Wood only Irish representative as Leonard leads

TIM RODBER will return to the scene of his dismissal for England three years ago when he turns out for the Lions in Saturday's opening match against an Eastern Province Invitation XV at Port Elizabeth.

The Northampton player has been named at number eight in a side that will be skippered by Jason Leonard in the absence of the Tour captain Martin Johnson who is rested. The only Irish representative on the team is Keith Wood, while Paul Wallace is named among the replacements.

Rodber, who became only the second England player to be sent off in a representative match after punching an Eastern Province opponent in retaliation, has no inhibitions about playing at the Boet Erasmus Statium in front of a partisan 45,000 crowd.

But yesterday Rodber was more concerned about missing training at Kings Park because of a high temperature, though he is confident he will be fit for Saturday.

"We have a long-term strategy over selection which initially involves all 35 players taking part in one of the two opening games by making use of substitutes," explained Eran Cotton, the Lions manager. "We have no worries about picking Tim Rodber for the first match - the incident on the England tour happened a long time ago."

In fact Rodber will benefit from the decision to include England's current back row en bloc which should allow him to put his customary rapport with Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio at the service of the Lions.

Leonard's leadership, albeit from the less familiar position of tight-head, plus the second row presence of Simon Shaw, gives the pack a reassuring England shape buttressed by Scotland's Doddie Weir (second row) and Tom Smith (loose head) with Wood at hooker.

"Many of the Lions are coming off the back of a hard domestic season, and Martin is one of those," said Cotton, explaining Johnson's omission from the first line-up. "Jason has been on a Lions tour before (in 1993) so he will know what to expect from a high-pressure opening game. We made him captain because it's obvious to us that he has the respect of the players.

The half back selection of Robert Howley and Gregor Townsend is a potential Test combination that has an early chance to establish its credentials. "It's important at this stage to get a good half-back unit going." admitted the coach Ian McGeechan. "We want to see how this pair, who haven't previously played together, will work out together."

Newcastle's former rugby league professional John Bentley and Northampton's utility back Nick Beal will be an unknown quantity on the wings at this level though Bentley has already emerged as an important catalyst in bringing the squad together, according to McGeechan. Scott Gibbs and Jeremy Guscott were the Lions Test centres on the 1993 tour of New Zealand.