O’Callaghan In For Second Test?

Speculation was rife in the aftermath of the Lions’ 109-6 thrashing of Manawatu that Ireland lock Donncha O’Callaghan may be more than a bit player in Saturday’s second Test against the All Blacks.

O’Callaghan let slip in a post-match interview that Lions head coach Sir Clive Woodward had pulled him off at the interval of today’s clash in Palmerston North, perhaps saving the 26-year-old firebrand for this weekend’s must-win outing against Graham Henry’s New Zealand side.

Post-Match Reaction: Manawatu 6 Lions 109

“It was good, a really big performance,” O’Callaghan told Sky Sports of today’s record tour win in New Zealand. “It went our way a bit.

“We came in at half-time and Clive pulled me aside and that was his call. I can’t read anything into it, I just want to play my best and you want to put yourself in a position. He (Woodward) will make the right choice for the weekend.

“It (playing in a Lions Test) means everything, it’s the pinnacle of your career, you think of the people who have worn the jersey before. It’s the greatest honour.”

Midweek coach Ian McGeechan admitted that O’Callaghan and a number of others, including five-try hero Shane Williams, had boosted the Lions’ options ahead of the second Test.

“Shane did well. We talked about getting a real flow to our game and if we did that we had people who could take advantage,” said McGeehan, London Wasps’ new Director of Rugby.

“The good thing was we never let them go on their own. If you think individual and play individual you can be picked off by the opposition.

“I think there was a lot of unselfish play out there. The forwards were very disciplined in what they were doing and where they were going.

“The statement had to be quite clear that we knew how to play rugby and there had to be a ruthlessness about it.

“We now have to look at the players and how effective they were in their roles and how it fits into the game plan for Saturday, which is a few levels up and more intense.”