Looking for Lions
Gareth Cooper: Making a place for himself
The British and Irish rugby season is well and truly underway, and while all the players no doubt began their seasons focused on the tasks ahead, a greater prize awaits some 35-odd at the end of the season: a British and Irish Lions tour place.
With many of Scotland and Ireland's internationals getting a break last weekend , English and Welsh players had a chance to put their hands up and sneak ahead in the running.
That said, perhaps it would have been better for the English players to keep their heads down a bit, given the effect the All Blacks can have on Lions chances at the moment!
Two rounds of Heineken Cup loom large to help those on a run of form maintain momentum and give those who suffered at the hands of SH opposition in November a chance to redeem themselves. What might Toby flood prove against Dan Carter at club level for example?
We shall see, but for now, here are the movers and shakers from the third November weekend, but there's probably one or two we missed, as we are sure you'll let us know!
| Full-back | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Lee Byrne | ||||||||
| Delon Armitage (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Geordan Murphy (down) | ||||||||
| Keith Earls | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Girvan Dempsey (down) | ||||||||
| Morgan Stoddart | |||||||||
Notes: Lee Byrne is pretty much a shoe-in on current form, but the battle is hotting up for that other spot. Delon Armitage looked assured and mature against the All Blacks and moves up into Test contention, but while he toils away in the Challenge Cup for the next two weeks, Geordan Murphy will be in the spotlight against Perpignan...
| Wings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Shane Williams | ||||||||
| Mark Jones (up) | |||||||||
| Chris Paterson (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Rob Kearney (down) | ||||||||
| Rory Lamont (down) | |||||||||
| Leigh Halfpenny | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Shane Horgan | ||||||||
| Paul Sackey (down) | |||||||||
| Thom Evans | |||||||||
Notes: Mark Jones and Chris Paterson played starring roles for Wales and Edinburgh respectively over the weekend, and retake their places on the plane. No movement anywhere else, with Paul Sackey very quiet for England.
| Centres | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Tommy Bowe | ||||||||
| Tom Shanklin | |||||||||
| Luke Fitzgerald | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Brian O'Driscoll | ||||||||
| Jamie Roberts | |||||||||
| Nick de Luca (up) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Jamie Robinson | ||||||||
| Riki Flutey | |||||||||
| Ben Cairns (down) | |||||||||
Notes: Little movement here, but Nick de Luca's impression for Edinburgh lasted enough for him to bump down team-mate Ben Cairns.
| Fly-half | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | James Hook | ||||||||
| Stephen Jones | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Toby Flood (up) | ||||||||
| Ronan O'Gara | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Danny Cipriani (down) | ||||||||
| Phil Godman | |||||||||
Notes: Stephen Jones continues to lead for Wales in a bit of a renaissance year for the 30-year-old Scarlet. Toby Flood did enough with ball in hand to knock Danny Cipriani out of the standby lounge.
| Scrum-half | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Mike Blair | ||||||||
| Danny Care | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Gareth Cooper (up) | ||||||||
| Dwayne Peel | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Eoin Reddan (down) | ||||||||
| Tomas O'Leary | |||||||||
Notes: Gareth Cooper continues to shine around the base of the scrum as Dwayne Peel's light dwindles, but Danny Care and Mike Blair are both streets ahead of the rest at the moment.
| Number eight | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Ryan Jones (up) | ||||||||
| Nick Easter (up) | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Ally Hogg (down) | ||||||||
| Andy Powell (up) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Jamie Heaslip (down) | ||||||||
| Simon Taylor (new) | |||||||||
Notes: Andy Powell was at his barnstorming best against Australia, and Nick Easter was a rare leader for England against the ABs. Moves up the charts for both of them, but Ryan Jones is still top dog.
| Openside | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | David Wallace | ||||||||
| John Barclay | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Tom Rees | ||||||||
| Martyn Williams | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Shane Jennings | ||||||||
| Michael Lipman (new) | |||||||||
Notes: No change, with neither Tom Rees nor Martyn Williams doing enough for a rise this week, but Michael Lipman did sneak his way onto the radar.
| Blindside | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Jason White | ||||||||
| Stephen Ferris | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | James Haskell (up) | ||||||||
| Alan Quinlan | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Al Strokosch | ||||||||
| Tom Croft (down) | |||||||||
Notes: James Haskell keeps on rising, with his physicality more of an option for an SA tour than Tom Croft's.
| Second row | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Paul O'Connell | ||||||||
| Donncha O'Callaghan | |||||||||
| Alun Wyn Jones | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Steve Borthwick | ||||||||
| Nathan Hines | |||||||||
| Nick Kennedy (up) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Alastair Kellock (down) | ||||||||
| Tom Palmer | |||||||||
| Ian Gough (new) | |||||||||
Notes: Nick Kennedy was a standout for England and moves onto the Test periphery, while Alun Wyn Jones and the two Munstermen appear to have the three Test spots nailed down. Ian Evans is likely to be out of contention because of injury, and so Ian Gough takes his place among the 'maybes'.
| Tighthead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Adam Jones | ||||||||
| Euan Murray | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Matt Stevens | ||||||||
| John Hayes | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Phil Vickery | ||||||||
| Rhys Thomas | |||||||||
Notes: No change here, with Adam Jones holding his own, and neither of England's props producing anything too significant.
| Hooker | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Lee Mears | ||||||||
| Ross Ford | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Jerry Flannery | ||||||||
| Rory Best | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Bernard Jackman | ||||||||
| Matthew Rees | |||||||||
Notes: Matthew Rees had a big chance to make a move, but the Welsh problems were often at his line-outs. Otherwise Lee Mears did enough to keep his place without being spectacular.
| Loosehead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack your bags | Allan Jacobsen | ||||||||
| Gethin Jenkins | |||||||||
| Standby tickets | Andrew Sheridan (up) | ||||||||
| Marcus Horan (up) | |||||||||
| Keep June free | Tim Payne (new) | ||||||||
| Moray Low | |||||||||
Notes: Andrew Sheridan moves up by default after the injury to Duncan Jones all but rules him out of the tour, with Tim Payne joining the list. Picked ahead of Sheridan he may have been, but 'Ted' is still the first-choice for us here.