Now that the initial squad of 37 Lions has been announced, the survival exercise begins. The selected players must try to keep themselves in one piece for another 24 days.
Sadly, there are bound to be some casualties before take-off. History dictates that six to eight of the chosen players won’t make it through the trip.
Head coach Warren Gatland will cross his fingers to no avail — as the punishing contests in the coming weeks are bound to take some toll.
Thus, stand by for the focus to shift to the standby contenders.
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Unleashed: The Lions squad was names this week - but faces will change as the tour progresses
Many of those who watched TV coverage of the squad announcement on Tuesday and cursed their misfortune at missing the cut will soon have cause to rejoice privately at fate’s intervention. But Gatland has insisted that no official list of back-up players is in place, which will lead to feverish speculation about the identity of the next cabs off the rank, destined for the airport.
In the interests of trying to narrow the field, how about this for a XV made up of those who have been overlooked — Byrne; Zebo, Hook, Twelvetrees, Visser; Wilkinson, Care; Sheridan, R Best, Ross; Hines, Launchbury; Wood, R Jones, Robshaw?
As a fall-back plan, that isn’t a bad collection of talent. Some might say that side would give any potential team the Lions could muster a decent game — especially taking into account the obvious motivation generated by rejection. But in reality, that rejection won’t last long as maybe half of that line-up will eventually end up Down Under.
Revenge mission: Jonny Wilkinson tasted defeat the last time the Lions toured Australia - what odds he appears Down Under this summer?One issue which may become a problem for Gatland though, not to mention the players concerned, is that of extended rest periods.
Strange as it may seem, being given a break when club duties are over is not what the standby cast will want, not this year anyway.
Selection for the home nations’ summer tours may have a bearing on who the Lions summon to answer an emergency.
Ryan Jones and James Hook have been left out of the Wales squad to tour Japan, but have been assured that won’t prejudice their Lions hopes, which is simply not true.
A point to prove: Chris Robshaw could miss England's tour of Argentina
A week off is one thing, but too much down time and they won’t be sufficiently battle-hardened to earn a call-up. The same is true for Chris Robshaw, who may argue against the notion of being left out of England’s trip to Argentina.
In the minds of the standby hopefuls, the lure of the beach can wait; they need to play on.
Amid the raging debate about the Jonny Wilkinson-Lions saga, there has been a major assumption: that his Toulon side will reach the Top 14 final on June 1 — thus preventing him from being clear to face the Barbarians in Hong Kong on the same day.
Now that this scenario has had such a crucial impact on Warren Gatland’s planning, sod’s law dictates that it will not pan out as expected.
I love it when a plan comes together: Where will Wilkinson be on May 27?The Cote d’Azur club’s assembled cast of superstars have not utterly dominated all-comers of late, and Toulouse might have something to say about their advance to the showpiece in Paris.
What price Toulon losing their semi-final, leaving Wilkinson suddenly available before Gatland’s pride depart on May 27? Should that happen, the Lions coach will surely be straight on the phone to the English icon. . .
Brian O’Driscoll faces a major dilemma about the timing of his retirement. Having been named in the Lions squad, the veteran Ireland centre is weighing up his post-tour plans. The 34-year-old’s deliberations have been complicated by the appointment of Joe Schmidt, his Leinster coach, to take charge of the Ireland team.
O’Driscoll has admitted that the chance to work with the acclaimed Kiwi at Test level is a big factor. But he has been a revered giant of the game for so long that this column hopes he doesn’t prolong his international career.
It would be far better to end on a high with the Lions and retire on his own terms rather than risk fading away through injury or — perish the thought — eventually being dropped.
A farewell season with Leinster would make sense, but not with Ireland. O’Driscoll should make the choice while it is his to make and leave his adoring public wanting more.
Farewell tour: Brian O'Driscoll (third left) became the third player to be picked for four Lions squads
While Australia coach Robbie Deans has been quick to play down his team’s big advantage over the Lions — understanding and cohesion based on familiarity — the touring party’s hierarchy were encouragingly bullish after the squad was named.
In fact, some of their utterances amounted to sabre-rattling.
Captain Sam Warburton set his stall out for a clean sweep of victories, while tour manager Andy Irvine dismissed the notion that the opener against the Barbarians would be an ‘exhibition’, insisting that the aim would be to ‘smash’ the invitational side to lay down a marker. For now, it is only talk, but at least it is fighting talk.
How refreshing that, for once, timid diplomacy was shelved in favour of bold statements of intent.
The Championship play-offs begin this weekend with much less of a credibility issue than they had last season.
It has been confirmed that three of the four clubs involved — Newcastle, Nottingham and Leeds — pass the infernal minimum standards criteria for entry into the Aviva Premiership. This is good news for the authorities, as it means they only face a 25 per cent chance of embarrassment if Bedford, who don’t tick all the relevant boxes, prevail.
Of course, London Welsh’s successful appeal last summer has established a legal precedent which means if the Blues upset the odds they can then surely upset the establishment in court, if necessary.
It shouldn’t come to that though, with Newcastle destined for a welcome return to the top flight under Dean Richards’s shrewd guidance.
