NEWS ROUND-UP:GORDON D'ARCY has emerged as a leading candidate to travel with the Lions later this month after Welsh centre Tom Shanklin was ruled out for 16 weeks.
Shanklin dislocated his shoulder after falling awkwardly on Wednesday night during a Magners League match for his club, Cardiff Blues.
The 29-year-old had an MRI scan yesterday which revealed that the joint would have to undergo reconstructive surgery. The tour begins on May 30th in Rustenburg.
D’Arcy is now likely to be one of the international players in coach Ian McGeechan’s sights. The Irish inside centre has already been on a Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005 and is the regular partner of Brian O’Driscoll, who is certain to play in the Test matches if he stays uninjured.
Wales’ Gavin Henson is also expected to be fit for consideration, although he would be seen as being short on game-time following an ankle injury. Glasgow’s Max Evans and Tom Evans as well as England’s star outhalf Danny Cipriani may also be considered.
D’Arcy can cover fullback, centre and the wing, while Cipriani can play at outhalf and in the centre. Henson’s range would also be of use on tour as he covers out-half, centre and fullback. Max Evans is primarily an outside centre and Tom Evans a winger.
McGeechan will probably wait until next week before he makes any announcements as Munster’s Alan Quinlan is due to appear before an independent disciplinary committee in Dublin next Wednesday following the European Cup semi-final last Saturday against Leinster in Croke Park.
The backrow, who was selected for the Lions, was cited by the match citing commissioner, John Byett (England), for alleged contact with the eye/eye area of Leinster captain Leo Cullen.
The controversial incident, which took place in the second half, was clearly caught on camera.
The independent disciplinary committee will be chaired by Roger Morris (Wales) and also comprises Simon Thomas (Wales) and Mike Hamlin (England). The law under which Quinlan is to be prosecuted is Law 10.4 (k) – acts contrary to good sportsmanship.
There has been much speculation about the length of suspension Quinlan might expect with attention falling on Neil Best’s 18-week ban for a similar offence. However, Leicester’s Martin Corry was suspended for just six weeks earlier this year when the disciplinary committee found him guilty of making contact with the eye/eye area of Ospreys hooker Richard Hibbard, but deemed it unintentional.
Meanwhile South Africa and Italy confirmed their bids to host either the 2015 or 2019 World Cup tournaments. The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) said it had handed in a bid book to the International Rugby Board after the country’s Senate approved a financial package for the tournament.
South African Rugby Union (SARU) president Oregan Hoskins said: “The government has been very supportive and they have provided the financial backing to allow us to complete what we believe is a compelling case to bring the rugby World Cup back home.”
South Africa has gone ahead with its bid after the newly-elected Jacob Zuma-led government agreed to underwrite the costs of staging the event. England and Japan are also in contention but Australia, Scotland and Ireland have withdrawn from the process after saying it would be too expensive to host, with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) claiming the IRB’s guarantee fee was too high.
The IRB require a fee of €90 million for the 2015 tournament and €108 million for the 2019 tournament. It also keeps all commercially-generated revenue with the hosts retaining only ticket revenue.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his government officials held long discussions with the RFU, who confirmed this week it wished to stage the 2015 event.
Twickenham, Wembley, Old Trafford and Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium would be the principal venues, despite concerns over the €90 million guarantee.
Italy’s bid would use a raft of famous soccer stadiums and also includes Marseille after the French city held matches in the 2007 RWC hosted by France.
SARU and FIR will present their bids to the IRB Council in Dublin on May 13th. The announcement of the successful bids will be made on July 28th.
