DOC to see the Kings

15/06/09 12:05 Filed in: Team Announcement | Squad

The British & Irish Lions to face the Southern Kings will be lead by Donncha O'Calaghan. The team announced is as follows:

15. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)
14. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)
13. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)
12. Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland)
11. Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster/Ireland)
10. James Hook (Ospreys/Wales)
9. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland)

8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
7. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)
6. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)
5. Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland) (c)
4. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)
3. Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland)
2. Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland)
1. Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks/England)

Replacements:
16. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
17. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
18. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)
19. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)
20. Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England)
21. Ronan O'Gara (Munster/Ireland)
22. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England

Many of the players named will, for once, feel disappointed to be selected. It's unlikely, though not out of the question, that any of the starting players will feature in Saturday's 1st Test. Despite this, a number of players included were considered to be in with a shout of test selection prior to this announcement. Nathan Hines, a competitor to Alun-Wyn Jones, Luke Fitzgerald and outside chance for a wing berth and James Hook a possibility also. Geech has made it clear though that playing in this game does not exclude a player from test match consideration.

The Lions will be lead from the second-row by Donncha O'Callaghan on the date of his tenth Lions cap. 7 players are asked to back up from their performance against Western Province on Saturday in a team featuring many of the same faces as the 22 selected for the weekend. Despite a persisting injury to the foot, Mike Blair has been named at scrum-half and will face a late fitness test to decide whether he starts or not. Harry Ellis is named on the bench as cover, but it's been suggested by the management that Shane Williams could also cover the scrum-half role. While Williams has had a place now in all 6 of the matchday 22's, Blair has only started one match and played a bit part elsewhere.

Discussing Tuesday's game, Gerald Davies said, "The Lions next challenge is the Southern Kings at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The match will be played on Youth Day tomorrow which is a National Holiday. We are honoured to be playing on such a special day and I know the Lions are looking forward to the match and maintaining the unbeaten tour record."

Commenting on the selection, head coach Ian McGeechan said, "This is Test week and there is a noticeable change in attitude within the touring party. We are now heading towards the business end of the tour and the reason why we have come to South Africa. As you would expect the immediate focus is the next match against the Southern Kings on Tuesday before attention turns to selection for the First Test for which all players will be considered."

"The Southern Kings is not a regular team but we understand there are some very talented players in the squad for the match. Experience tells me that you can never underestimate any South African team and like the other teams we have faced on the tour so far we will not take them lightly."

"Seven players are backing up from the Western Province match with Nathan Hines, Joe Worsley, Riki Flutey and Keith Earls given the opportunity in the starting XV in different positions. The team will be captained by proud Munster man Donncha O'Callaghan, an experienced Lions tourist, who is a very popular member of the squad. This will be his tenth Lions match including two Tests against New Zealand during the 2005 tour."

The Southern Kings is an invitational XV and is the likely forerunner of a new South African S14 franchise. They have yet to select their team, but a squad that has been submitted for ratification can be found here.

The British & Irish Lions touring party will now split for the next few days as the squad to face the Southern Kings travel to Port Elizabeth and the unselected players travel to Durban to train ahead of the first test.

0 Comments

Recent Features

DOC to see the Kings