‘No lose situation’ for debutant Zebo
Zebo was named in the starting XV to face the Waratahs at a sold-out Allianz Stadium tomorrow, four days after joining up with the squad as injury cover for Tommy Bowe.
The 23-year-old Corkman, who played for Ireland against the United States in Houston last Saturday, goes into a backline featuring likely Test starters Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Jonny Sexton and Mike Phillips while full-back Rob Kearney is set to make his first appearance of the tour off the bench after recovering from a hamstring tear suffered on May 25 that ruled him out until now.
Zebo has been told by his head coach he could put his hand up to join them in eight days when the Lions face Australia for the first time in Brisbane.
“He has only just arrived. He has already got a number of Irish team-mates that he can look to. He has sat down with the coaches and gone through some of the expectations of him. He’s got a personality that will flourish within the squad,” Gatland said of Zebo.
“He is in a no-lose situation. Just go out there, enjoy yourself and play. If you play well enough, you put your hand up, don’t you. I think it will be great for him.”
In selecting Zebo and fellow wing Sean Maitland as well as outside centre Jon Davies, Gatland has broken with the perceived touring wisdom that coaches select their probable Test team for the week before the big game, with the wing spots likely to go to Alex Cuthbert and George North and Brian O’Driscoll favourite to start at 13, the latter two having suffered knocks last Tuesday in the win over Combined Country.
“It would be something you’d consider,” Gatland said of picking a shadow Test side, “not least because there’s been a rotation of the squad, and we’re undecided on a couple of positional places. Then there’s the fact that some players have played a number of games, and we want to rest them. If you plough on and then get another knock on Tuesday [against the Brumbies], it’s not ideal heading into the first Test.”
Yet the forward pack to face the Waratahs certainly looks a possibility to start against the Wallabies. That said, Gatland and his coaches have big decisions to make over their choices at loosehead prop in the absence of injured pair Cian Healy and Gethin Jenkins, with Mako Vunipola starting tomorrow, backed up on the bench by impressive scrummaging technician Alex Corbisiero. There is also a choice to be made at lock, where only Paul O’Connell has really laid down a marker and across the back row where the permutations are endless given the fine form of all seven players who have featured so far.
Gatland will go with Tom Croft at blindside flanker, tour captain Sam Warburton makes his second start of the tour at openside after carrying a knee injury into the tour with Jamie Heaslip the number 8 to face the Waratahs. Dan Lydiate is named on the bench and Justin Tipuric, Sean O’Brien and Toby Faletau watching from the stands.
“The back row is an area where we’re free of injuries and there is strong competition there, which is what you want. Everyone is firing, and if you look at the talent we have there – Sean O’Brien’s carrying from six, and we know he can play seven, what talent and ability Tom Croft brings to the back row for example, the defensive and depth Dan Lydiate brings.
“The two number 8s bring different skills to the table. It’s going to be a long night making that selection decision. I have been 100% consistent about what I said from day one, it’s about picking the best players. Sam’s well aware of that, and he had a good start against the Reds last week and this is another big game for him.
Gatland said given the form and fitness of his back row players he has not considered deploying Warburton as a blindside, indicating the seven jersey will be a choice between the captain and Tipuric with O’Brien, Lydiate and Croft fighting it out for the six.
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