Reserve roles for Williams, O'Gara

Shane Williams has been picked for another Lions warm-up game against The Sharks on Wednesday, but his form has suffered alarmingly since the autumn internationals.

I think the British and Irish Lions management team are trying to give him a chance to kick-start any form that he has, by playing him until he actually breaks into a bit of form.

They see him as an integral part of the team. What he does for Wales well, moving in from the wing and initiating stuff around the breakdown and acting as an auxiliary scrum-half, maybe that’s what they want to see from him.

But his performance against The Cheetahs was another poor one. A lot of commentators would have said before the squad was announced that he would certainly make the touring party. But he is no longer a cert - the fact that some journalists voted him as Player of the Year will hold absolutely no currency as regards this Tour side at the moment.

I also think Ronan O’Gara will be on the bench for the Test games and I don’t think he will be moving anywhere from there.

If people have been watching the undiluted savagery of The Super 14 in the last few weeks, and of The Bulls and The Sharks in particular, they will see that O’Gara is a brave player but physically maybe he isn't strong enough for the number 10 channel. I think that is recognised and I think The Springboks recognise that.

O’Gara will maybe come on strategically but I just don’t think you can start him at number 10 - they will send the heavies down that channel all day.

I think James Hook did not deliver on Saturday. He was given a chance and did not really take on any responsibility. He did not give the team direction, nor did he run down the channels.

What we were expecting from him was a performance where he would have taken the initiative himself and ran an awful lot. His kicking was ineffective and I don’t think he gave a huge amount of thought to what went on outside him; he did not support his team-mates. And he was a guy that could have leapfrogged Stephen Jones and O’Gara.

There are players there who if they remain uninjured will certainly start, the centre combination, the second row of Paul O’Connell and Alan Wyn Jones, and Lee Byrne certainly.

It is easier to pick out the guys who are playing for a Test position. Luke Fitzgerald, who did not really impress on Saturday, gets a chance on the left wing and that could be a significant move in his favour. He is so highly-rated that I think he is being given another chance.

Neil Francis was talking to Paul Dempsey on Setanta Sports' TheHub programme.

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