Paul O'Connell

I’m really looking forward to this Lions tour now. Almost as much as I relished the start of the tour in 1997. Perhaps thats a good omen? For some reason I didn’t care much about the tours in between.

So we have our squad, some I got right, some I didn’t, but as I predicted, there were certainly some surprises, the major ones being the inclusion of Alan Quinlan, Tomas O’Leary, Simon Shaw and Keith Earls.

Inevitably, there were a few shoe ins that missed out. Ryan Jones being one. For a player who was touted as a potential Lions skipper, this was a great surprise. There was no place also for Delon Armitage, whose ability to play across the backs, coupled with some excellent form in the 6 Nations would have made him an excellent tourist.

I think that Tom Croft and James Haskell were also unlucky not to get the nod, with only 2 genuine number 8′s in the squad, the inclusion of someone like Haskell would have added extra cover to that area, as well as adding a player with the kind of size and determination that you need when touring South Africa.

It is oft said that on Lions tours you need good tourists as well as good players, and I think this is why Alan Quinlan has been included, he will be there to ensure the camp spirit remains positive. A similar role to John Bentley in McGeechan’s last squad.

So here is the squad in full:

Props: G. Jenkins, A. Jones, E. Murray, A. Sheridan, P.Vickery
Hookers: J. Flannery, L.Mears, M. Rees
Second Row: Paul O’Connell, Simon Shaw, D. O’Callaghan, A. Wyn Jones, N. Hines
Back Row: S. Ferris, A. Quinlan, D. Wallace, M. Williams, J. Worsley, J Heaslip, A. Powell

Scrum Half: M. Phillips, H. Ellis, T. O’Leary
Fly Half: S. Jones, R. O’Gara
Centre: B. O’Driscoll, R. Flutey, T. Shanklin, J. Roberts, K. Earls
Wing: T. Bowe, U. Monye, L. Halfpenny, S. Williams, L. Fitzgerald
Full Back: L. Byrne, R. Kearney

I do feel we’re a little light in the Fly half and Number 8 area, and I will again state my case for taking Danny Cipriani. There is no doubt that the man has talent, and the coaches are certainly aware of this (McGeechan and Edwards are his current coaches). Having been shunned by England, I think he has a real point to prove, and would have played his heart out in the mid week games, putting pressure on Jones and O’Gara to perform. Still given the squad above, here is my team for the first test:

15. L. Byrne
14. T. Bowe
13. B. O’Driscoll
12. J. Roberts
11. U. Monye
10. S. Jones
9.   M. Phillips

1. A. Sheridan
2. L. Mears
3. G. Jenkins
4. A. Wyn Jones
5. P. O’Connell
6. J. Worsley
7. D. Wallace
8. A. Powell

16. P. Vickery
17. J. Flannery
18. S. Shaw
19. J. Heaslip
20. H. Ellis
21. R. O’Gara
22. S. Williams

I’ve gone with size and experience for the bench. I also think that Shane Williams’ suspect defence will cost him a test starting place, but his talents will make him an excellent player to come off the bench. Likewise, with players like Vickery and Shaw to come off the bench, you can continue to batter SA for the full 80 mins. In the centres I’ve gone with size at 12, with BOD supplying the creativity.

What is guarenteed is that this will be a bruising tour. I am pretty sure, that despite the fact players like Croft and Armitage weren’t picked, we may see them called up before too long.

Counting the days to the first text now!