Edwards hints at Fitzgerald Test start
Given Lee Byrne and Stephen Jones are struggling with a foot injury and form respectively, there should also be places for Rob Kearney and Ronan O’Gara in the back division, a unit that won’t suffer in the slightest by their inclusion.
It’s clear English representation will be seriously trimmed down, with Tom Croft likely to be the sole red rose survivor.
All the comments, quotes and innuendo from Edward and Graham Rowntree is that Lee Mears and Phil Vickery will lose out to the men who replaced them midway through last week’s 21-26 loss to the Springboks – Matthew Rees and Adam Jones.
A concern remains about the low-key performance by Welsh second row Alun-Wyn Jones last week, and it seems possible that he will be passed over for either Donncha O’Callaghan or Simon Shaw in a bid to add more stability to the scrum and more aggression in the line-out and ruck areas.
But there is no doubt about the opportunity that has opened up for Fitzgerald. Edwards said: “He has to be in with a chance; he certainly had a positive impact on the game (against the Emerging Springboks on Tuesday). I’m sure his name will be up there for discussion.”
More telling was his brief assessment of Ugo Monye, the English winger who fluffed two golden scoring opportunities last week: “Ugo’s forte is scoring tries; unfortunately it didn’t go his way on Saturday and that didn’t help us.”
Little has gone right in the last six months for former IRB Player of the Year Shane Williams, though Edwards was coy on the prospects of the Welsh winger playing a further part in the tour.
“Honestly, I feel sorry for him; he has taken a bit of stick because his form is being compared to the year when he won the award; form that was unbelievable.
“But I’m happy, we’re all happy, that he has played well this tour; he has been rock solid in every way and hasn’t let the side down at any stage. It’s just that he hasn’t been as dynamic as people (outsiders) expected.”
There are those who keep playing down Keith Earls’ chances of playing any role in the Test series, if only because he is the youngest member of the party. Yet, Edwards lavishly praised him yesterday.
“He is a fantastic lad. I believe he is still developing as a centre and will develop into a top-class one; at the moment I believe he is better suited to playing full-back. With ball in hand and a bit of space, he is as good a counter-attacker as I have seen. He is certainly one for the future; a great kid.”
For his part, Fitzgerald claims he is “pretty relaxed” about possible Lions Test selection.
“From a personal perspective, I was pretty happy with my performance (against the Emerging Boks),” he said.
“It was a bit pressurised going into the game. You want to put yourself into contention for a Test spot on the weekend. You want to look hungry for work, and you are hungry for work, but it is important you don’t force things in those situations, especially given the weather conditions. I feel I’ve done the best I can. It’s up to the coaches now, and to be honest, it is a weight off my shoulders.”
Meanwhile, the Lions will be focused on some forward issues in Pretoria, knowing that another bad set piece performance will wreak havoc on their chances of Test success.
“We only get one crack at it now,” said Rowntree. “I have no doubt we have the personnel to do it; we have the will to do it, but we must speak with actions and not words. It will be difficult because of the altitude and I know from the guys that they found it was very tough up in Rustenburg the first game.
“But we have done a lot of work with the altitude masks; we are more confident about the condition of the players, we can expect to have a dry ball and hopefully be able to move it around a bit.”
Rowntree also backed his team to match the ‘Boks in the physical stakes: “I have no doubt about it. We were in trouble in the scrums last week but identified the problems and rectified them.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
