The British & Irish Lions will tour South Affrica in 2009 ©

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The battle for a place on next summer's British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa continued with the latest round of domestic action - check out who has caught our eye in the last week or so.

The season may be young but that will not stop us, and many others, casting an eye to the biggest rugby event outside of the Rugby World Cup.

It may be asking a lot for any potential tourist to stake their claim in the opening couple of rounds of the season, especially as they continue to adjust to the ELVs, but that hasn't stopped us. The players may play down the propsect of a Lions tour with the odd "one week at a time" cliche but we know better.

This week, and every week, between now and the squad announcement next year we will be analysing the performances of the leading British and Irish players to assess their chances of getting the nod from Lions coach Ian McGeechan.

Check out our latest selection below and if you think we've missed a big performance then be sure to let us know on the Scrum Forum

Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons)The England stalwart made his season bow in the Falcons' Premiership win over Northampton and issued a reminder to all with a 22-point haul. If he stays fit - this was his first game in six months following shoulder surgery - the fly-half is sure to be on the plane to South Africa next sumer.

Danny Care (Harlequins)For the second week in a row the Quins scrum-half makes the cut following another eye-catching display in his side's Premiership victory over Bristol. In this kind of form - he scored a try and created two others - he is sure to retain the England No.9 jersey for the end of year internationals and edge nearer a Lions berth.

Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster)The Irish international wing notched a hat-trick of tries to inspire a big win for Leinster over Magners League rivals Edinburgh. The speedster, who turned 21 over the weekend, was all over the park causing trouble and as a result was the main beneficiary of a dominant Leinster performance.

Keith Earls (Munster) Not to be outdone by his Leinster rival, rising star Earls grabbed a hat-trick of his own as Munster cruised past the Dragons in the Magners League. The exciting fulback, only 20 years old, stole the show and his performance is sure to have caught the eye of the Ireland coach Declan Kidney. His second was the pick of the tries as he through a dummy before kicking ahead and collecting before racing in to score.

Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets) The Scarlets fullback notched two tries in his side's latest Magners league victory over Connacht and showed plenty of promise. The 23-year-old, named man of the match, produced a "ram[paging" running game and once again displayed his ability to beat players. Perhaps not the finished article but don't be surprised if he is in the Wales mix come November.

Lee Byrne (Ospreys) Perhaps the most eye-catching and headline-grabbing Magners league performance of the week was provided by Byrne in the Ospreys' victory over the Blues last week. Even though his flyhalf James Hook grabbed 22 points it was Byrne's performance that was heralded as the key. Rock solid defence, pace and power are always going to get you noticed - and some are saying he has no serious rival for the Lions No.15 shirt.

Stephen Jones (Scarlets) Due to some crazy Magners League scheduling Jones and the Scarlets were forced to play three games in nine days but they rose to the challenge and notched three wins with their fly-half weighing in with a total of 36 which sees him make his debut on our list.