Hook And Williams Start For Lions

HOOK AND WILLIAMS START FOR LIONS

Adam Jones will be the third Osprey involved in the match, having been named amongst the replacements.

The Lions will be led by Munster lock Donncha O'Callaghan, who becomes the fourth man to skipper the Lions in 2009 following fellow Irishmen Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll and England prop Phil Vickery.

Lions head coach Ian McGeechan has re-iterated that Test selection will not take place until after tomorrow's game, meaning each and every member of the matchday 22 still has everything to play for.

"This is Test week and there is a noticeable change in attitude within the touring party," said McGeechan.

"We are now heading towards the business end of the tour and the reason why we have come to South Africa.

"As you would expect ,the immediate focus is the next match against the Southern Kings on Tuesday before attention turns to selection for the First Test for which all players will be considered."

The Lions have won all five tour matches so far and McGeechan is looking to keep that momentum going in the lead up to the three-Test series against the world champions.

Tuesday's opposition have been formed with next year's expanded Super 15 in mind and, although this will be their first competitive game together, McGeechan insists the Lions face a tough challenge at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

"The Southern Kings are not a regular team but we understand there are some very talented players in the squad for the match. Experience tells me that you can never underestimate any South African team and like the other teams we have faced on the tour so far we will not take them lightly.

"Seven players are backing up from the Western Province match with Nathan Hines, Joe Worsley, Riki Flutey and Keith Earls given the opportunity in the starting XV in different positions.

"The team will be captained by proud Munster man Donncha O'Callaghan, an experienced Lions tourist, who is a very popular member of the squad. This will be his 10th Lions match including two Tests against New Zealand during the 2005 tour.

"As mentioned by doctor Gary O'Driscoll yesterday at our medical briefing we will give Mike Blair a fitness test on Tuesday morning. He had to withdraw from the replacements bench against Western Province last Saturday due to a foot injury."

British & Irish Lions vs Southern Kings

15. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)14. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)13. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)12. Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland)11. Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster/Ireland)10. James Hook (Ospreys/Wales)9. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland) 8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales)7. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)6. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)5. Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland) captain4. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)3. Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland)2. Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland)1. Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks/England)

Replacements

16. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)17. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)18. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)19. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)20. Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England)21. Ronan O'Gara (Munster/Ireland)22. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England)