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Captain hook Ireland's Wood to lead Lions in tour opener
PERTH, Australia (Reuters) -- Ireland hooker Keith Wood will captain the British and Irish Lions in their opening tour match against Western Australia (WA) in Perth. Coach Graham Henry has rested captain and lock Martin Johnson for the Friday match along with number eight Lawrence Dallaglio who is recovering from a knee injury. Irish flyhalf Ronan O'Gara will make his Lions debut after Wales's Neil Jenkins and England's Jonny Wilkinson were rested. O'Gara will start alongside Wales scrumhalf Rob Howley. Jenkins suffered a head gash at training while Wilkinson is recovering from a groin strain. Irish center Brian O'Driscoll has been named at fullback. The 22-year-old is one of nine new Lions in the starting side. "I think he can play very well there, that's the first thing," Henry told a news conference. Options "But the major reason, we're looking for options. So if we have 22 in a test squad and we don't have another specialist fullback apart from the 15 who's playing, he's an option," Henry added. "And it would be difficult to do that if he hadn't played there before. "He's got all the attacking attributes to play at fullback." England's Iain Balshaw, named on the bench against WA and fresh from some fine efforts in the Six Nations championship this year, is expected to fill the number 15 spot for the first test against the Wallabies on June 30 in Brisbane. The WA team includes former New South Wales and Saracens flyhalf Duncan McRae and ex-Wallaby prop Patricio Noriega. Noriega, 29, who would have played for Australia in the 1999 World Cup but for injury, has returned from playing club rugby in France and is anxious to prove himself to selectors as a test-quality player again ahead of the series against the Lions. "I'm sure the Western Australian guys will play out of their skin on Friday night and we have to treat it as a major game, which we will," Henry said. "This is a very important game. It sets the standards for the rest of the tour." Lions: 15-Brian O'Driscoll; 14-Ben Cohen, 13-Will Greenwood, 12-Mark Taylor, 11-Dan Luger; 10-Ronan O'Gara, 9 Rob Howley; 8-Scott Quinnell, 7-Neil Back, 6-Richard Hill, 5-Malcolm O'Kelly, 4-Danny Grewcock, 3-Phil Vickery, 2-Keith Wood (captain), 1-Darren Morris. Western Australia: 15-Shannon Apaapa; 14-Mark Gardiner, 13-Aaron Broughton, 12-Hamish Waldin/Matt Harrington, 11-Brent Becroft; 10-Todd Feather, 9-Mark Fleet; 8-Anthony Brain, 7-Richard Coney, 6-Hamish Grace, 5-Trefor Thomas (captain), 4-Nathan Hollis, 3-Tim Stevens/Adam New, 2-Campbell Duff, 1-Dirk Gleghorn/Tim Stevens. Reserves: 16-Duncan McRae, 17-Robbie Barugh, 18-Matt Harrington/Hamish Waldin, 19-Patricio Noriega, 20-Tim Cameron, 21-Greg Plimmer, 22-Adam New/Rob Kellam.
Quarantine officials on full alertAustralian quarantine officials said Wednesday they were on full alert for the arrival of thousands of British and Irish rugby union fans who could carry foot-and-mouth disease into Australia. "Australia welcomes the Lions and their fans and hopes they enjoy the tour, but we will not be taking any chances that they could unwittingly carry an unwelcome hitch-hiker, such as foot-and-mouth disease," Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said in a statement. A foot-and-mouth epidemic on mainland Britain has hit almost 1,700 premises since February but has abated over recent weeks after the destruction of three million animals. Australia has been free of the disease for almost 130 years. Truss said an officer from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) had inspected and cleared the team's equipment in Britain to ensure everything was free of mud or other substances that could carry the virus. The tour is due to kick off in Perth on Friday when the British and Irish Lions play a Western Australian side in the first of their 10 matches. The first of their three tests against the world champion Wallabies is on June 30 in Brisbane.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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