RUGBY LIONS TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA:ONCE LIONS coach Ian McGeechan chose Brian O'Driscoll to lead the British and Irish Lions against the Golden Lions at Ellis Park tomorrow night the topic of the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand was always going to be broached.
As soon as Ireland’s Grand Slam captain had settled into his chair in the assembly hall of the St David’s school in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, the question arrived. He smiled as he ventured that he hadn’t seen this inquiry coming.
“For me it’s not really about trying to put the wrongs of that right, it’s just about another opportunity to play for the Lions. It’s exciting every day to put on the Lions kit because you have to bring your A game to training every day. You learn a huge amount in training alone and you have to be at your best.
“It’s a huge honour and something to which I am really looking forward. It’s not about one person being captain. I’ll have plenty of others to help me do it.”
McGeechan elected to retain just three of the team that beat the Royal XV. He confirmed it would have been just a single player on duty again if Leinster and Ireland wing Luke Fitzgerald (knee strain and chest infection) and England centre Riki Flutey (knee strain) had been available for selection: neither player is being risked.
It means a try scorer from the last day, Ireland’s Tommy Bowe will start his second game in succession on the right wing, while Jamie Roberts, impressive in Rustenburg, will partner O’Driscoll in the centre. It’s a combination that has all the appearance of a Test pairing even at this early point of the tour.
O’Driscoll enthused: “Jamie had a very strong game. He has so much potential with the ball in hand and nice skills to boot. He is an exciting guy to be paired with and I am looking forward to it. He’s a huge man, difficult to stop. That should free up space outside and it’s important to be there in support.”
David Wallace is the third player to be retained, albeit he shifts across in the backrow from number eight to his more favoured position of openside flanker.
There are four debutants, fullback Rob Kearney – he’s recovered from a stiff neck – England wing Ugo Monye, Scotland’s Australian-born French-based secondrow Nathan Hines and Leicester Tigers flanker Tom Croft. Ulster’s Stephen Ferris is named on the bench for the second occasion but is sure to take his place this time.
Six of the seven replacements – Shane Williams is the odd man out – would make their Lions’ bow if introduced at Ellis Park. Ronan O’Gara, who scored 22 points against the Royal XV, was one of five players – Keith Earls, Fitzgerald, Flutey and Andrew Sheridan (blisters) the others – not considered for selection.
The New Zealand-born Wasps centre Flutey complained of a niggle behind his knee in the aftermath of the match in Rustenburg having come on as a replacement for Earls and was yesterday sent for a scan on the joint. The medical team has said that it is purely precautionary.
There was a more positive note from an injury perspective with the confirmation that 20-year-old Wales wing Leigh Halfpenny has proved his fitness after successfully rehabilitating a thigh injury in Cardiff and will join the touring party by the middle of the week.
McGeechan pointed out: “The team has a very solid core, with Brian O’Driscoll, Stephen Jones, David Wallace, Phil Vickery and Gethin Jenkins who are all very experienced internationals and previous Lions tourists. We have worked on several key areas following the first match which has given us a base from which to keep developing our game.”
The inclusion of Tom Croft gives the Lions an excellent lineout option at the tail, while the Welsh halfback pairing of Mike Phillips and Stephen Jones should be able to provide the direction and control if given a platform by the forwards. There is plenty of pace and power in the three-quarter line and Kearney has been given his opportunity to challenge for a Test place.
Lee Byrne was outstanding against the Royal XV and laid down a significant marker for the number 15 Test jersey.
Their opponents, the Golden Lions, go into the match having just fired their coach Eugene Eloff. Former Springbok coach Jake White’s company was invited in to review the rugby structures and after a meeting with Eloff it was decided he should be replaced with immediate effect. The decision did not meet with the approval of some senior players who threatened not to play.
This was averted after Eloff asked them not to go down that route. “When I heard about the possible strike I rang Cobus Grobbelaar (the Golden Lions captain) and asked him not to go ahead with it,” confirmed Eloff.
Hans Coetzee has assumed the coaching reins and selected a team that contains about two thirds of the regular starting side from the Super 14. He is without injured Springboks secondrow Jannes Labuschagne and prop Heinke van der Merwe.
He is able to call upon former South African international outhalf Andre Pretorius and his fellow Springbok, prop Lawrence Sephaka. The replacements bench includes two forwards bound for English Premiership club Saracens next season, hooker Ethienne Reynecke and flanker Ernst Joubert. A crowd of 60,000 is expected tomorrow night ensuring Ellis Park will be a more volatile environment than the quiet of Rustenburg.
Referee:Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges:Wayne Barnes (England), Marius Jonker (SA); TMO: Johann Meuwesen
Venue:Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off:6.10 (Irish time) tomorrow
On TV:Sky Sports 2
