Travesty of justice, says Donal

13 April 2012

The Lions suffered another demoralising blow yesterday over their abortive attempt to bring Australia centre Nathan Grey to justice for the brutal end to Richard Hill's magnificent tour.

As the concussed flanker recovered from an off-the-ball assault, manager Donal Lenihan reacted angrily to the surprising dismissal of his call for a formal investigation into the incident. The Lions had reported Grey to the citing commissioner, New Zealander David Gray, after studying video evidence.

Hill, smashed in the face after 34 minutes of the second Test in Melbourne and in no state to resume after half-time, had been the outstanding back row forward of the tour.

'We looked at the video from two or three angles which showed that Grey used his elbow and shoulder,' said Lenihan. 'We felt there was deliberate contact, with the result that the player was taken out of the Test series.

'I didn't think that what happened was acceptable. After the commissioner said there would be no citing, we contacted him to say we wished to cite Grey. But he called back after midnight to say that he felt there was no case to answer. That surprised and disappointed me greatly. We felt there was contact on Richard's head and that it certainly warranted an investigation.'

The previous week Lions' flanker Colin Charvis had been brought to book by a different citing commissioner from New Zealand, Steve Hinds, and given a two-match ban for illegal use of the knee against Australian prop Nick Stiles. 'The incident in Melbourne was far more serious than the one involving Charvis,' said Lenihan. 'Stiles got up a minute later and played on. Richard is out of the tour and you could see after he had been hit that he was all over the place.

'I am unhappy that there is no right of appeal. After being told by the Australian Rugby Union that no action was being taken, I phoned the commissioner - which I don't think he was too happy about. He said he did not have to offer an explanation or an interpretation, just a ruling. Nobody can be happy with the procedure. It is not a fool-proof system.'

The Lions' casualty list now equals the record set in South Africa in 1980 - when they played almost twice as many matches. Hill's sickening loss, at a time when he is needed more than ever, means that eight players have had to be invalided out of the tour in the last five weeks: Simon Taylor, Phil Greening, Dan Luger, Mike Catt, Lawrence Dallaglio, Robin McBryde, Rob Howley and Hill.

England centre Will Greenwood will become the ninth player to drop out if he fails a belated test on the ankle which has kept him inactive for the last fortnight. Six others are carrying injuries, including Jonny Wilkinson and Brian O'Driscoll.

'Tuesday is D-Day for Will in terms of being available for the last Test,' said Lenihan. 'There are a lot of bruised egos and bruised bodies but the rewards for winning on Saturday are huge. This will be like a World Cup final.' O'Driscoll, left limping during the final stages in Melbourne, is certain he will be fit - unlike Wilkinson. 'Jonny has a type of soft-tissue leg injury which can deteriorate quite quickly and cause a major problem,'said Lenihan. 'Or it can settle down and clear up within 48 hours.'

Meanwhile Rod Macqueen, Australia's World Cup-winning coach, is to quit at the end of this week instead of after the Tri-Nations series at the end of next month. Brumbies coach Eddie Jones takes over as from Saturday night.

'It's time for a fresh approach,' said Macqueen. 'I am pleased to be making my decision on the strength of a win.'

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