Lions: Howley coping with injury heartache

Rob Howley today put a brave face on his Lions injury heartache after being ruled out of the Test series decider against Australia.

Wales scrum-half Howley will watch from the sidelines at Stadium Australia, nursing a cracked rib that was accidentally caused by a Lions team-mate during the 35-14 second Test defeat in Melbourne.

Howley and concussed England flanker Richard Hill were immediately confirmed as absentees from the tour finale, while a decision on fly-half Jonny Wilkinson’s fitness is expected later today.

Wilkinson was stretchered off at Colonial Stadium suffering from an injury to his lower left leg.

He saw a specialist in Melbourne yesterday, and arrived at the squad’s Sydney base last night with no obvious sign of a limp.

If he doesn’t recover in time, then Lions coach Graham Henry faces a choice between Austin Healey, Neil Jenkins and Ronan O’Gara to wear the number 10 jersey, but Wilkinson’s prospects appear brighter than they did over the weekend.

Howley though, will play no further part Down Under, with former England captain Matt Dawson now lined up as his deputy.

‘‘I’ve spent the last day or so just chilling out and coping with the disappointment,’’ he said.

‘‘The rib is still very sore. It happened when I was covering back with Jason Robinson I went to the ground, and one of my own boys struck me accidentally with his knee.

‘‘It was really painful, I was struggling to get my breath properly and I knew that I had to go off,’’ he added.

‘‘The disappointment is not as severe as in 1997 (Howley missed all three Tests in South Africa because of injury), but to miss the last Test is obviously a big disappointment.

‘‘I will do what I can this week to support the boys in preparation for Saturday’s match.’’

Former Wallabies captain Simon Poidevin, meanwhile, has accused the Lions of trying to ‘‘wipe out’’ Australian fly-half Stephen Larkham.

Wallabies playmaker Larkham, who is currently nursing an arm injury, took a limited part in training yesterday, but should recover for the third Test showdown.

‘‘Too many times during the Test, Larkham was unfairly targeted. It was obvious that the Lions were trying to wipe him out,’’ Poidevin told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘‘On three occasions, tackles on Larkham were illegal, revolving around high charges or shoulder charges.

‘‘Early on, Larkham was legitimately hurt during a tackle, but after that it was clear the Lions were deliberately after the winged bird.’’

Poidevin’s comments follow Lions complaints that no action was taken against Wallabies centre Nathan Grey for his shoulder-led tackle on Hill that left the Saracens forward concussed.

Lions manager Donal Lenihan was incensed that independent match commissioner, New Zealander David Gray, let Grey off the hook, Lenihan having made his complaint after studying video footage from two or three different angles.

It took Hill out of the match, and left Henry now having to replace arguably his most influential player.