Ian McGeechan picks his 2009 Lions squad on Tuesday. It will probably be a pared down 36 player group, a throwback to the South Africa tour of 1997. The media has generated a huge amount of hype around the captaincy, with the selection being narrowed to Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. The Irish Times ran a piece immediately after the Grand Slam claiming O’Connell had the blessing of Kidney and the preference of McGeechan. An O’Connell captaincy would put further distance between the current touring party and the shambles of 2005.
I think ultimately there will be a lot of leaders selected to tour within the group, the choice of figurehead is largely irrelevant once you consider the shortlist. Both Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll are winners. Both lead from the front. The real selections issues are in the pack. Selecting a mobile but physical back-row who can compete and kill the South Africans on the deck and a front five that can build and secure momentum in the set-piece.
Here is a taster of what is to come…Jim Telfer leaving the 1997 in no doubt about the scale of the task ahead.
