piece is going to be a play a massive part,” Sharpe added. “Australia have the luxury of being able to produce some fleet-footed magic and we have some pretty special individual players that can break the line in a flash.
“But in order to have that you need field position and that comes down to the set piece. Likewise in defence you need to stop attacks being launched over the gain line. We understand it is not just about throwing it from side to side.
“The Australian set piece is definitely under- estimated in the north. We had a poor game against France last year but then we did a job on England and got results in the other games as well.”
As poor a year as Robbie Deans’ most vociferous critics believe Australia had in 2012, they still beat England, Ireland and Wales four times, as well as finishing second in the inauguralRugby Championship without 19 players, including  three captains – James Horwill, Will Genia and David Pocock.
That led not only to the emergence of players such as flanker Michael Hooper but for Sharpe to postpone his retirement plans as he captained his country in their hour of need.
The temptation could have been there to stay on for a further six months and face the Lions, which he has never done.
Sharpe, the sixth most capped player of all time, added: “In terms of the timing of my retirement you would either say it is six months too early or six months too late.
“I would have loved to have played the Lions but it was not to be.
“The year of 2012 was one that  Australia rugby did not want to have – but in retrospect it was not a bad thing that we had it.
“We brought in a lot of new players who have really stuck their hand up.
“I think Michael Hooper is going to be an outstanding player. I know people say him and David Pocock are too similar but I would find a way of fitting them both in the side.
“We have gained a lot more strength in depth and I would hate to be a selector for the Lions series.”
DANIEL SCHOFIELD