Not too many movers and shakers this week, but a couple old hands revived their Lions chances, while some early favourites continue to fade into the grey area of uncertainty.
A couple extra weeks of hard fitness have paid off for Gethin Jenkins, who looked closer to his best against the Italians, albeit lasting about fifty minutes. His performance edges him above Joe Marler, who ran into some trouble against French tighthead Nicolas Mas. Scottish loosehead Ryan Grant put in another outstanding shift and looks a very good bet to make the squad, particularly if Alex Corbisiero’s knee problems preclude his involvement. Dan Cole had a rough day at the office against Thomas Domingo, but still showed up reasonably well in the loose. Geoff Cross was an unlikely hero for Scotland in the absence of Euan Murray, and it will be interesting to see who gets the start in two weeks time.
Dylan Hartley’s stock continues to slide, and the impact that Tom Youngs had when he came on was clear to see. Given Ross Ford’s improved form and Richard Hibbard’s return to fitness, the Northampton captain’s tour spot is far from guaranteed. Rory Best looked vulnerable for the first time in the competition against the Scottish lineout, but not enough to bump him off the top of the list.
The biggest winners in the second row department were hulking Scottish duo Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton, who both played major roles in their hard fought victory over Ireland at Murrayfield. With Gray’s star fading a bit recently it was the type of gritty performance that the Lions selectors will have enjoyed. Big Jim has been an outsider, but he will have raised a few eyebrows at the impact he had in the tight, and his leadership abilities. If Warren Gatland wants a big, nasty second row, he fits the bill. This is presuming, of course, that Nathan Hines’ absence from test rugby will count against him, which may not be the case.
Courtney Lawes had a poor game and the experiment of playing him on the flank did not pay off. The continued excellence of Ryan Jones, combined with his versatility, sees him take Lawes’ utility forward position to allow for the addition of Kelly Brown, who was everywhere for Scotland. Jamie Heaslip fared a little better for Ireland, but then he couldn’t really get any worse. Chris Robshaw was superb again for England and is surely in the running for not only the test side but the tour captaincy. At this point his exclusion from the squad would be nothing short of a travesty.
Scrumhalf is becoming tougher to pick as Mike Phillips has not exactly cemented his name as of yet. Greig Laidlaw has been outstanding, and provides a different style to either Ben Youngs or Danny Care, something that, along with his goal kicking, might endear himself to Rob Howley, the man entrusted with halfback selection. Conor Murray isn’t that far off the pack, though he’s not exactly setting the world alight either.
The hamstring injury to Jonny Sexton means Dan Biggar steps into the frame after a steady showing against Italy. It wasn’t anything that would worry the Wallabies coaches, but it was his most confident performance out of the three matches. One player who stood out was Duncan Weir. The young Glasgow lad finally got a chance to put some minutes in and didn’t look out of place. It’s difficult to see how Ruaridh Jackson will be picked ahead of him for the next two games after showing what he can do. One thing is for sure after this week, there will be no Ronan O’Gara on tour.
If anyone put their hand up in the backs this week it was Luke Marshall, who had a very positive debut for Ireland. A few more games like that and he might sneak in. Brad Barritt might have something to say about that, however, as he continues to hold the English midfield defense together. Stuart Lancaster clearly values his presence highly which isn’t good news for the chances of Billy Twelvetrees. In other news, Manu Tuilagi is back.
No changes in the outside backs, as it was a very slow week for wingers. Alex Cuthbert gathered plaudits for his try, but his defense is still very poor. By contrast Tim Visser’s tackling was on, as was Sean Maitland’s. As for Chris Ashton, he looks totally out of the picture after a very poor effort against France. His petulant antics at the final whistle will not have gone unnoticed either. Sadly (or thankfully), it appears there will be no swan dives in Australia this summer.
LIONS SQUAD ROUND 3
FORWARDS(20):
Cian Healy, Gethin Jenkins, Ryan Grant, Rory Best, Tom Youngs, Ross Ford, Dan Cole, Adam Jones, Euan Murray, Joe Launchbury, Richie Gray, Jim Hamilton, Geoff Parling, Ryan Jones, Tom Wood, Kelly Brown, Sean O’Brien, Chris Robshaw, Johnnie Beattie, Toby Faletau.
BACKS(16):
Ben Youngs, Mike Phillips, Greig Laidlaw, Dan Biggar, Owen Farrell, James Hook, Brad Barritt, Jamie Roberts, Brian O’Driscoll, Manu Tuilagi, Tim Visser, George North, Sean Maitland, Leigh Halfpenny, Stuart Hogg, Rob Kearney.
NOT CONSIDERED DUE TO INJURY:
Alex Corbisiero, Richardt Strauss, Bradley Davies, Mike McCarthy, Paul O’Connell, Luke Charteris, Stephen Ferris, Dan Lydiate, Alasdair Strokosch, John Barclay, Ross Rennie, Chris Henry, Ben Morgan, Chris Cusiter, Jonathan Sexton, Freddie Burns, Rhys Priestland, Gordon D’Arcy, Joe Ansbro, Nick De Luca, Jonathan Joseph, Tommy Bowe, Simon Zebo, Rory Lamont, Ben Foden.
