Woodward (right) is confident that Wilkinson will deliver on Saturday

"If you actually watch what Jonny did last Saturday, he was probably the best back on the field in terms of the Lions," claimed Woodward.

"He is mentally and physically up to it - I think he is the big-match player.

"It is very competitive but I do believe Wilkinson is the number one fly-half in the party."

The Lions face the All Blacks at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

I have always believed in everything I have done - that if you make a mistake you fix it quickly Lions boss Sir Clive Woodward

They will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating defeat in the first Test, when Wilkinson played inside centre with Stephen Jones at fly-half.

Woodward hinted that he might have stuck with the Jones/Wilkinson combination if captain Brian O'Driscoll had not suffered a tour-ending shoulder injury after less than two minutes of the first Test.

"To be fair, if O'Driscoll had not got injured, I was very excited about playing Jones and Wilkinson together," said Woodward, who guided England to World Cup victory in 2003.

"We could never see that development last Saturday because we just got wiped out in the lineout.

I don't think the selection of Wilkinson is going to be the deciding factor on Saturday From BB Have your say on Scrum V

"I don't think whoever played in the back division last Saturday would have made any difference.

"When you get taken to pieces at the lineout and you lose most of your own throws, it's difficult.

"Once O'Driscoll was out, it didn't look right any more playing Jones and Wilkinson together.

"It is obviously very tough on Stephen Jones but it is also tough on Charlie Hodgson and Ronan O'Gara, who have also been having fantastic tours."

Despite the odds being against the Lions winning on Saturday, Woodward insisted that he had picked a side that could bounce back from the first-Test disappointment to level the series.

"It is a game we have to win, and I have put out a very attacking side," he stated.

"Once we got beaten so badly, I had to change things.