Skysports.com continues its Lions progress report after a weekend of domestic rugby.
With the RBS Six Nations agony and ecstasy becoming somewhat of a distant memory, domestic action across the home nations returned this weekend.
With the clock ticking down before Lions head coach Ian McGeechan reveals his squad for the tour to South Africa on
Sky Sports News, now is the time for players to start proving their worth.
April 21 is the announcement date and although there wasn't a full compliment of fixtures over the weekend, there were still plenty of high-profile names out to impress.
The EDF Energy Cup semi-finals at the Ricoh Arena saw Cardiff Blues and Gloucester book their Twickenham final places with hard-fought wins over Northampton and Ospreys respectively.
The same venue was also the scene of injuries to Lions hopefuls Gavin Henson (ankle) Ian Gough (dead leg) and Mike Tindall (knee) as staying fit remains half the battle ahead of the tour.
Here are the pick of the players from
THIS WEEKEND, and, as ever we would love to hear your views.
Feel free to post on the form below...
15 Tom Arscott
Who!? I hear you scream at your computer as I throw a controversial name into the mix. There haven't been too many Bristol players in the
skysports.com XV, if any, however Arscott's display on Sunday certainly deserves a mention. A jinking run and try and an assist from the Englishman helped the Guinness Premiership strugglers to their first bonus-point win for over a year against Worcester.
14 Leigh Halfpenny
The Blues flyer lit up the Ricoh Arena on Saturday with a string of eye-catching breaks. The Welshman was very unlucky not to pick up a try for his efforts but such displays as the one against Saints will see the 20-year-old on the plane to Africa.
13 Max Evans
The pacey Glasgow outside centre showed glimpses of the type of form which could earn him a Lions debut this summer. The 26-year-old left Keith Earls in his wake before teeing up fit-again winger Lome Fa'atau for a simple score at the weekend. Such devastating bursts would be extremely welcome against the world champions.
12 Gordon D'Arcy
The Leinster centre shone at the RDS on Sunday to keep the heat on rivals Munster at the top of the Magners League. The Ireland star caused the Ulster back-line problems all game and capped a fine performance with a try.
11 Shane Williams
The Welsh wizard was one of a select few who stood out for Ospreys in their EDF Energy Cup semi-final defeat to Gloucester. He cut off his wing at will and continued to probe away at an unforgiving Gloucester defence. A certainty to travel to South Africa.
10 Danny Cipriani
Ian McGeechan, the man who matters most, labelled Cipriani's display against Saracens as "one of his best" despite going down to a defeat. After being overlooked for the entire Six Nations campaign, Cipriani proved his undoubted class with numerous breaks and three well-converted penalties.
9 Peter Stringer
The seemingly ageless Stringer put in another sterling shift as Munster remain well set to clinch their first Magners League title. The diminutive Irishman formed an effective partnership with Paul Warwick at Firhill and laid on Niall Ronan's second try in the 26-13 win with a sublime kick to the corner.
8 Allister Hogg
The Scottish number eight sealed a welcome bonus-point win for Edinburgh at the weekend as the Gunners powered into the top four of the Magners League. Hogg is certainly a contender to make the tour after missing out in 2005.
7 Niall Ronan
The hat-trick hero powers his way into this week's team after a destructive display against Glasgow at Firhill. The 26-year-old is a future Ireland first teamer on this showing as his three bundled tries saw Munster retain their three-point lead over Leinster at the top of the Magners League.
6 Alasdair Strokosch
The Scottish rock was instrumental in helping Gloucester book their place in the EDF Energy Cup final. It is not often The Ospreys fail to register a single point in a match, but Strokosch put his body on the line on a number of occasions to make sure that happened.
5 Alun Wyn-Jones
Certainly not at his bullish best on Saturday, however Wyn-Jones is still a near-certainty to be lining up in the back-row to face the Boks. The Welshman came off the bench against the Cherry and Whites and fronted up well against Gloucester's brutal pack.
4 Steve Borthwick
A leader in every sense of the word. Borthwick put in another stoic defensive shift against rivals Wasps on Sunday as Sarries snatched the spoils. He frustrated McGeechan at Vicarage Road and is a genuine contender for the captaincy come May.
3 Euan Murray
The highlight of Northampton's semi-final showdown with Cardiff was the gargantuan battle in the scrum between Murray and
skysports.com XV team-mate Gethin Jenkins. Although the Scotsman edged the battle between the pair on Saturday, both showed the muscle required for the fight in South Africa.
2 Ross Ford
A stand-out display by Ford for Edinburgh, and a try to boot, helped the Gunners to a bonus-point victory over rock-bottom Connacht on Friday night. The Scottish Test hooker gave counterpart Sean Cronin a tough evening up at Murrayfield.
1 Gethin Jenkins
There will certainly be those who disagree, however for me Jenkins and Murray are the Lions deadly duo and should be the pair to tackle the Boks. Jenkins has been consistently strong all season for both club and country and is a cert to make the tour.
Unlucky to miss out:
Chris Paterson, Mark Cueto, Ryan Lamb, Mick O'Driscoll, Richard Hibbard, Tom May, Jonathan Sexton, Tom James, Fergus McFadden, Kai Horstmann, Charlie Hodgson, Dylan Hartley.
Don't forget to tune into Sky Sports News on April 21 as Ian McGeechan announces the Lions squad for the tour to South Africa.
Click here for Stuart Barnes, Will Greenwood and Dewi Morris' Lions XV's
