The tour effectively starts with the first game in Cardiff, next Monday 23rd.
SCW (Sir Clive Woodward) has announced his team:
Lions: Murphy; Hickie, Smith, D'Arcy, S Williams; Wilkinson, Cooper; Rowntree, Byrne, Hayes; O'Kelly, Grewcock; Taylor, Moody, Owen.
Replacements: Thompson, White, O'Callaghan, Corry, Cusiter, O'Gara, Horgan.
Its an interesting mix and I think we can glean something of his thinking from it.
The first thing to look at is who is unavailable - Neil Back, Gareth Thomas and Stephen Jones, while Sale's presence in a cup final on Saturday also more or less rules out their contingent (Robinson, Cueto, Hodgson, Sheridan, Titterall) Also, with Jonny Wilkonson just added to the squad, he was always going to play here. Interestingly enough, of the 8 Wales players available for selection, SCW has only chosen 3 in the squad, despite the match being in Cardiff.
Overall the side has a 'shadow' look about it by and large, with some experimentation. Here's how I read it:
Back three - With Thomas out (he surely would have played this game as a local favourite) and Cueto not rated by SCW, the other options were Lewsey and maybe Shanklin at a push. The three chosen suggests to me that he has currently pencilled in Lewsey (fair enough) to the test team. It is interesting to see that he has gone for Horgan rather than Shanklin on the bench. This suggests Shanklin won't get much play this tour, as Woodward has in the past spoken of his admiration for Horgan
Centres - a difficult spot with a batch of players playing for one position beside captain, O'Driscoll. The selection of D'Arcy at 12 suggests that he might well be under consideration there, possibly a test to see how well he copes with a physical side who like to bash it up the middle (something the Lions can expect plent of in NZ). If Henson was seriously in contention, one would have expected him to play here, unless he is still carrying an injury. The ability of both chosen players to play either position and at a push, wing, might see some movement during the game.
Half-backs - Wilkinson was always going to play, and with the other two half-backs out, O'Garas presence on the bench was assured. One hopes that he'll be given his chance, as his magisterial performance for Munster last week indicates he has a lot to offer. My suspicion at scrum-half is that with Peel carrying a slight knock, and Dawson a known quantity, SCW has opted for the permutation of his 3rd and 4th choices that puts the local boy on the pitch
Front row - things very interesting here. With stevens injured and Sheridan out, it appears that Gethin Jenkins might already be pencilled into a test spot. More interesting is the presence of Thompson and White on the bench - with the heavy duty scrummagers from Argentina on the pitch. Whites recent injury travails (and ineffective displays) at club level may have just knocked him out of pole position. It is probably "shit or bust" for John Hayes. If he shows he can handle the Argentinians in the tight, he will seriously advance his quest for a test jersey. Failure could see him spending a lot of time on the bench. Likewise Shane Byrne gets a chance to show that he can do the business (after some recent wobbles) in the lineout and make a physical impact in the field. Steve Thompson has always struggled with the former, and the latter, once a forte, has also been absent recently.
2nd row - again an insight into SCW's thinking here would suggest that he has Paul O'Connell pencilled into the test spot and is searching for a partner. The Grewcock-O'Kelly pairing offers the balance of grunt and athleticism that most teams have, as does the reserve of O'Callaghan and Kay. The presence of the former on the bench suggests that Kay may not have a happy tour.
Back row - bad news for Martin Williams, and maybe Richard Hill. One would have seen this match as ideal for someone like Hill to get game-time, but the presence of Taylor in the team and Corry on the bench is going to make it hard for him. Dallaglio looks the front runner for the number 8 shirt, and Moody has a real chance to leapfrog clubmate Neil Back and stake his claim for the no.7 jersey. Corry will get a run, and I won't be surprised if it is at no.6
Likely test team at this juncture:
Murphy, Lewsey, Robinson, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Wilkinson, Peel, Jenkins, Byrne, Stevens, O'Connell, Grewcock, Corry, Dallaglio, Moody
SCW (Sir Clive Woodward) has announced his team:
Lions: Murphy; Hickie, Smith, D'Arcy, S Williams; Wilkinson, Cooper; Rowntree, Byrne, Hayes; O'Kelly, Grewcock; Taylor, Moody, Owen.
