British & Irish Lions
Gatland takes to the road in hunt for Lions
ESPN Staff
April 2, 2013
British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland fields questions from the media, Ironmonger's Hall, London, September 4, 2012
Warren Gatland will take in five European matches this weekend © Getty Images
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Warren Gatland will step up his search for the final pieces in the British & Irish Lions jigsaw when he takes in five European matches this weekend.

Gatland is set to unveil his squad for the summer tour to Australia at the end of April. He recently said that there are roughly a third of the squad's places still up for grabs and this weekend's quarter-final matches in both the Amlin Challenge Cup and the Heineken Cup could go some way to deciding who gets the call-up for Lions duty and who misses out.

The New Zealander will start off his schedule by taking in Gloucester's quarter-final against Biarritz on Thursday evening at Kingsholm. Their No.8 Ben Morgan has been injured recently but could make his long-awaited return to the field against the Top 14 side. Gatland may also be keeping an eye on England backs Freddie Burns and Billy Twelvetrees as well as Scotland second-row Jim Hamilton.

On Friday, Gatland journeys to Adams Park to watch Wasps' match against Leinster where the likes of Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Christian Wade, James Haskell could feature. One man who looks set to miss out is Leinster's Jonathan Sexton with the province claiming he is "unlikely" to recover from an ankle injury in time to play Wasps.

After seeing Wasps' match, Gatland will go to the Recreation Ground on Saturday to watch Bath versus Stade Francais, with Wales prop Paul James likely to be at the centre of his attention, before then journeying to Twickenham to watch Saracens' Heineken Cup quater-final against Ulster.

There will be a host of players on show at HQ for Gatland to cast his eye across and this will also be the case at the Stoop on Sunday when he watches Harlequins' match against Munster. Quins skipper Chris Robshaw has been mooted as a possible tour captain and is likely to start against the Irish province while the 2009 Lions skipper Paul O'Connell could also feature as he looks to further his claims for a spot in the squad after a season blighted by injury.

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