England and ‘the rest of them’

BEAUTY, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder and one man’s “incredibly exciting back division” is another’s team of robots.

So it was with the team selected by British and Irish Lions coach Clive Woodward for the first Test against the New Zealand All Blacks this Saturday at Jade Stadium.

Ireland can rejoice at the inclusion of Shane Byrne at hooker alongside certain picks Paul O’Connell and captain Brian O’Driscoll, as well as the deserved inclusion of Shane Horgan on the bench. Woodward has also kept the Grand Slam-winning Welsh happy by pairing Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones in the half-backs.