Austin is ready to go that extra mile

ENGLAND'S Austin Healey was today handed a Test place on the wing and asked to provide the spark of inspiration to give the Lions victory in the Third Test and claim the series against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

In a shock move, Healey, who was on standby to play at outside- half or scrum-half, replaces Wales wing Dafydd James and will be up against Wallaby Joe Roff, who scored two tries in the Second Test and gave the Leicester scrum-half a torrid time when they last faced each other at international level.

Healey said: "This will be the 51st match of my season - I have never played that many.

A victory in the Test series would be the candles on top of a cake that was already iced by Leicester's win in the Heineken Cup final.

"I think that after 50 games only my tongue isn't hurting and maybe I can use that to talk to Joe Roff during the match and give him some ear ache. He is one of the best wingers in the world and I have to make the best of this special opportunity and after complaining all through the tour about not being in the team, I am delighted to be appearing on the wing.

"It will take a comprehensive 80 minutes' performance of passion and ability for us to win and we will pull all the stops out to achieve that on Saturday. It will come down to who wants it most. I have had to change the focus of my motivation because with Leicester it was a case of continuously driving hard and on this tour it's been about hanging in there."

Besides drafting in Healey, the Lions selectors made two other changes from the side beaten 35-14 by the Wallabies in Melbourne, with Martin Corry replacing the concussed Richard Hill and Matt Dawson taking over at scrum-half from Rob Howley, who cracked a rib in the Test.

Jonny Wilkinson , who feared a broken leg had ended his tour, is fit to play and took part in 60 per cent of today's training session, a remarkable achievement given the initial fears over his leg injury.

Wilkinson had been too scared to look down at his injured left leg after crashing to the ground during the Second Test in Melbourne, but a period in plaster and extensive rehabilitation work in the gym and swimming pool allowed the selectors to name the goal-kicker in the Test line up.

Today's team announcement marked a massive change in fortunes for Dawson, who was fined for making an unprecedented attack on the way the management was handling the tour on the eve of the First Test win in Brisbane. There was every danger Dawson could have been sent home, something he acknowledged last week.

Dawson, the Lions' scrum-half when they won the Test series against South Africa in 1997, has distanced himself from that attack, although other players have subsequently gone on record to complain about the heavy training schedule.

Dawson is one of 10 Englishmen in a side that includes Irish centres Brian O'Driscoll and Rob Henderson, who have recovered from the injuries they suffered in the Second Test. Will Greenwood is fit to join the replacements, where Darren Morris takes over from Jason Leonard.

There are serious doubts over the fitness of Stephen Larkham, the Wallaby outside-half, who injured his right arm in the First Test and saw the problem get worse during the Melbourne match when he was targetted for rough treatment by the Lions.

Larkham is unable to get full use of his arm and that has forced the World Champions to delay naming their starting line-up until tomorrow.

Match statistics show that Larkham and scrum-half George Gregan made just one error each during the Second Test and their control of the Wallaby attacking play ensured that record beating for the Lions.

Wilkinson is a key man in the Lions' defensive shield and his loss would have been a massive handicap, given that defensive coach Phil Larder has only had limited time with the squad since arriving in Australia. With a just 10 matches and constant injuries, Larder has very rarely been given the chance to work with the side that actually took the pitch for the two Tests to date.

Larder said: "Jonny Wilkinson is the best defensive outside-half in the world and he would have been sorely missed in this Test match."

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