BOD Leads the Lions in Jo'burg

01/06/09 11:22 Filed in: Team Announcement | Squad

Tour manager Gerald Davies has announced the Lions team to face the Golden Lions on Wednesday night at Ellis Park. The team, which will be skippered by Brian O'Driscoll is as follows:

British & Irish Lions to Face Golden Lions

1. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
2. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
3. Phil Vickery (Wasps/England)
4. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)
5. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
6. Tom Croft (Leicester/England)
7. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)
8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)

9. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)
10. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
11. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland) C
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland)
15. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)

Replacements

16. Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland)
17. Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland)
18. Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland)
19. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
20. Harry Ellis (Leicester/England)
21. James Hook (Ospreys/Wales)
22. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)

As expected the teams shows changes across the board as Geech and the coaching staff aim to give all the players game time in the first three tour matches. The management has chosen to retain some players, despite the short turn around time between games and David Wallace, Jamie Roberts and Tommy Bowe keep their starting places. Lee Mears, Phil Vickery, Alun-Wyn Jones, Jamie Heaslip and Mike Phillips join the starting line-up after starts from the bench. Stephen Jones fills the 10 shirt after being the only unused sub against the Royal XV on Saturday. Shane Williams has to settle for a spot on the bench after his first match start last weekend.

The team will be captained from the centre by Irish skipper Brian O'Driscoll. O'Driscoll was tipped to retain his 2005 Lions captaincy despite the unsuccessful nature of the last tour, but was pipped to the position by countryman O'Connell. The team includes 5 starting debuts while 6 more uncapped players makeup the bench.

Of the 36 players currently on tour, only Donncha O'Callaghan and Luke Fitzgerald have yet to be used by the Lions management. Leigh Halfpenny, expected to join the squad midweek will return the touring party to it's initial 37-man compliment.

Discussing the selection, Geech commented that, “The starting XV is very different to the one that played against the Royal XV on Saturday. There are only three players backing up from that match, although six of the replacements have been promoted to the starting XV. This is in line with the policy 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.

“David Wallace now has the opportunity to play at openside flanker following his selection at No 8 against the Royal XV. Stephen Jones who was a replacement in the last match, but did not get a run, links-up with his Welsh team-mate and scrum-half, Mike Phillips, giving the team an experienced halfback combination.

Their opponents, the Golden Lions finished 12th in this years Super 14 championship, but there is a considerable history between the current S14 franchise and the British & Irish Lions. The team is the descendent of the Gauteng Lions and the Transvaal teams that since the 19th century have face the Lions a total of 17 times. A reunion for the Transvaal team of 1968 is planned for the eve of the game. The team beat the Lions and as a whole Transvaal has the most impressive club record against the tourists with 7 wins and one draw.

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BOD Leads the Lions in Jo'burg