Wood wins in our selector battle

Instead, the Scot preferred two of his tallest compatriots, Scott Murray, who was no surprise, in tandem with the 7ft 1in Richard Metcalfe, who most definitely was. Hastings, perhaps sensitive to the anglicised howls of 'well he would, wouldn't he?' from south of the Border, explained, as best he could, why he had left Johnson out.

'I'm not convinced he's the man for Australia,' said Gavin, whose company Hastings International Sports Marketing is handling Scotland's bid to host the 2009 Ryder Cup. 'I'm not convinced he's the world-beater everyone says. I think the game is moving away from him, slightly.

'Murray is the outstanding lock in the British Isles and when you have somebody the size of Metcalfe, he can really foul up the opposition throw. He's also amazingly mobile. Modern rugby is all about pace, which is why I've gone for Iain Balshaw on one wing.

'If Wilkinson had pace, I'd hate to think how good he would be. For a Scot to name nine Englishmen in a Lions Test team is quite something. Having said that, what country they came from was the last thing on my mind because that shouldn't enter into it.'

The selectors arrived at four different centre combinations, with the magical O'Driscoll the common denominator, their varying choice of his midfield partner emphasising the difficulty the Lions face in finding the best pair. As for the English back row, only Jenkins decided against picking them en masse.

Llanelli's long-serving coach chose the London Irish openside Kieron Dawson ahead of Neil Back, with Dallaglio reverting to blindside instead of Richard Hill to make room for Scott Quin-nell. 'Back's a great player and I'm picking Dawson on a hunch,' said Jenkins. 'Dallaglio has to be in there but at No.8 he doesn't bring as much to the gain-line game as Quinnell.'

Inevitably, the Six Nations will change the picture. The Lions can wait until late April before naming their 37 for Australia but if they were playing the first Test tomorrow, my team would be:

Matt Perry (E); Dennis Hickie (I), Mark Taylor (W), Brian O'Driscoll (I), Dan Luger (E); Jonny Wilkinson (E), Matt Dawson (E); Tom Smith (S), Keith Wood (I), Phil Vickery (E); Martin Johnson, capt (E), Danny Grewcock (E); Colin Charvis (W), Lawrence Dallaglio (E), Neil Back (E).