JOE Worsley has backed his Wasps and England colleague Phil Vickery to recover from a first Test ‘beasting’ when the British and Irish Lions conclude their tour of South Africa tomorrow.
Vickery returns to the front-line for another appointment with Springboks prop Tendai ’The Beast’ Mtawarira – a fortnight after his Lions career looked in tatters.
The England World Cup winner is one of eight changes, including a switch from wing to centre for Ireland’s Tommy Bowe, following last weekend’s agonising second Test defeat in Pretoria.
Mtawarira scrummaged Vickery into such an unrecognisable state that Lions boss Ian McGeechan had little option other than to substitute him just five minutes after half-time in Durban.
But the 33-year-old will attempt to redress the balance against a Springboks side seeking its first Test series whitewash in 118 years of Lions history.
‘‘I have known the guy for years,’’ said flanker Worsley, who makes his Lions Test debut at Ellis Park.
‘‘When you do have a bad game or things go against you, then you are just waiting for the next opportunity to go out there and do something about it.
‘‘I bet he’s over the moon that he has got a chance this weekend, rather than stewing all summer.
‘‘There are a lot of tough nuts out there, and he’s one of the toughest.’’ Vickery is among four changes forced on McGeechan, as Adam Jones and his fellow prop Gethin Jenkins, together with centres Brian O’Driscoll and Jamie Roberts, are all injured.
And McGeechan added: ‘‘Phil is a world-class prop and an outstanding tourist.
‘‘He put all his efforts into supporting Adam (Jones) when he got the position for the second Test.
‘‘Technically, he helped him, working with him, and that’s the way he has kept himself very close to what we have been doing. He has been tremendous in the support he has given.’’ Andrew Sheridan packs down instead of Jenkins, with Bowe and Riki Flutey forging a new midfield partnership, while Shane Williams and Ugo Monye take the wing slots.
Lions: R Kearney (Leinster and Ireland); U Monye (Harlequins and England), T Bowe (Ospreys and Ireland), R Flutey (Wasps and England), S Williams (Ospreys and Wales); S Jones (Scarlets and Wales), M Phillips (Ospreys and Wales); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks and England), M Rees (Scarlets and Wales), P Vickery (Wasps and England), S Shaw (Wasps and England), P O’- Connell (Munster and Ireland, capt), J Worsley (Wasps and England), M Williams (Cardiff Blues and Wales), J Heaslip (Leinster and Ireland).
Replacements: R Ford, J Hayes, A-W Jones, D Wallace, T Croft, H Ellis, J Hook
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