World champions Australia picked 13
players from Super 12 champions ACT Brumbies on Monday in their squad to play the British Lions in June and July.

Coach Rod Macqueen said blindside flanker Owen Finegan would be considered for the first Test in Brisbane on June 30 when he finished his five-week suspension.

Finegan was banned for stomping on Wallaby hooker Michael Foley in the
Brumbies Super 12 semi-final win over the Queensland Reds a week ago.

There would have been another ACT player but centre Stirling Mortlock is
out for the rest of the season after an operation on the shoulder he injured
against Queensland.

Macqueen named five uncapped players in the squad who warm up for the Lions
with a match against the New Zealand Maoris on June 9.

But the brief international career of No 8 Jim Williams, the 32-year-old
who had such an outstanding season for the Brumbies, appears to be over after
he was left out of the squad.

Macqueen said they had also been looking forward to the 2003 World Cup.
"We are looking at bringing some players on. By the end of the season we
want to have in place the nucleus for the World Cup. But we've got to start
somewhere and we certainly are not ruling out any possibilities for the
future," he said.

Australia follow the Lions tour with the Tri-Nations Series against New
Zealand and South Africa and then a tour to Europe in November.

Macqueen said in-form players had been favoured because of the short build-up to the first Lions match on June 30.

"The Brumbies have set the benchmark in this year's Super 12 series and they have been rewarded," Macqueen said.

But he denied Australia would play Brumbies-style rugby."There obviously are sequences we would use but I would think we will play Wallaby-style rugby, a combination of Brumbies, New South Wales and Queensland," he said.

He described the Lions as the biggest challenge facing the Wallabies."They have the nucleus of the England side, a great international team, combined with the best from three other countries," he said.

Macqueen said Australia were keen to find a replacement to their
outstanding World Cup centre Tim Horan.

"It would be nice to have someone we can establish in that position and
give us some stability," he said.

Daniel Herbert linked up with Stirling Mortlock in Australia's last
international, when they lost 22-19 to a controversial injury-time try by Dan
Luger when Wallaby full-back Chris Latham was off for a high tackle.

Brumbies pair Graeme Bond, one of five uncapped players, and James Holbeck,
Nathan Grey and Queensland fly-half Elton Flatley come into the reckoning.

Macqueen has to choose between Matt Burke and Latham for the full-back
position while there is still an injury doubt over right wing Ben Tune and
loose-head prop Bill Young.

Jeremy Paul, outstanding for the Brumbies this year, was given Macqueen's approval as the starting hooker with Foley as an experienced replacement.

Captain John Eales said he expected a very physical game from the Lions but
he denied their opponents would be one-dimensional.

"England are very strong at set-pieces but they now have an all-round game
and Graham Henry has proved he can coach all over the world. It is going to be a tremendous challenge, very exciting," the lock said.

New Zealander Henry coached the Auckland Blues before taking over in Wales and is the first foreigner to coach the Lions.

Eales said he would not be losing any sleep over the prospect of taking on
the physically-intimidating Martin Johnson.

The England captain and lock becomes the first player to captain successive
Lions tours.

"You don't think of individuals," Eales said. "You think of teams and the
Lions have got a great England side to build on."

He agreed discipline would be a priority faced with such redoubtable
kickers as Welsh wizard Neil Jenkins, the first player to score a thousand
Test points, and England's Jonny Wilkinson.

"Penalties can win matches, as we proved against South Africa last year,
and we must be especially vigilant against the Lions," Eales said.

Australia clinched the Tri-Nations series last August when Mortlock landed
a penalty 10 minutes into additional time for a 19-18 victory in Durban.

The full Australian squad is :

Graeme Bond (+), Matthew Burke, Matt Cockbain, Mark Connors, Ben Darwin
(+), John Eales, Owen Finegan, Elton Flatley, Michael Foley, David Giffin
George Gregan, Nathan Grey, Justin Harrison (+), Daniel Herbert, James
Holbeck, Toutai Kefu, Chris Latham, Stephen Larkham, David Lyons, Rod Moore, Glenn Panoho, Jeremy Paul, Joe Roff, Nathan Sharpe (+), George Smith, Nick Stiles (+), Ben Tune, Andrew Walker, Phil Waugh, Chris Whitaker, Bill Young
(+) Uncapped

The Lions play 10 matches during their six-week tour, including three tests
against the Wallabies in Brisbane (June 30), Melbourne (July 7) and Sydney (July 14).