Woodward: I'm not a lap-dog

'This is a very important tour for England,' he said. 'I'm not here to be a lap-dog for the Lions. I would appreciate a stand-by list. I've asked for it on numerous occasions. In the end you have to shrug your shoulders and get on with it.

'It's quite amusing to get phone calls at midnight demanding players.'

England's ranks could be further depleted in future weeks with Lawrence Dallaglio, Mike Catt and Iain Balshaw struggling for fitness in Australia. They all miss today's Lions game against the Queensland President's XV.

Dallaglio will have a fitness test next week on the knee he injured during Wasps' semi-final defeat against Bath six weeks ago. The London club feared he would be out for six months.

Catt, struggling with a calf injury, is also a doubt. The rumour mill went into overdrive yesterday when a Welsh radio station suggested Swansea centre Scott Gibbs was on the verge of flying out to replace the Bath man.

Full back Balshaw, the third injured England Lion, has a chest injury which he picked up against Western Australia last Friday.

Woodward insists that any player called up by the Lions would be released straight away - 'but it would just be common courtesy to give us a stand-by list first'.

England's A team for today's match features Rob Fidler, the Gloucester lock who arrived in California late on Sunday as injury cover for Ben Kay, who hurt his knee in the 59-20 victory over Canada last Saturday.

Fidler had taken an SOS call from Woodward at 6.15 on Sunday morning. He was looking after his 18-week-old son Ben while his wife Clare was away on a hen party.

'In the end I managed to contact my mother-in-law to come round and look after the baby and I left for the airport,' said Fidler. 'It was real comedy stuff.'

The Americans include Jason Keyter, the former Harlequins and England A wing who now plays for Roma in Italy. An American grandfather allowed him to switch allegiances and he is also expected to play in the Test on Saturday.

Half a world away, Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill is making a formal apology to Lions coach Graham Henry after a spectator sprayed him with beer during a TV interview following Friday's blitz of Western Australia.

Henry was being interviewed in the players' tunnel after the Lions' 116-10 win in Perth when beer was thrown - by a Lions supporter.

Henry dried himself off and did not make any complaints but O'Neill said he would apologise.

'I was watching at the time and was straight on the phone to our event management people,' said O'Neill. 'They were back to me with details within half an hour. I will be ringing Graham personally to apologise. Whether it was a West Australian or Lions supporter, it should not have happened at all.'

Giant wing Jonah Lomu has been dropped from the New Zealand Test side to play Western Samoa on Saturday. But All Blacks coach Wayne Smith said: 'Don't look for anything sinister. We know what Jonah can do.

'He's comfortable with the decision and we see him playing a huge part in the rest of our campaign this season.'

ENGLAND (to play USA A in Los Angeles today, kick-off 11pm): T Voyce (Bath); D Rees (Bristol), F Waters (Wasps), O Barkley (Bath); P Sackey (London Irish); A King (Wasps), N Walshe (Saracens); D Flatman (Saracens), M Regan (Bath), R Nebbett (Leicester), R Fidler (Gloucester), T Palmer (Leeds), A Sanderson (Sale, capt), A Hazell (Gloucester), P Sanderson (Harlequins). Replacements: C Fortey (Gloucester), T Woodman (Gloucester), S Thompson (Northampton), M Wood (Wasps), P Grayson (Northampton).

QUEENSLAND PRESIDENT'S XV v LIONS is live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am.