No doubt much to the relief of the Lions management, Jonny Wilkinson seems likely to play in the decisive third Test in Sydney this Saturday, while the medical reports on Brian O'Driscoll, Rob Henderson and Neil Back are also encouraging.
"Jonny is doing very well, and has progressed from 50-50 to 70-30," said the team doctor James Robson. "He's being doing exceptionally well and had done lots of pool sessions and had physiotherapy."
Wilkinson was expected to resume light running today and likewise Robson confirmed that while O'Driscoll (knee), Henderson (knee) and Back (ribs) missed training again yesterday they were expected to resume training today.
Dr Robson actually gave a formal press conference yesterday, his first of the tour after being unable to fulfil a similar scheduled task twice before. The Lions doctor on the 1993 and 1997 tours, he admits this has been the most demanding of him to date and reckons the intensity of the game has increased by "40 per cent in eight years".
In addition to the loss of eight players through injury and all the additional bumps and bruises, Dr Robson cited an extraordinary example: "Of the first 29 nights I was disturbed on 22 of those nights after I'd gone to sleep."
Regarding the higher than average attritional rate of this tour, Robson said: "Something has got to be done to reduce the workload on the players, but I was saying this four years ago and other countries have adapted to this."
The primary objectives, as he sees it, must be to reduce the number of games to around the 25-30 mark, with a tour to follow, and ensure a summer off-season of up to three months.
Weighing up everything, he reckoned "it would be very difficult for rugby to produce players with the longevity of Peter Clohessy and Dai Young because of the demands now placed on modern professional players".
"I wouldn't dare ask what you guys (journalists) get, but I get six weeks (holidays) and these guys need at least double that."
And pigs might fly, particularly given the way English club owners and Twickenham are at odds.
Meanwhile, as for the Australians, they trained at an army barracks on the southern side of Sydney yesterday and reported comparatively few injury concerns. Indeed, David Griffin took a full part I line-out practice, although their other prime doubt, Stephen Larkham, took no part in contact work and even in some light passing practice still seemed bothered by his left elbow strain.
Larkham has picked up a rare nerve injury and has been unable to train for the past two days. He cannot move his arm more than a few centimetres but is hoping it will improve suddenly before the weekend.
"It's not dull, it's not painful, it just doesn't work," Larkham said yesterday. Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen said Larkham had damaged the nerve when he tried to tackle Brian O'Driscoll. He will be given until tomorrow afternoon to prove his fitness.
Much to the embarrassment of the International Rugby Board, the New Zealand RFU have effectively sabotaged the IB's plans for an annual match between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The proposed fixture was hastily announced by the IB in Melbourne last week but was not well received by the three Southern Hemisphere unions, and David Rutherford, the NZRFU chief executive, said that his union had not been told of the decision.
"I have clear instructions from the board how many internationals the All Blacks are to play a year, and they are at that limit already. Next year we have got enough, a year out from the rugby World Cup. So New Zealand's players are unavailable for it," he said.