Replacements: Thompson, White, O'Callaghan, Corry, Cusiter, O'Gara, Horgan.
Its an interesting mix and I think we can glean something of his thinking from it.
The first thing to look at is who is unavailable - Neil Back, Gareth Thomas and Stephen Jones, while Sale's presence in a cup final on Saturday also more or less rules out their contingent (Robinson, Cueto, Hodgson, Sheridan, Titterall) Also, with Jonny Wilkonson just added to the squad, he was always going to play here. Interestingly enough, of the 8 Wales players available for selection, SCW has only chosen 3 in the squad, despite the match being in Cardiff.
Overall the side has a 'shadow' look about it by and large, with some experimentation. Here's how I read it:
Back three - With Thomas out (he surely would have played this game as a local favourite) and Cueto not rated by SCW, the other options were Lewsey and maybe Shanklin at a push. The three chosen suggests to me that he has currently pencilled in Lewsey (fair enough) to the test team. It is interesting to see that he has gone for Horgan rather than Shanklin on the bench. This suggests Shanklin won't get much play this tour, as Woodward has in the past spoken of his admiration for Horgan
Centres - a difficult spot with a batch of players playing for one position beside captain, O'Driscoll. The selection of D'Arcy at 12 suggests that he might well be under consideration there, possibly a test to see how well he copes with a physical side who like to bash it up the middle (something the Lions can expect plent of in NZ). If Henson was seriously in contention, one would have expected him to play here, unless he is still carrying an injury. The ability of both chosen players to play either position and at a push, wing, might see some movement during the game.
Half-backs - Wilkinson was always going to play, and with the other two half-backs out, O'Garas presence on the bench was assured. One hopes that he'll be given his chance, as his magisterial performance for Munster last week indicates he has a lot to offer. My suspicion at scrum-half is that with Peel carrying a slight knock, and Dawson a known quantity, SCW has opted for the permutation of his 3rd and 4th choices that puts the local boy on the pitch
Front row - things very interesting here. With stevens injured and Sheridan out, it appears that Gethin Jenkins might already be pencilled into a test spot. More interesting is the presence of Thompson and White on the bench - with the heavy duty scrummagers from Argentina on the pitch. Whites recent injury travails (and ineffective displays) at club level may have just knocked him out of pole position. It is probably "shit or bust" for John Hayes. If he shows he can handle the Argentinians in the tight, he will seriously advance his quest for a test jersey. Failure could see him spending a lot of time on the bench. Likewise Shane Byrne gets a chance to show that he can do the business (after some recent wobbles) in the lineout and make a physical impact in the field. Steve Thompson has always struggled with the former, and the latter, once a forte, has also been absent recently.
2nd row - again an insight into SCW's thinking here would suggest that he has Paul O'Connell pencilled into the test spot and is searching for a partner. The Grewcock-O'Kelly pairing offers the balance of grunt and athleticism that most teams have, as does the reserve of O'Callaghan and Kay. The presence of the former on the bench suggests that Kay may not have a happy tour.
Back row - bad news for Martin Williams, and maybe Richard Hill. One would have seen this match as ideal for someone like Hill to get game-time, but the presence of Taylor in the team and Corry on the bench is going to make it hard for him. Dallaglio looks the front runner for the number 8 shirt, and Moody has a real chance to leapfrog clubmate Neil Back and stake his claim for the no.7 jersey. Corry will get a run, and I won't be surprised if it is at no.6
Likely test team at this juncture:
Murphy, Lewsey, Robinson, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Wilkinson, Peel, Jenkins, Byrne, Stevens, O'Connell, Grewcock, Corry, Dallaglio, Moody
