Lions coach McGeechan will not replace injured Shanklin
ENGLAND duo Delon Armitage and Mike Tindall have been handed a second British and Irish Lions snub after coach Ian McGeechan opted not to replace injured centre Tom Shanklin for the tour of South Africa.
Both Armitage and Tindall were high on the list of possible stand-ins for Shanklin after the Welshman dislocated his shoulder playing for Cardiff Blues a fortnight ago.
But with the Lions-heavy Munster and Blues’ sides both missing out on Saturday’s Heineken Cup final, the pressure has been eased on the 36-man squad, which spent their first day together yesterday.
McGeechan said: “When we selected the extra player back in April we were really trying to cover all our bases regarding the Heineken Cup final, where we could have been without 16 players. As it transpired, for the first two tour games we can cover the squad and really we want to give the opportunity and the responsibility to the players who are there to try to fill that role.
McGeechan is still awaiting the fate of Irish flanker Alan Quinlan, who last night lodged an appeal against his 12-week ban for eye-gouging. He discovers his fate tomorrow with England’s Tom Croft in line for a call-up if he fails.