Keith Wood has tipped his fellow Irish star Brian O'Driscoll to be a Lions hit in the unfamiliar role of full-back. Talented centre O'Driscoll will wear the number 15 jersey during his eagerly awaited Lions debut against Western Australia on Friday. The exercise is aimed at establishing whether he could play as possible test match cover for full-back favourite Iain Balshaw.
Wood, who captains the tourists while Martin Johnson takes an early breather, believes that 22-year-old O'Driscoll will take this surprise switch of positions in his stride. "I have no doubts about Brian's talent - I expect him to go well. He is the best player Ireland have had for donkey's years, and he will be comfortable at full-back," said Wood.
Will Greenwood and Mark Taylor form the initial midfield combination, with Lions coach Graham Henry taking an early opportunity to assess options ahead of the Wallabies Test series, which starts in Brisbane on June 30. Explaining O'Driscoll's move, Henry said: "The major reason is that we are looking for options in a 22-man Test squad if we didn't have another full-back apart from the number 15 that was playing. Brian has got all the attacking attributes and characteristics to play there."
Nine of Friday's line-up - O'Driscoll, Taylor, Ben Cohen, Dan Luger, Ronan O'Gara, Darren Morris, Phil Vickery, Danny Grewcock and Malcolm O'Kelly – will be making their Lions debuts.
Wood, who has captained Ireland 18 times during a 43-cap Test career, cannot wait to get the ten-match trip underway. "The Lions captaincy is an incredible honour. It's a really good feeling, and I want to try and do the job justice. There has been a big buzz around the squad - people are dying to play. We want to start the tour with a win, and perform the way we aim to play throughout the next six weeks," he said.
The Lions should easily beat their opening opponents, having destroyed them 44-0 (1989), 60-3 (1966) and 71-3 (1930) on previous tours. The Western Australian side largely comprises of little-known players with New Zealand backgrounds, although Wallabies Test prop Patricio Noriega and former Saracens fly-half Duncan McRae are among the replacements. If the Lions hit anything like top gear, then a landslide victory should be in store.
Lions team: B O'Driscoll (Ireland); B Cohen (England), W Greenwood (England), M Taylor (Wales), D Luger (England); R O'Gara (Ireland), R Howley (Wales); D Morris (Wales), K Wood (Ireland, capt), P Vickery (England), D Grewcock (England), M O'Kelly (Ireland), R Hill (England), N Back (England), S Quinnell (Wales).
Replacements: I Balshaw (England), R Henderson (Ireland), A Healey (England), S Taylor (Scotland), J Davidson (Ireland), J Leonard (England), R McBryde (Wales).
Western Australia: S Apaapa; M Gardiner, A Broughton, H Waldin or M Harrington, B Becroft; T Feather, M Fleet; D Gleghorn or A New, C Duff, T Stevens or A New, N Hollis, T Thomas (capt), H Grace, R Coney, A Brain.
Replacements: D McRae, R Barugh, M Harrington or H Waldin, P Noriega, T Cameron, G Plimmer, A New or R Kellam.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
