Schmidt and Farrell mull options with Lions series on the line

MELBOURNE Australia must find a response to the physical dominance the tourists exerted in the opening hour of the first test defeat in Brisbane or risk becoming the first Wallabies team to fail to take a Lions series to a decider

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Joe Schmidt will unveil his team for the second Test against the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne on Thursday, a lineup that could go a long way to defining his time as coach of Australia.

Australia must find a response to the physical dominance the tourists exerted in the opening hour of the first test defeat in Brisbane or risk becoming the first Wallabies team to fail to take a Lions series to a decider.

Rob Valetini, Australia's best test player of the last two years, has recovered from a calf injury and will take his place in the back row at the expense of rookie Nick Champion de Crespigny.

Lock Will Skelton has also recovered from a similar injury and while his inclusion would certainly beef up the pack, his limitations at the lineout might require a tweak of the back row to add another jumper.

Schmidt has had no shortage of helpful suggestions from media pundits this week with most concurring that the hard-running Angus Bell should be promoted to start at loosehead prop instead of 36-year-old James Slipper.