Flutey handed first Lions start
WESTERN PROVINCE v LIONS
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Date: Saturday, 13 June Kick-off: 1400 BST (1500 local time)
Riki Flutey will make his first start of the Lions tour after being named at inside centre against Western Province.
England prop Phil Vickery captains a completely revamped XV from the one that defeated the Sharks on Wednesday.
Vickery, wings Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye and fly-half Stephen Jones, will all be aiming to press their claims for places in the Test team next weekend.
Replacement scrum-half Mike Blair has been ruled out of the Cape Town match, wing Shane Williams taking his place.
Scotland's Blair sprained a ligament in his foot during training on Friday and the Lions said that it "failed to settle adequately overnight".
The management decided against naming Mike Phillips on the bench as the Welshman played against the Sharks in midweek.
Wales open-side flanker Martyn Williams, who has not played since the opening match of the tour after suffering a shoulder problem, returns to the team.
The 33-year-old is battling it out with Ireland's David Wallace for the number seven shirt and the Welshman knows he will need an impressive display in Newlands.
Saturday's game is the penultimate fixture before the first Test against South Africa on 20 June and head coach Ian McGeechan says the battle for starting places is intensifying.
"The squad is very close as a group of players, but there is now a competitive edge developing as we approach the Test series," he said.
"That is how it should be. I reminded the players when I told them the team to play Western Province that we were not selecting the Test side until next Tuesday following the Southern Kings match."
In the second row, Scotland's Nathan Hines and Donncha O'Callaghan of Ireland start only their second games of the trip while England loose-head Andrew Sheridan and hooker Matthew Rees join Vickery in the front row.
Blind-side Joe Worsley and number eight Andy Powell have another chance to try and force their way into the thoughts of the selectors.
 Vickery was sin-binned during the win over the Sharks this week |
Leicester's Harry Ellis partners Jones at half-back and will try and dislodge Test favourite Mike Phillips from the number nine position.
"As a tour party, we are delighted that we have reached Cape Town and the final Saturday provincial match prior to the Test series with an unbeaten record," said tour manager Gerald Davies.
"Team morale is high, and each team that takes the field is determined to maintain the momentum and to fight for an individual Test place."
For Flutey, especially, this weekend's encounter is a game that could easily have passed him by after he damaged his knee in the opening tour game against a Royal XV.
The 29-year-old, who came on as a substitute in Wednesday's win over the Sharks, feared that his tour might be over but a combination of discipline and Lions medical care got him through.
"I remember getting tackled against the Royal XV. I got up and rubbed my leg and didn't think anything of it," said Flutey earlier this week.
"I carried on with the game, then got back to my room and got into my shirt and jeans ready to go out with the boys and I felt it stiffening up quite a bit.
 | BRYN PALMER BLOG Saturday's match against Western Province is akin to a final trial, a last chance for players to state a conclusive case Bryn Palmer |
"I decided to stay in and ice it up every two hours. I've done everything I possibly can, with help from the medical team, to get my knee to 100% and where it is at now.
"It was quite lonely being in my room just icing it up, but at the end of the day that is what it takes. I knew Wednesday's game was a sort of a deadline for me, so I had to do everything I could."
Flutey, who is joining French side Brive after the tour, paid tribute to the Lions medical team for helping him recover.
"They have been absolutely fantastic," he added. "On Monday this week, I needed to be at 70%, but I was running at 95% really comfortably.
"Mentally, Wednesday's game was a good tester, coming off the field knowing I got through it all. I put a few side-steps in, I was tackled on the knee and I feel really confident now.
"It was quite a lonely place, in my room by myself, icing up and talking to my wife telling her I may well be coming home. At the end of the day, that's the reality of it."
Western Province will be without their South Africa stars such as Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers although former Springbok flanker Luke Watson will lead the side.
"It's an awesome opportunity to play against the Lions," said Watson. "They are the most famous of all touring teams."
Lions: Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland); Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland), Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland), Riki Flutey (Wasps/England), Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England); Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales), Harry Ellis (Leicester/England); Andrew Sheridan (Sale/England), Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland), Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland), Joe Worsley (Wasps/England), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales), Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales).
Replacements: Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland), Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland), Simon Shaw (Wasps/England), Tom Croft (Leicester/England), Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales), James Hook (Ospreys/Wales), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland).
Western Province: Joe Pietersen; Tonderai Chavhanga, Morgan Newman, Peter Grant, Gcobani Bobo; Willem De Waal, Dewaldt Duvenage; Wicus Blaauw, Tiaan Liebenberg, Brok Harris, Martin Muller, Anton Van Zyl, Pieter Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Luke Watson (captain).
Replacements: Hanyani Shimange, JD Moller, De Kock Steenkamp, Zandre Jordaan, Conrad Hoffmann, JJ Engelbrecht, Gio Aplon.
