Vickery to lead the Lions

British and Irish Lions prop Phil Vickery has been handed the captain's armband for the tour match against Western Province on Saturday.

In the absence of Paul O'Connell and Brian OI'Driscoll, the Wasps ace, who has previously captained his club and country, will lead a Lions squad including eight Englishmen.

Fellow countrymen Riki Flutey, Ugo Monye, Joe Worsley, Andrew Sheridan and Harry Ellis all start alongside Vickery, while Simon Shaw and Tom Croft are named on the bench.

Flutey joins Wales flanker Martyn Williams in returning to the line-up after injury - and they will look to stake late claims for the Test team.

And head coach Ian McGeechan has reiterated that places in the side to face South Africa on June 20 are still up for grabs.

McGeechan said: "The coaching staff is very pleased with the way the squad reacted to some bad injury news this week. The players took the news on the chin, trained well, focused on the next match and the performance against the Sharks was excellent.

"The squad is very close as a group of players but now there is now a competitive edge developing as we approach the Test series. That is how it should be. I reminded the players when I told them the team to play Western Province that we were not selecting the Test side until next Tuesday following the Southern Kings match.

Desire

"The team for Western Province will be captained by Phil Vickery who is one of the many leaders in the squad. It is just reward for a thoroughly professional player who will play in his tenth Lions match. Vicks is a former captain of England and he played three Lions tests against Australia in 2001.

"No starting players are backing up from the Sharks match as we continue our desire to see all players involved in at least two full matches prior to Test selection. Martyn Williams comes into the starting XV following his recovery from a shoulder knock and Riki Flutey gets his first starting role after proving his fitness off the bench against the Sharks."

The Lions were forced into a late change when Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair, who had originally been named on the bench, picked up a foot ligament injury in training on Friday.

Wales winger Shane Williams, who has played at number nine earlier in his career, took Blair's place among the replacements.

Western Province have named a strong line-up despite being without their frontline Springboks for Saturday's clash at Newlands.

Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers are among those who will not be risked in Cape Town.

However No.8 Luke Watson, who will lead the side, is confident. He said: "It is an awesome opportunity to play against the Lions. They are the most famous of all touring teams. The Lions have a strong tradition of pride."

Western Province squad: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Morgan Newman, 12 Peter Grant, 11 Gcobani Bobo, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage; 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Anton Van Zyl, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 JD Moller, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Zandre Jordaan, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 JJ Engelbrecht, 22 Gio Aplon.

British & Irish Lions: 15 Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland), 14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland), 13 Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland), 12 Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England), 11 Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England), 10 Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales), 9 Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England), 8 Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales), 7 Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales), 6 Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England), 5 Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland), 3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), 2 Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), 1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks/England)
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland), 17 Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland), 18 Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England), 19 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England), 20 Shane Williams (Wales/Ospreys), 21 James Hook (Ospreys/Wales), 22 Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland)