“I disagree with those who see this as some kind of fourth Test,” he pronounced. “We’ve barely had a run together since the end of the Super 12 tournament in May, and the Lions are fielding something very close to their first-choice side.”Graham Henry and the rest of the Lions hierarchy will not buy the Queensland line for a second. While Eales would leave a crater-sized hole in any side, the Reds can at least call on another Wallaby lock in Mark Connors and will arm themselves with a mass of international experience. Four forwards ­ Michael Foley, Glenn Panoho, Matt Cockbain and Toutai Kefu ­ have served considerable amounts of time in the trenches at Test level, as have the half-backs Sam Cordingley and Elton Flatley. A younger Kefu, the centre Steve, was one of the big successes of Queensland’s run into the Super 12 semi-finals, while the loose-head prop Nick Stiles is favoured to face the Lions when the really serious stuff begins here on 30 June.As Eales pointed out yesterday: “Some of our younger guys are about to be involved in the biggest provincial game of their careers.

England are now right up there with the best in the world, and I rate this Lions squad higher than England. These games don’t come along too often.” Which made it especially unfortunate that two of the state’s brighter prospects, the outside-half Shane Drahm and the full-back Nathan Williams, should have crossed McBain by breaking a curfew after Tuesday’s match in Townsville, in which both played. They were promptly ditched from tomorrow’s 22-man squad, which just goes to show that some Australians do give a XXXX about team discipline.The Lions match-day party steered well clear of the training paddock yesterday, not least because Andy Robinson’s sweat sessions have left the entire squad counting bruises now developing on the bruises that were already there. The casualties have been unusually heavy, even for a Lions trip, and final decisions are imminent on the two incapacitated hookers, Phil Greening of Wasps and Robbie McBryde of Llanelli.Greening said before leaving Townsville that, even if he passed an assessment test over the weekend, he might be forced to go “off tour” for a week to complete his recovery in a clinic. That would leave him only the midweek match with the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on 3 July as a realistic target.There is also serious concern about Mike Catt, one of the central performers for England in recent months. The Bath midfielder’s calf problem is said to be improving steadily, but, if he fails to make the cut for next Tuesday’s match with Australia A in Gosford, his hopes and dreams for this tour may subside into nothing.Queensland (v British Lions, Ballymore, tomorrow): M Tabrett; J Pelesafa, D Herbert (capt), S Kefu, D McCallum; E Flatley, S Cordingley; N Stiles.

M Foley, G Panoho, N Sharpe, M Connors, M Cockbain, D Croft, T Kefu, Replacements: B Wakely, A Scotney, J Ramsamy, J Roe, M Mitchell, S Kerr, S Hardman.. Bath’s Dan Lyle has declared himself fit for the “most significant” day in United States rugby history. Bath’s Dan Lyle has declared himself fit for the “most significant” day in United States rugby history. Lyle was a doubt for tomorrow’s Test with England after suffering a cheekbone fracture in the Pacific Rim tournament defeat by Argentina last month.
However, a specialist has confirmed that Lyle will be at no extra risk if he turns out at Balboa Park at the weekend and he will take his place at No 8 for the first clash the two countries since England won a pre-World Cup Test 108-6 at Twickenham in 1999.Other familiar faces in the USA Eagles line-up are the captain, Dave Hodges, who plays his club rugby in Wales with Llanelli and the Roma lock Luke Gross, who will join Hodges at Stradey Park next season.Such is the importance of the fixture that Fox Sports International is televising the game live on its subscription channel throughout the States, the first time they have broadcast a home Eagles match. Battling against the major team sports, such as American football, basketball and ice hockey, the 15-man rugby code is struggling desperately to find a niche.”Our whole budget for the year is around £1.5m,” Scott Compton said. “We have a few sponsors and have benefited greatly from a 10-year investment from BSkyB.