Evans says Lions mustn't get hung up on Wilkinson

Lions legend Ieuan Evans today called for an end to the hysteria surrounding Jonny Wilkinson’s fitness.

Wilkinson, 25, has not played international rugby since the 2003 World Cup final after being struck down by a succession of different injuries and he is currently recovering from damaged knee ligaments.

Lions coach Clive Woodward names the 44-man squad on April 11 and must decide whether to risk naming Wilkinson for the summer tour to New Zealand.

But Evans today insisted the fly-half’s availability will neither make nor break the Lions’ chances against the All Blacks this summer.

“I don’t think we need to get too hung up on Jonny Wilkinson,” said Evans. “The success of this tour won’t purely hinge on whether Jonny Wilkinson is available or not. There are too many quality players out there for that to be the case.

“If he is fit then there is no reason not to take him. But in making the selection you can always say that if you can’t prove your fitness then that will have a bearing on whether you can go or not.

“Everyone will have that next to their name. If you get injured between now and the departure then you have got the ability to be dragged out of the tour.”

Woodward has a headache over the fitness of a number of potentially key players, with Phil Vickery, Richard Hill, Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall all on the recovery trail.

Four years ago, Lawrence Dallaglio was selected for the Lions tour having not fully recovered from a knee reconstruction – and the gamble backfired when he broke down a week before the first Test.

Graham Henry, the 2001 Lions coach who is now in charge of the All Blacks, insists he would make the same decision again because of the impact Dallaglio would have made had he been fit.

Henry fully expects Woodward to include the likes of Wilkinson in the 2005 Lions squad and Dallaglio could see no reason why certain players cannot use the early weeks of the tour to find their fitness.

But he did suggest Wales stand-off Stephen Jones would be a more than capable stand-in for Wilkinson.

“The outstanding candidate at number 10 is Stephen Jones, he has played exceptionally well for Wales in the Six Nations. But there are certain players you look at where you would take a bit of previous form into account,” said Dallaglio.

Dallaglio is one of those hoping to be selected “on previous”. He retired from international rugby after England’s disappointing summer tour Down Under and knew that decision would jeopardise his chances of a third Lions tour.

But he is the running for selection and the experience he has gained from two previous Lions tours, a World Cup success and two stints as captain of England would stand the tourists in good stead.

“I don’t have to shout from the rooftops about playing for the Lions. For any player and it is the pinnacle of their career," said Dallaglio.

“I am playing as well as I can at the level I am able to play at. I am not in the Heineken Cup and I am not on the international stage.

“If the selectors and management feel they want to look elsewhere, there are other options. On past tours they have cast their net far and wide with capped, uncapped, retired.

“Having spoken to Clive a long time ago, foremost in his mind will be to pick the strongest available team.”