Easterby call 'surprised' Johnson

Former Lions captain Martin Johnson admits he was “slightly surprised” after Simon Easterby was called up to replace injured Lawrence Dallaglio for the rest of the tour to New Zealand.

Dallaglio suffered a dislocated fracture of his right ankle during the victory over Bay of Plenty on Saturday and was immediately replaced by Easterby, although Johnson believes Wasps flanker Joe Worsley also had a good chance of a call-up.

Worsley impressed at Twickenham on Saturday for Johnson’s testimonial, the last game for England’s victorious 2003 World Cup captain.

In his column in The Times, Johnson said: “They’ve called up Simon Easterby as a replacement, although, after the way he played in my testimonial match at Twickenham, I’m slightly surprised they didn’t call for Joe Worsley.”

Johnson believes Dallaglio’s injury gives other players a chance to shine, as they did in 1997 when they beat South Africa 2-1.

Johnson added: “It was not entirely dissimilar to the Lions’ visit to South Africa in 1997: we would never have wanted to lose Rob Howley as scrum-half, but we did.

“Matt Dawson stepped into his place and scored the try that helped to win the first game with the Springboks.

“That’s what must happen now. There’s so much talent available. Martin Corry came in as a replacement and played well, so did Richard Hill from the start.

“It’s about the combination the selectors want in the back row and that’s what they’ll be looking at in the next couple of matches.”