Midweek players urged to stay positive

LIONS coach Clive Woodward has challenged his midweek players to rise above the disappointment of being excluded from the squad for this weekend’s first Test in Christchurch.

The Test 22 was all but named yesterday by their exclusion from the squad to face Southland in Invercargill tomorrow (8.10am Irish time). Head coach Clive Woodward had said following Saturday’s victory over Otago in Dunedin that none of his Test players would be considered for selection in midweek.

With a 45-man squad, that left the 22 selected for the Southland game out of contention.

The inclusion of the Wales inside centre Gavin Henson in the team to play tomorrow was the biggest surprise. Henson had been earmarked for a Test place following two solid if unspectacular performances against Bay Of Plenty and Wellington.

He had played both of those next to Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll in what looked like a Test combination in midfield and the Welshman had even come in for some special praise from Woodward as a great player to work with.

Ireland’s Geordan Murphy is another player who should feel particularly disappointed by his inclusion at full-back against Southland.

The Leicester star had also twice played strongly, against Taranaki and Otago, and coupled with the rusty performance of late arrival Jason Robinson against Wellington last Wednesday, the Naas man would have been hopeful of at least a place on the bench at Jade Stadium next weekend.

The same applies to flanker Simon Easterby who has put in two strong displays since arriving as Lawrence Dallaglio’s replacement and England prop Andy Sheridan, who had been much touted as a potential front row battering ram.

Having returned from Dunedin to the team’s base in Christchurch yesterday, Woodward urged the omitted players to keep pushing for places in the two remaining Tests.

“I have made clear that the players selected for Southland will not feature in the first Test, but that does not mean they do not have the opportunity to play in the second and third Tests,” Woodward said.

“That is underlined by the history of Lions tours down the years. I want these players to keep challenging for Test places as the tour goes on by their performance on Tuesday.

“Another lesson of Lions tours is that they where they have been successful, it has been when the unity of the squad has been strong.

“If we win the Test series, it will not just be a win for the players out on the pitch, but for the whole squad. All 45 have all been fantastic in helping to create the environment we need to win.”

Midweek coach Ian McGeechan picked up on that theme during a press conference yesterday when he emphasised the need for the midweek players to stay positive for the benefit of the those playing in Saturday’s Test.

“I think there’ll be disappointments this week because these fellas are all established international rugby players and it’s how you manage that disappointment.

“You find a lot out about yourself on Lions tours which maybe you don’t quite on national tours - players of this calibre. That response is vital to the environment around the Test team, and that environment is created often by the players who are not part of that Test XV.

“That’s been the case for every successful Lions group I’ve been with. The non-Test players are absolutely vital to that environment.

“Everybody knows that the stakes have gone up now. Once you’re into a Test week the tour changes. The midweek game of a Test week, I think, will reflect how we’ve come together as a squad. I think that sort of support and that rugby that goes on there is very important for the Test XV and nobody’s under any illusions that if we have prepared properly for Saturday then everything has to be right this week, including what we do on Tuesday.

“You don’t have a group dropping off and one group trying to go to another level. Everybody takes it to the next level which is why it’s so important that everybody involved this week is part of that progression.”

McGeechan reminded his players heading for Invercargill today that there was a very good chance they would be required for Test duty in the weeks to come.

“I think it’s back to this challenge of support. Some of the players will need some support and you can talk to them and that’s where experience comes in. There’s a lot of outstanding players been in that position and then gone on to make a huge mark later on the tour.

“What we’ve got to try and remember is that nearly 50 per cent of those not selected in the first Test play Test rugby at some stage in a series.

“Going forward with the intensity of Test rugby, you’re always going to get injuries and it’s important that the players are of that mind that they, if required, are playing at a level that says ‘I want to have that Test place’.”

Henson, in public at least, appeared to have taken McGeechan’s advice.

“Obviously everyone wants to play in the Tests, so there is bound to be some disappointment at not being selected for the first Test on Saturday,” the Welsh centre said. “But competition was always going to be fierce, and this is a squad full of world-class players. The challenge for me now is to play to the best of my ability when selected, keep challenging, and keep learning from the experience.”

It should be a routine run out for the Lions against one of the weaker provincial sides in New Zealand, but the biggest danger could come from a failure to lift themselves out of their inevitable gloom.