RSS
Rugby


Home Page > Sport > Rugby > O'Driscoll to captain Lions on Wednesday

Blogs


comment on article Make a comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

O'Driscoll to captain Lions on Wednesday

By
SETANTA SPORTS,

Published Monday, June 1, 2009, 9:17 AM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:37 PM

 

Bookmark and Share

Leinster's Brain O'Driscoll lifts the Heineken Cup following their victory during the Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield, Edinburgh.
Photo by PA Wire/Press Association Images

Brian O'Driscoll will captain the British & Irish Lions for their second warm-up game against The Golden Lions on Wednesday.

Three players - Tommy Bowe, Jamie Roberts and David Wallace - retain their starting spots, though the latter is named at seven, with Leinster's Jamie Heaslip at eight.

Five more players will be making their Lions debut.

Rob Kearney, key to Ireland's Grand Slam run in the Spring, is handed the number 15 shirt, with Bowe and Ugo Monye on the wings.

O'Driscoll is named at centre alongside Roberts, with Stephen Jones and Mike Phillips replacing Ronan O'Gara and Mike Blair in the half backs.

Gethin Jenkins, Lee Mears and Phil Vickery form the front row, supported by locks Nathan Hines and Alun-Wyn Jones. The back row consists of Tom Croft, Wallace and Heaslip.

Stephen Ferris and Andy Powell, injury worries over the weekend, are included among the replacements as is late call-up James Hook.

"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," coach Ian McGeechan commented.

"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 scrumhalf Mike Phillips giving the team an experienced halfback combination.

1 2 Next page >
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Be the first to make a comment.

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.


Click to learn more from DiscoverIreland.com.


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password