He has also survived a long battle with knee damage that would have scuppered many a career

He has also survived a long battle with knee damage that would have scuppered many a career. He is only 25 yet he has already successfully switched sports, switched clubs and switched positions. Adaptability ought to be Mark Mapletoft’s middle name. And for all the brilliance of England’s best bits this season they’re still some way short of achieving that lofty aim.It will, in all conscience, be hard enough for the Lions to hold the Springboks but here is my team to do it: Jenkins (Wales); Bentley (England), Bateman (Wales), Gibbs (Wales), Geoghegan (Ireland); Townsend (Scotland), Howley (Wales); Rowntree (England), Greening (England), Leonard (England), Johnson (England), Davidson (Ireland), Dallaglio (England), Hill (England), Miller (Ireland).. The priority is to pick the best available players particularly when they are central to the grand plan for world domination. For Jack Rowell to argue that he and Cotton have different priorities is absurd. Jeremy Guscott will, of course, be in the party and should, of course, have been in the England side.

The England pack will surely go en bloc along with Phil Greening. One of the things Townsend must quickly take on board is the need, when the battle is at its fiercest, to withdraw a little from the fire rather than stand so close to its heat.Robert Howley is the undisputed master of his craft at scrum-half which leaves the Lions to choose two from Austin Healey, Bryan Redpath and Kyran Bracken. It is Ian McGeechan’s belief that although Townsend’s game suffered badly in the general mediocrity of the Scottish team, it will take no more than a brief refresher course to rehabilitate him. Until the final quarter of the game against France, Paul Grayson was probably the Lions’ choice at fly-half along with Gregor Townsend but now I’m not so sure.

His tactical brain is as sharp as ever even if his limbs are not and he would bring a stability to the Lions which few others can match let alone surpass. Despite the fact that Jonathan Davies laboured at times when the pace was raised at the Arms Park last Saturday, his decision- making against England was almost faultless. He is big, strong and, with the daily training routines on a tour such as this, would improve his speed sufficiently to keep apace with the fleetest of Springboks.Charvis might not be the only Welshman at present on the outside to make the final selection. He has all the attributes Cotton and his fellow selectors are seeking. As a result they came second in the loose and second in the series in which one of the most influential figures was the Springbok flanker Rob Louw.So who will accompany Richard Hill this summer? The Welshman Colin Charvis was left out of the preliminary squad of 62, but it would be no surprise to see his name in the final party of 35.

By not replacing him with another specialist, the Lions surrendered this critical area to the opposition. But Cotton will not have forgotten the painful lesson learned by the last Lions team to tour South Africa in 1980 when, after just 50 seconds of the opening match, the Lions lost Stuart Lane, the one genuine openside in the party. It will also be hard on the evidence of this season’s championship to omit Lawrence Dallaglio and Tim Rodber from the Test side although Eric Miller has played so well that he could come into the reckoning not only as a No 8, but also as a flanker who can play with equal facility on both sides of the scrum. Jason Leonard’s place is assured and the same goes for Robert Howley at scrum-half. He is still the best in the business but by the looks of him he needs about six weeks rest and recuperation. Even Martin Johnson, a certainty on every team sheet for the past four years, is showing signs of fatigue.