O'Driscoll in as Lions captain
Lions name Brian O'Driscoll as captain for second tour match
Also In The News
|
Andy Murray is through to the French Open quarter-finals after beating Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6 (7/4) 6-1. |  |
Monday, 01, Jun 2009 09:59
The British and Irish Lions have named Brian O'Driscoll as captain for the second tour match against the Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
O'Driscoll will stand in for Irish team-mate Paul O'Connell in leading the side, with the second row rested after Saturday's bruising opening match of the schedule against the Royal XV.
The lineup for the second game sees only three of the players who started at the weekend keep their places.
Rob Kearney, Ugo Monye and Tommy Bowe make up the back-three, with Jamie Roberts joining O'Driscoll in the centres.
Fly-half Stephen Jones, who was an unused replacement against the Royal XV, comes in for Ronan O'Gara and he will be joined in the half-backs by Welsh compatriot Mike Phillips at scrum-half.
England front-rows Lee Mears and Phil Vickery are joined in the pack by late call-up Tom Croft, who will start at flanker, while David Wallace moves from number eight to flanker to accommodate Ireland colleague Jamie Heaslip at the base of the scrum.
Alun-Wyn Jones also stays in the starting XV and is joined in the second row by Scotland's Nathan Hines.
The performance in the opening game was largely disappointing from the Lions' point-of-view, as they were forced to recover from 18-3 down in the first half before eventually sealing a 35-27 win.
However, head coach Ian McGeechan claims the changed selection reflects his policy of giving every player some game time in the first three matches of the tour.
"The starting XV is very different to the one that played against the Royal XV on Saturday," he explained.
"There are only three players backing up from that match but six of the replacements have been promoted to Wednesday's starting XV for the Golden Lions match.
This is in line with our intention that all players will play a full match in the first three matches on tour.
"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."
He added: "The team has trained well.
"We have worked on several key areas following the first match which has given us a base from which to keep developing our game."
Full British and Irish Lions team to play Golden Lions on Wednesday June 3rd:
15. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England)
10. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
9. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)
8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)
7. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)
6. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)
5. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
4. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)
3. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England)
2. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
Replacements:
16. Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland)
17. Euan Murray (Northampton Saints/Scotland)
18. Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland)
19. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
20. Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England)
21. James Hook (Ospreys/Wales)
22. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)