Best sets sights on Test spot after Lions reprieve

Rory Best has gone from desolation to elation in just under four weeks.

Best was the shock Irish omission from Warren Gatland’s initial British and Irish Lions squad for the tour of Australia, and he knew he hadn’t made the cut when the Ulster coaching staff pointedly refused to catch his eye during a training session that was taking place as Gatland was making his announcement.

He admits it was ‘the lowest of lows’ and the next 24 hours were a time for self-flagellation as a man who was a year ago considered a near-certainty for a starting spot in the Test side faced the prospect of not even being on the tour.

But on Saturday, Dylan Hartley decided to call referee Wayne Barnes “a fucking cheat” during the Aviva Premiership final. The end result was a red card for the Englishman, an 11-week ban and a phone call to Best that was prefaced by the words, “you’d better pull over, we don’t want you driving into a ditch”.

That conversation ensured Best will be heading to Australia rather than on Ireland’s tour of North America, but now he is again a Lion he has immediately set his sights on claiming the No 2 shirt ahead of Richard Hibbard and Tom Youngs.

“When the squad was announced that was as low as I’ve felt,” admitted the 30-year-old. “We were training at the time and more and more of the Ulster management were avoiding eye contact.

“Nobody avoids you when it’s good news, so I had an idea from that. It was bitterly disappointing and on that Tuesday afternoon I allowed myself to dwell on it and think about the whole thing.

“But we had a few big games coming up so I had to pick myself up and dust myself down.

“It’s something you dream of, an absolute honour to be here. I was expecting to be at Carton House this morning to meet up with the Ireland boys when the call came through.

“I had to pull onto the hard shoulder to make sure I didn’t veer off the road at that stage.

“You don’t like to dwell on other people’s misfortune, but I definitely feel for Dylan and it’s bitterly disappointing for him to miss out. That’s sport. And everyone is here to play in the Test team. I am no different. It will take a lot of hard work but it’s something I am looking forward to.”

Gatland himself admitted he had wondered whether his original decision was the right one.

He said: “I have no problem admitting that post-selection I had that discussion with myself and said ‘did I make the right call?’

“Everything that has been written about Rory saying how unlucky he has been is 100% correct because I had those doubts myself initially.

“When we made the selection the debate on hooker took by far the longest and he was really unlucky.

“As soon as Dylan was ruled out he was the obvious choice. It was not even something we had to talk about. Sometimes fate can intervene and a player who was very unlucky to miss out has a chance to step up and fight for his place. It wouldn’t surprise me if later on in the tour he is in contention for a Test spot.”

And although Gatland had some words of comfort for Hartley — who is thought unlikely to appeal his ban — and had left a consoling message on the Englishman’s answer machine, he also summed up the reaction of most rugby fans to the incident in succinct fashion.

“To play the game you have to play on the edge,” said Gatland. “Unfortunately he’s gone to the edge of the cliff and jumped off it.”