Johnson will not go on Lions tour

Former England and Lions captain Martin Johnson will not be going on tour to New Zealand this summer.

Johnson is set to announce that he will be involved in a testimonial game at Twickenham on the day that the Lions play the first game of their 11-match New Zealand tour.

The 34-year-old World Cup winner, who retired from international rugby a year ago, was capped 84 times by England and went on three tours with the Lions - including twice as captain.

But on June 4th, when the Lions play against Bay of Plenty in Rotorua, Johnson will be involved in a game against a Jonah Lomu XV as part of his testimonial year.

Stuart Henry, a member of Johnson's testimonial committee said: "It can be taken as a fair assumption that Martin's involvement in the Twickenham fixture will mean he will not be going on the Lions tour."

The announcement of the fixture would appear to end speculation that Johnson would be considered for the trip by Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward - the man who masterminded England's 2003 World Cup triumph when Johnson was captain.

Johnson has previously played down suggestions he would tour, although he has never officially ruled out the possibility.

In December of last year Johnson said: "If you retire from international rugby, you know what you are getting into - or rather, you know what you're getting out of."

Ireland full-back Geordan Murphy has called for Brian O'Driscoll to be appointed Lions skipper for the summer tour.

England's Jason Robinson appears to be the Ireland captain's his only rival but Murphy believes the Leinster player should be given the honour.

"Brian is a great leader. He's very lucky that he has a talented Ireland squad to work with but everyone knows he's an exceptional player," said Murphy.

"He's a talisman for the side and brings confidence to the players around him. He'd make a good Lions captain. I'm sure he'd be as influential for the Lions as he is for Ireland.

"When Brian first came onto the scene he wasn't as physically developed as he is now," he said. "The game has become more physical and he's adapted. He's the complete centre now."

Biarritz's Serge Betsen said the trip on Stuart Abbott last weekend that sidelined the Wasps and England centre for the rest of the season with a broken leg was unintentional.

The France flanker stuck his leg out and tripped Abbott after being wrong-footed by a sidestep during Biarritz's 18-15 victory over the European champions last weekend and now faces suspension after he was cited by Wasps on Monday.

"I didn't intend to do anyone any harm," Betsen said in yesterday's edition of French sports daily L'Equipe. "I didn't intend to hurt Abbott and I'm really sorry for him.

Betsen was concerned he might miss France's first two matches in the Six Nations - against Scotland on February 5th and England the following Sunday. "A tough sanction would not be fair and it would be very frustrating to miss one or two matches of the championship," he said.

Wales coach Mike Ruddock gave Cardiff prop John Yapp his first call-up when he named a 30-man squad for the Six Nations yesterday.

WALES SQUAD: Forwards: A Jones, G Jenkins, J Yapp, M Davies, R McBryde, S Jones, B Cockbain, G Llewellyn, R Sidoli, L Charteris, I Gough, D Jones, J Thomas, C Charvis, M Williams, M Owen, Backs: R Jones, D Peel, G Cooper, M Phillips, S Jones, C Sweeney, S Williams, G Henson, S Parker, T Shanklin, H Luscombe, R Williams, K Morgan, G Thomas.