RUGBY/Lions Tour: Whatever else was planned for the Lions' opening little joust against a fired-up Bay of Plenty in Rotarua in Saturday, and Clive Woodward is not one for leaving much to chance, one thing was cast in stone. Fittingly, and rightly, Brian O'Driscoll was always going to be the first player on to the pitch. Gerry Thornley in Auckland

Ireland's captain and record try scorer has had many special moments, honours and accolades in his remarkable career to date, and leading the Lions on this tour is right up there. O'Driscoll has been quizzing Michael Owen as to how it felt for the Welsh captain when he led the Lions against Argentina in the Millennium Stadium and the thought of Saturday has never been too far away.

"From the day that I was told I was going to be captain it was a day I was looking forward to and now it's only a few days away. I won't let the emotion of the occasion get to me too much but just try to enjoy it."

Assured as he is in seemingly everything he encounters, O'Driscoll has always maintained he is more a leader by example than word. "I would like to think that I will lead by performance and make sure it is up to scratch first and foremost. I'm certainly not one to speak for the sake of speaking.

"The great thing about this squad is that there are so many leaders amongst us, guys who have captained their clubs and their countries, and there's plenty of intelligent rugby minds out there that have relevant points to make. It's about sharing the workload too."

Given the symbolism of O'Driscoll's presence, not to mention Lawrence Dallaglio and others in a noticeably strong selection, winning on Saturday is paramount.

Two years ago England came to Wellington and ground out a 15-13 win through the boot of Jonny Wilkinson and heroic defence when reduced to 13 players near the end. Amid a certain lack of magnanimity - all the more so given the game was played in something verging on a storm - England were largely condemned from a height for their lack of style.

The one-time great entertainer from his London Irish days, Woodward has long since had a Road to Damascus-like conversion to winning above all else, hence the title of his biography: Winning.

Asked whether winning was everything, or whether he would like his Lions to win in the grand manner, Woodward said: "I just want to win. It doesn't matter how you win, that's what sport is all about, as long as you come off the pitch with more points than them."

Thus for all the continuing charm offensive, reiterated by Woodward's gratitude for New Zealand hospitality and last Sunday's Maori welcome in Rotarua, at the outset of his press conference from a prepared script, more begrudging barbs would do nicely thank you. "I think it was 'White Orcs on Steroids' they called us, which I took as a huge compliment. I thought it was a fantastic line. I just want us to win. If we happen to play some good rugby that's a huge bonus."

Besides which, building up a head of steam is a whole lot easier if the win column starts mounting without interruption.

Individually, too, the stakes are even bigger. This being such a numerous Lions squad, and yet the second shortest tour schedule, players are thus under intense pressure to maximise the one, two or, if they're extremely lucky, three chances that might come their way in the opening five games before the first Test team is picked.

Woodward has said that fitness and availability permitting, everyone will get an opportunity in the opening three tour matches, and while admitting that it will be difficult to give everyone a fair chance, he has long since grown a little wearisome of this line of questioning.

"People have got so carried away with this numbers thing, and (yet) for me going down to the Maoris welcome last Sunday I wish we'd had 60 or 70 players. I think the four countries could learn so much about coming to New Zealand. I'm sad that this is the last great tour, to be honest, and I'm just trying to maximise the benefits to all four countries."

Outlining his holistic approach to this tour, Woodward said: "To me any player who comes on this tour, even if he doesn't play a game, should go back a far better player, just having mixed with the players they're mixing with, seeing different coaches working, and just coming to New Zealand and seeing the intensity of rugby in this country, which I believe is far more intense than it is back home.

"So I think no matter how many players we bring it has all been totally over-hyped. I've clearly spoken to players about what I expect is going to happen on this trip, and yes one or two players may not get many games, but I'm sure if you ask them now - and hopefully at the end of the trip - they'll still want to come on the trip to experience the whole occasion. I just passionately believe they should all go back having enjoyed the trip as better players, and all four countries can learn from this. The history of the Lions has shown that Six Nations rugby after a Lions trip tends to be a fantastic season. Because they've all stepped up a gear."

If Woodward achieves all of these stated aims it will be a credit to his man-management skills and famed planning. There's also an unmistakable logic to Woodward's point that ultimately 44 players ended up on duty in Australia, whereas this time he's just bringing them out from the start so as to avoid a potential scenario of teaching players calls the day before a Test match.

Makes sense.