O’Connell to Captain British & Irish Lions in Opening Game

By Robin Scott; published on May 28, 2009 at 11:58 am

Paul O'Connell on the Attack in 3rd New Zealand Test, Lions Tour 2005

The manager of the British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa, Gerald Davies, has this morning announced the Lions team for the first Tour match of 2009.

The team, which is to play the Royal XV in Phokeng, Rustenburg, south Africa, will be captained by Munsterman Paul O’Connell.

The squad is made up of a mix of returning Lions and new Tourists, with a preference for new blood. 14 players within the 22-man squad are on their first Lions Tour. The eight previous Lions in the squad are Shane Williams (2008 IRB player of the year), Ronan O’Gara, Andrew Sheridan, Simon Shaw, Paul O’Connell, Martyn Williams, Phil Vickery and Stephen Jones, who have 546 international appearances between them.

Manager, Davies, Stated:

After all the preparation the match against the Royal XV on Saturday marks the start of the 2009 tour. Everyone in the tour party is looking forward to getting the playing part of the tour underway.”

Commenting on the team selection Head Coach Ian McGeechan said,

I think it is really exciting that we have a lot of players making their debuts. I remember my debut against Western Transvaal at Potchefstroom in 1974 and it is a career highlight. For young men such as Keith Earls and Jamie Roberts it will be a day to remember and they will be thrilled to get an early taste of match action on the tour. Outside these guys is the proven experienced combination of the Ospreys’ back three of Byrne, Bowe and Shane Williams.

While we have a lot of players making their Lions debuts there is a huge amount of international experience in the team. The average age is 28 that reflects the maturity we have in the squad. On Saturday we have in the team Martyn Williams, Ronan O’Gara and Simon Shaw who are on their third Lions’ tour. They know exactly what is in store in terms of the provincial matches. Scottish captain Mike Blair is at scrum half while players of the calibre of Paul O’Connell, Joe Worsley and Adam Jones have played over 50 Tests each.

Following excellent preparation and a period of acclimatisation in South Africa I know the lads are raring to go on Saturday against the Royal XV and will be anxious to get the tour off to the best possible start,” added McGeechan.

British & Irish Lions Squad versus Royal XV on Saturday 30th May

Starting XV:
15. Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales)
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Wales)
13. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)
10. Ronan O’Gara (Munster/Ireland)
9. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland)
8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
7. Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
6. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)
5. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland) captain
4. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)
3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
2. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
1. Andrew Sheridan (Sales Sharks/England)

Replacements:
16. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
17. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England)
18. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
19. Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland)
20. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)
21. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
22. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)

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Posted by Robin Scott on May 28, 2009. Filed under British & Irish Lions,Picture Gallery,Rugby Union,Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

News Tags: British & Irish Lions, Lions Tour, Lions Tour 2009, South Africa.

About Robin Scott

Co-Founder of The Global Herald, Robin Scott has written for many publications. Prior to establishing a series of digital publications, Robin completed a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Website: http://theglobalherald.com/