There are 60 days to go before the Lions open their South Africa tour against a Highveld XV in Rustenburg and three weeks before the squad is named. As the head coach, Ian McGeechan, mulls over his options he will not find out until later this week whether two grand slam winning centres, Mike Tindall and Gavin Henson, will be fit for consideration.
The pair limped out of Gloucester's EDF Energy Cup semi-final victory over the Ospreys in Coventry on Saturday. Tindall went first and the England midfielder, who has never been on a Lions tour, will have a scan on his right knee tomorrow. Henson was helped off just before half-time after twisting on his right ankle. He left the ground on crutches and saw a specialist yesterday after having a scan Last season, he needed an operation, which ruled him out for six months, after injuring his left ankle.
The Lions will announce their squad of 35 or 36 players for the tour to South Africa on 21 April. The date is later than usual so the selectors can watch the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, as well as those of the European Challenge Cup where interest will settle on the England outside-half, Jonny Wilkinson, who has not played since last September when he suffered a dislocated kneecap playing for Newcastle at Gloucester.
Wilkinson was yesterday included in Newcastle's revised squad for the Challenge Cup. The Falcons face Saracens at Vicarage Road on April 12 and they hope the outside-half will be back in action by then after his intended comeback earlier this month was delayed after he suffered a setback in training.
The Saracens chairman, Nigel Wray, yesterday denied that the club was going to turn into London South Africa after a consortium based in the republic became co-owners of the Vicarage Road side and announced that 15 players would be released at the end of the season. The Rugby Football Union, concerned that an English club was turning into a station for overseas players, investigated whether the consortium, which has stakes in the Super 14 sides Blue Bulls and Western Stormers, had breached International Board rules on club ownership by taking a 50% stake in Saracens.
It is unable to interfere because Wray, who has bankrolled Saracens for most of the professional era, remains in co-control. He said that all the contracts of the players who were leaving would be honoured and added that the bottom line for the club was turning an annual loss of up to £3m into a profit.
"I hope very much we'll have a few more South African players because they're very talented," said Wray. "But we're also heavily committed to putting more money into our academy, so we have more youngsters coming through. It's a two-pronged attack. What I want back is winning, success, creating something that endures, and it has to stand on its own feet financially to endure.
"How many Arsenal fans are worried that there's one Englishman in their side? The answer is they sell out every week. It's about winning, the fans don't care. We need to widen our market. If we can engage the South African community on top of our own then we're beginning to make things work, because at the moment rugby isn't ticking.
"We lose between £2-3m per annum and half the Premiership are roughly doing what we're doing. It's a serious financial situation. I'm not in the slightest bit worried because we've got nothing to lose. We are not sustainable as we are at the moment."
