Phillips and O’Gara look to share bragging rights

MIKE PHILLIPS will have to curb his natural instincts to shout at Ronan O’Gara when the duo line out for the British & Irish Lions against The Sharks this evening.

The two players got 13 minutes playing together in the opening game against the Royal XV, but the game in Durban will be their first start as a unit. The 6ft 3in, 16st 3lbs Phillips is the odds on favourite to play in the first Test against the Springboks at the Absa Stadium next week.

O’Gara wants to make the most of his opportunity – especially as first choice centre Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll are further down the three quarter line. But the two men had to agree to bury the hatchet before they arrived in South Africa after years of slagging one another off.