Ireland captain Rory Best is expected to be named starting hooker for the first game of the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
The Ulster man is set to get the first crack at that Lions No.2 jersey after Scarlets hooker Ken Owens confirmed he would definitely miss the tour opener against New Zealand Barbarians.
Owens missed Scarlets Guinness PRO12 final victory over Munster and is nursing a sore ankle. He told the BBC:
“I’ve got a couple more boxes to tick, but hopefully [I’ll be] fit for the second or third game.”
Best has been training with the squad since they were merely 14, back on May 15 at Vale of Glamorgan. He is likely to get the starting nod, along with Ulster teammate Iain Henderson while Jared Payne and a couple of Leinster players will also be hoping to feature.
The main competition for Best is Jamie George, of Saracens and England, who was primarily used as a ‘finisher’/sub by Eddie Jones in the Six Nations. Whoever gets the No.2 jersey first obviously has the first chance to stake a claim for the Test Series, which starts on June 24.
Some big calls here https://t.co/dYb5XvjsPd
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 30, 2017
The most likely call-up for Owens, should he not shake his ankle issues, would be England captain Dylan Hartley although Ross Ford of Scotland remains an option and has toured before.
Lions captain Sam Warburton has full recovered from the knee injury that ended his season with Cardiff Blues and he hopes to feature against Barbarians. He told reporters:
“[Missing the early tour games] is what frustrated me four years ago… I was pretty jealous waiting for that game.”
He added, “The good thing is, when the first game gets underway they start coming think and fast. It’s nice to get that first game under your belt.”
The third game of the tour is Crusaders in Christchurch and is likely to be the guts of the XV Gatland wants to start against the All Blacks. If Owens is back in time for that, he may have to settle for a spot on the bench and go from there.
