No hard feelings says Aussie Harrison

The 'Apeman' landed in London yesterday, ready to throw more than his scrumcap into ensuring a return catchweight contest at Twickenham next month against Australia's favourite Pom.

Justin Harrison, the Wallaby who had the last laugh on the Lions with the line- out steal of the year, produced a few more in discussing the repercussions of the name pinned on him with less than loving care by Austin Healey, after their two non-Test scraps between rounds of the summer series.

'Unfortunately in sport you don't get to choose your nicknames,' he said.

'It's given some people plenty of ammunition, but that's all part of the camaraderie. 'Ape' and 'plod' tend to be brought up every so often and bunches of bananas have been known to appear mysteriously outside my hotel room. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.'

The words Healey used in a newspaper column to denigrate Harrison with rather unfortunate timing - the day before the Aussie sprang from nowhere to steal the show on his Test debut - bothered his English sparring partner sufficiently for the Lions to fine him £2,500, even though the 'ape' bit appeared to have been a figment of his ghost-writer's imagination.

Harrison, in forgiving mood as the World Cup holders prepared for the weekend's launch of their European tour, went straight to work on securing the large vacancy left by John Eales' retirement from the second row for the major objective of the trip at Twickenham on November 10 - avenging last year's injury-time defeat there on the strength of Dan Luger's famous 'video' try.

With Kyran Bracken joining Matt Dawson on the casualty list, Healey has only to keep his nose clean over the next fortnight to be guaranteed selection at scrum half, in which event he and Harrison can brace themselves for another closer encounter.

But Harrison does not view the forthcoming Test as a grudge match and says he is looking forward to shaking Healey by the hand, not the throat.