Looking for Lions
September 05 2008
The British and Irish rugby season is well and truly underway, and while all the players no doubt began their seasons focused on the tasks ahead, a greater prize awaits some 35-odd at the end of the season: a British and Irish Lions tour place.
With England and Ireland having bad days and many of Wales' first-choicers rested, it fell to the Scots to shake up the Lions mix, and goodness how they took their chance!
The Scots have it easy next week, while the other three all face benchmarking Tests, so there'll be change then as well as November draws to a close.
But for now, have a look down and see what the weekend of international rugby has done for the team, and as always, feel free to let us know whether you agree or not.
| Full-back | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Lee Byrne | ||||||||
| Delon Armitage (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Girvan Dempsey (new) | ||||||||
| Keith Earls | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Geordan Murphy (down) | ||||||||
| Morgan Stoddart | |||||||||
Notes: Rob Kearney is off to the wings and Girvan Dempsey joins the list as a replacement, bumping down an out-of-favour Geordan Murphy. Delon Armitage joins Lee Byrne in the Test running, mainly as a result of his being better than Dempsey on Saturday and as a result of his being a specialist full-back.
| Wings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Shane Williams | ||||||||
| Chris Paterson (up) | |||||||||
| Rob Kearney (new) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Mark Jones | ||||||||
| Paul Sackey (down) | |||||||||
| Leigh Halfpenny (up) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Shane Horgan (down) | ||||||||
| Rory Lamont (new) | |||||||||
| Thom Evans | |||||||||
Notes: Rory Lamont jumps onto the radar, while Leigh Halfpenny's blistering display sees him edge closer to that plane ticket. Rob Kearney moves across from full-back to take the remaining tour spot however, displacing Paul Sackey.
| Centres | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Brian O'Driscoll | ||||||||
| Tom Shanklin | |||||||||
| Luke Fitzgerald (new) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Tommy Bowe | ||||||||
| Jamie Roberts | |||||||||
| Jamie Robinson | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Ben Cairns (new) | ||||||||
| Riki Flutey | |||||||||
| Nick de Luca (new) | |||||||||
Notes: Not much movement here, with nobody apart from Luke Fitzgerald really standing out. It was a weekend for people to put pressures on BOD and Shanks, but excepting the excellent Scots who join the list, nobody really did. We still think Tommy Bowe would be BOD's natural successor, and so he remains in the middle.
| Fly-half | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | James Hook | ||||||||
| Ronan O'Gara | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Danny Cipriani | ||||||||
| Stephen Jones | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Toby Flood | ||||||||
| Charlie Hodgson | |||||||||
Notes: As in the centres, it was a chance for those further down the list as James Hook limped off injured and ROG had a shocker! But nobody rose to the challenge. No movement.
| Scrum-half | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Mike Blair (up) | ||||||||
| Danny Care | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Eoin Reddan | ||||||||
| Dwayne Peel (down) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Harry Ellis | ||||||||
| Tomas O'Leary (new) | |||||||||
Notes: Mike Blair's brilliance continues unabated and he usurps Dwayne Peel from the tourists. Tomas O'Leary joins the competition but he'll have to up his game tom make it any higher up the list.
| Number eight | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Andy Powell (up) | ||||||||
| Ally Hogg (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Ryan Jones (down) | ||||||||
| Jamie Heaslip (down) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Nick Easter | ||||||||
| MIchael Owen | |||||||||
Notes: Ally Hogg makes it onto the plane, as does Welsh tyro Andy Powell, while Ryan Jones, who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders at the moment, drops a spot (and may end up at six later). Jamie Heaslip was indifferent against the ABs, and if Nick Easter can deliver against the Boks, he'll be moving up once more.
| Openside | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | David Wallace | ||||||||
| John Barclay (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Tom Rees | ||||||||
| Martyn Williams (down) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Shane Jennings | ||||||||
| Colin Charvis | |||||||||
Notes: John Barclay bumps out a rested Martyn Williams on the back of his all-tackling effort against South Africa.
| Blindside | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Jason White (up) | ||||||||
| Alan Quinlan | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Tom Croft (down) | ||||||||
| Stephen Ferris | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Johnnie Beattie | ||||||||
| Joe Bearman | |||||||||
Notes: Jason White is heading to South Africa after giving his opponents a torrid time on Saturday, with Tom Croft moving the other way on the list. Competition is scarce, but could soon be bolstered by Ryan Jones' arrival.
| Second row | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Paul O'Connell | ||||||||
| Donncha O'Callaghan | |||||||||
| Steve Borthwick | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Alun Wyn Jones | ||||||||
| Nathan Hines (up) | |||||||||
| Alastair Kellock | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Nick Kennedy | ||||||||
| Tom Palmer (down) | |||||||||
| Ian Evans | |||||||||
Notes: The POC-DOC combination is still the top one, with Steve Borthwick backing it up, but Nathan Hines' display ought to put pressure on that leading trio.
| Tighthead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Matt Stevens | ||||||||
| Euan Murray | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Adam Jones | ||||||||
| Phil Vickery | |||||||||
| Keep June free | John Hayes | ||||||||
| Rhys Thomas | |||||||||
Notes: No move here, as Euan Murray continues to crush all before him.
| Hooker | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Lee Mears | ||||||||
| Ross Ford | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Jerry Flannery | ||||||||
| Rory Best | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Bernard Jackman | ||||||||
| Matthew Rees | |||||||||
Notes: Rory Best can count himself unlucky not to move up the list, but both current tour incumbents played well enough to keep their places.
| Loosehead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Allan Jacobsen (up) | ||||||||
| Gethin Jenkins | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Duncan Jones | ||||||||
| Andrew Sheridan (down) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Marcus Horan | ||||||||
| Moray Low | |||||||||
Notes: Allan Jacobsen's dominance of the South African scrum, and Anderw Sheridan's stream of conceded penalties against Australia, sees the two swap places and sees 'Ted' out of the tour plane.