Tourists in recovery mode
Lions coach Warren Gatland has delivered an upbeat fitness bulletin on three members of his squad.
Captain Sam Warburton, halfback Conor Murray and lock Alun Wyn Jones are all currently injured.
They were named last month in the 41-man squad for the tour of New Zealand, that starts in just under a month, and remain on course to be fully fit.
Warburton is sidelined with a knee injury but he could play for Cardiff ahead of the Lions' departure for Auckland on May 29.
Ireland star Murray, meanwhile, has not played since mid-March due to a shoulder problem, and Warburton's Wales teammate Jones also has a shoulder injury.
“He [Warburton] is good,” Lions head coach Gatland said yesterday.
“I spoke to Sam and he feels that he could play now, and so he has made some really good progress and is really happy with how he has responded to treatment.
“I expect him to play before he goes to New Zealand.
“[Jones] is making good progress as well. [Lions assistant coach] Steve Borthwick went down and saw him last week, and he's confident that he is going to be okay as well.
“Conor Murray, the prognosis with him looks pretty positive in terms of hopefully getting back and getting a game for Munster..”
Meanwhile, Gatland will warn Maro Itoje to expect New Zealand to target him on the tour, reported the UK Daily
yesterday.
Gatland believes shutting down the best young forward in European rugby will be a tactical and psychological objective for the world champions in the three-test series.
At 22, Itoje is the youngest member of Gatland’s squad and has only 12 England caps.
Though his potential is huge, his club and country career has mostly been characterised by success, and no Six Nations opponent, with the exception of Ireland in Dublin in March, has been able to smother him.
Gatland expects Itoje to shine in New Zealand but says: “He could be a player they may target, and I’ll be interested to see how he responds to that. They might see him as potentially a key for the Lions and see if they can shut him down, or physically dominate him.
“New Zealand sides sometimes go on with a different approach. Everyone talks about their ability to play rugby, quality rugby, but when they need to they can mix it up as well. They can change your focus and turn that into a bit of a dogfight.
“I think we saw that the week after they lost to Ireland in Chicago. They went to Dublin and it wasn’t about the performance. It was about the result. They’d had a kick up the backside and thought — whatever it takes we’ve got to win this match.” Gatland shares the high opinion of Itoje held by Eddie Jones, the England coach. “I think as an athlete he’s something a little bit special,” Gatland said. “He’s still learning. The more he plays the better he’s going to get. He’s got a massive engine on him and his work rate is just phenomenal. Hopefully we can get him to play a little bit smarter in terms of picking his moments. Just looking at him, he will respond to that challenge. “He’s someone you couldn’t ignore. “In the last few years he hasn’t been in many games where he’s been part of the losing team. As a youngster I don’t think you think too much. “Winning becomes an expectation. If you look at the second-rows there’s going to be a huge amount of competition. He looks like someone who’s a little bit special and he’s going to thrive in New Zealand.”