When you're luck's out, your luck's out. With almost grim inevitability a cloud hangs over Simon Taylor's Lions tour once more. The Scottish number eight, who was sidelined for over a year due to knee reconstruction when injured in Ireland's valedictory Triple Crown win over Scotland in March 2004, has been withdrawn from the Lions' team to play the Maoris today.
Taylor had completed his rehabilitation programme for a hamstring injury but following training yesterday morning felt discomfiture in his left hamstring. In time-honoured if ominous "as a precaution" fashion, he has been withdrawn from the Maori game and will undergo fitness tests and monitoring over the next few days.
Assistant coach Andy Robinson maintained last night that Taylor should be fit for the Otago game next Saturday. However, given the talented but injury-prone Scot's tour debut had been delayed by the same injury, there must be a doubt about him ever getting to the playing pitch on this tour.
Michael Owen will now start the game (with Simon Easterby promoted to the bench) before heading back to be with his wife Lucie for the birth of their second child.
Meantime, Welsh flanker Ryan Jones has been called up and will arrive on Monday, though not, according to the official Lions' line, as a replacement for Taylor. This makes him the 49th playing selection for this tour, and the 46th on active duty, so to speak.
At the eve-of-match press conference Clive Woodward (flanked by Eddie O'Sullivan and Brian O'Driscoll) insisted he was "not making an issue" about the officiating by the home referees and touchjudges, and then proceeded to make a very big issue of it.
Woodward expressed his concern over the number of calls being made by the touchjudges outside of incidents involving foul play - which is the Northern Hemisphere norm. He didn't mention England's old foe from the World Cup, Steve Walsh, in charge today after two games running the line, but he may as well have.
Undoubtedly, this game constitutes a huge opportunity for Gordon D'Arcy to underline the value of his established midfield partnership with O'Driscoll and thereby stake a claim for a Test place ahead of Gavin Henson.
His cameo against Bay of Plenty will have restored his confidence. "Just from my own point of view I probably wanted to do everything in the Argentina game and I went out with too many goals," admitted D'Arcy. "I just felt more comfortable and more prepared going out in the Bay of Plenty game. Granted, it was 12 minutes but it was definitely a confidence booster."
NZ MAORIS: L MacDonald; R Gear, R Tipoki, L McAlister, C Ralph; D Hill, P Weepu; D Manu, C Flynn, C Hayman, R Filipo, S Holneck, J Gibbes (capt), M Holah, A MacDonald. Replacements: S Linklater, G Feek, W Ormond, D Braid, C McGrath, C Spencer, N Brew.
LIONS: J Lewsey (England); T Shanklin (Wales), B O'Driscoll (Ireland, capt), G D'Arcy (Ireland), S Williams (Wales); S Jones (Wales), M Dawson (England); A Sheridan (England), S Thompson (England); J White (England), S Shaw (England), P O'Connell (Ireland), R Hill (England), M Williams (Wales), S Taylor (Scotland). Replacements: S Byrne (Ireland), G Jenkins (Wales), B Kay (England), M Owen (Wales), D Peel (Wales), R O'Gara (Ireland), S Horgan (Ireland).
Referee: S Walsh (New Zealand).
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1930 - Maoris 13 Lions 19. 1950 - Maoris 9 Lions 14. 1959 - Maoris 6 Lions 12. 1966 - Maoris 14 Lions 16. 1971 - Maoris 12 Lions 23. 1977 - Maoris 19 Lions 22. 1993 - Maoris 20 Lions 24.
ODDS (Paddy Powers): Maoris, Draw, Lions. Handicap betting (=Maoris + pts) 10/11 Maoris, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 Lions.
FORECAST: Lions to win.
