British and Irish Lions

British & Irish Lions Tour Manager, Gerald Davies, and Head Coach Ian McGeechan, today announced the Lions' team for the fifth match of the 2009 tour of South Africa. The selected team will play Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday June 13th and will be led by Englishman Phil Vickery.

Davies said, "As a tour party we are delighted that we have reached Cape Town and the final Saturday provincial match prior to the Test series with an unbeaten record. Team morale is high and each team that takes the field is determined to maintain the momentum and to fight for an individual Test place."

Commenting on the team selection Head Coach Ian McGeechan said, "The coaching staff is very pleased with the way the squad reacted to some bad injury news this week. The players took the news on the chin, trained well, focussed on the next match and the performance against the Sharks was excellent."

"The squad is very close as a group of players but now there is now a competitive edge developing as we approach the Test series. That is how it should be. I reminded the players when I told them the team to play Western Province that we were not selecting the Test side until next Tuesday following the Southern Kings match."

"The team for Western Province will be captained by Phil Vickery who is one of the many leaders in the squad. It is just reward for a thoroughly professional player who will play in his tenth Lions match. Vicks is a former captain of England and he played three Lions tests against Australian in 2001."

"No starting players are backing up from the Sharks match as we continue our desire to see all players involved in at least two full matches prior to Test selection. Martyn Williams comes into the starting XV following his recovery from a shoulder knock and Riki Flutey gets his first starting role after proving his fitness off the bench against the Sharks," added McGeechan.

British & Irish Lions versus Western Province on Saturday 13th June

15. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland)
13. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)
12. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)
11. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England)
10. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
9. Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England)
8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
7. Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
6. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)
5. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)
4. Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland)
3. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England) captain
2. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
1. Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks/England)

Replacements:
16. Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland)
17. Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland)
18. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)
19. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)
20. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland)
21. James Hook (Ospreys/Wales)
22. Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland)

Michael Hooper believes the British & Irish Lions' defeat to the Brumbies has given the Qantas Wallabies a boost ahead of Saturday's first Test in Brisbane.

Less than 24 hours after losing their unbeaten record in Canberra, the British & Irish Lions were given a huge boost on arrival in Brisbane when Wales wing George North was declared fit to play in the first Test on Saturday.