British & Irish Lions tour manager Gerald Davies has announced James Hook as the tour replacement for the injured Leigh Halfpenny.
James Hook has beenannounced by British & Irish Lions tour manager Gerald Davies asthe tour replacement for the injured Leigh Halfpenny.
Davies said, "Leigh Halfpenny has returnedto Cardiff where he is to undergo treatment for his thigh injury. Asthe injury means he will miss the start of the tour Ian McGeechan andhis fellow selectors have called up James Hook to the squad for thetour to South Africa."
Commenting on the replacement Head Coach Ian McGeechan said, "Afteranalysing our requirements for a replacement as we head to South Africaon Sunday we decided that James was the ideal person to come into thetour squad.
"A very important consideration for us was to strengthen thegoal-kicking options in the squad. James is an accomplished goal kickerand has scored over 200 points for his country in his 33 appearances.Also, he has played at fly-half, centre and fullback for Wales but isalso comfortable at outside centre."
"He is very familiar with other backs in the squad having played inthe same Welsh team as Mike Phillips, Stephen Jones, Jamie Roberts,Shane Williams and Lee Byrne. Three of these also play in the Ospreysteam with him that also includes Tommy Bowe. Therefore is an existingunderstanding between all of these players.
"James has been pulled out of the Wales tour to Canada and USA bythe Welsh Rugby Union. He was due to leave with them today for Canadabut instead James will now join us in camp in Bagshot. We are verygrateful to the WRU for releasing James for the British & IrishLions tour," added McGeechan.