News in Brief
Croft set for Lions call-up
Leicester's Tom Croft helped steer the Tigers to Guinness Premiership glory against London Irish at Twickenham
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- England and Leicester forward Tom Croft is set to be added to the British & Irish Lions squad this week if Ireland and Munster flanker Alan Quinlan fails to overturn his 12-week ban for gouging.
Quinlan is set to lodge an appeal against his original ban with a hearing reportedly scheduled for Wednesday. His chances of a successful appeal are thought to be slim with the Sunday Telegraph reporting that Croft will travel with the Lions to South Africa.
Lions head coach Ian McGeechan has already been stripped of scrum-half Tomas O'Leary (ankle) and centre Tom Shanklin (shoulder) through injury. Scotland No.9 Mike Blair has been added to the tour party however sources suggest that no replacement for Shanklin will be chosen with McGeechan opting to travel with a 36-man squad.
The Lions squad assemble at their Surrey base tomorrow before flying to South Africa next Sunday. The opening game is against a Royal XV in Rustenburg on May 30.
- Springboks coach Peter de Villiers faces an anxious wait after Sharks fly-half Ruan Pienaar picked up a knee injury in his side's narrow 27-26 defeat to the Bulls in their Super 14 clash in Durban.
Pienaar, who only returned to action earlier this month after a lengthy lay-off following a knee injury, sprained ankle ligaments during the bruising encounter at the Absa Stadium and coach John Plumtree believes he will be out for "three to four weeks".
The Springboks kick off their three-Test series against the touring British & Irish Lions on June 20 and this latest injury blow follows a broken leg suffered by fullback Conrad Jantjes and a knee injury for the versatile back Franscois Steyn.
De Villiers, who will name his squad on June 1, may turn to uncapped Bulls No.10 Morne Steyn who is the leading scorer in this season's Super 14 and steered his side to victory in what was billed as a Springboks trial.
- Bulls duo Bakkies Botha and JP Nel have both been cited for foul play following their side's 28-27 win over the Sharks at Absa Stadium.
Botha, who served a three-week ban for striking the Waratahs' Phil Waugh earlier in the competition, has been cited for his open-hand push in the face of Sharks No.8 Ryan Kankowski. Nel was cited for a dangerous tackle on Sharks fullback Stefan Terblanche. The duo will appear before a judicial hearing in Pretoria on Monday.
- Danny Cipriani is bracing himself for further England disappointment when Martin Johnson announces his squad for the summer Test series against Argentina on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old appears to have resigned himself to a place in the second-string England Saxons squad heading for the Churchill Cup in Denver. Although Cipriani is on the official standby list for the British and Irish Lions, it appears he has been overtaken in the England pecking order by Leicester's in-form Sam Vesty.
Cipriani told the Sunday Times, "I will do my very best for the Saxons and am looking forward to joining up with them but I can't pretend that I am not massively disappointed. I am totally dedicated to wearing the England shirt and to go out and do whatever they want me to do.
"They have told me to go out and show that I can lead a side and also that I need to get in some game time. I will keep myself very fit, do my best with the Saxons and be ready (for the Lions) if needed."
England play the Barbarians at Twickenham on May 30 before tackling the Pumas at Old Trafford on June 6 and in Argentina a week later. The Churchill Cup features the USA, Canada and Georgia plus the second teams from England, Argentina and Ireland.
© Scrum.com
1. Max Verstappen ()
