Peel ready to play out of his skin

WITH all the fuss over the Lions’ Test fly-half, it has almost been overlooked that the position just inside Stephen Jones at Jade Stadium tomorrow morning has long been considered a shoo-in for Dwayne Peel.

The form scrum-half from the Six Nations, Peel has continued in New Zealand with the Lions where he left off with Wales. An assured performance in the tour opener against Bay Of Plenty, including a try on his Lions debut in Rotorua, merely seemed to cement his place in the Test team. And, despite the impressive performances of Scotland’s Chris Cusiter and the experience of Lions veteran Matt Dawson, Peel was duly named in the starting XV on Wednesday.

He has a habit of early achievement, winning his first Llanelli start while only 17 and making his Test debut at 19. Now still only 23, he has a Grand Slam under his belt and is set to take on the mighty All Blacks and the doyen of his position, Justin Marshall, in the first Test of this three-match series.