Michael Owen backs Tom Wood for Lions No.8 spot

This time last year Tom Wood feared he would never properly recover from his toe injury – 12 months on and he is leading the race to for the Lions No.8 jersey, according to former Lions skipper Michael Owen.
Pencilled in as Stuart Lancaster’s captain before injury struck, Wood had to sit and watch as Chris Robshaw guided England out of the doldrums before battling back into the Red Rose back row.
Forcing his way back into contention in the autumn, Wood proved he was back to his best with a man-of-the-match performance against New Zealand from flanker, where he played for the first 14 of his 16 caps.
Against Ireland and France however, he was moved to the base of the scrum to replace the injured Ben Morgan and produced performances that, in Owen’s eyes, move him ahead of Toby Faletau and Jamie Heaslip in the Lions pecking order for the summer tour to Australia.
“It’s hard to look beyond the Welsh boys and I’m a big fan of Toby and the go-forward he brings to the team but I think on current form, Tom Wood is leading the way,” said former No.8 Owen,  right, who skippered the Lions against Argentina prior to the New Zealand tour in 2005. “He has been superb in the Six Nations so far, his all-round game is fantastic, he’s quick across the ground and he’s a good lineout option.
“He is very reliable in all aspects and on a Lions tour you need balance and Wood can give you that, he can play all across the back row.”
With Stephen Ferris recently ruled out for three months, Owen believes Ireland’s Sean O’Brien is the favourite for the No.6 jersey, but claims the race for openside is too close to call.
Robshaw is currently the bookies’ favourite to skipper the side but Owen’s own experience is a warning about betting big on it. He led Wales to the 2005 Grand Slam but did not appear in Sir Clive Woodward’s Test team in New Zealand.
But Owen does not expect selection matters or tactics to be so over-complicated in Australia – suggesting that will be one of Gatland‘s biggest strengths.
“It’s a tough one for No.7, I think that the captaincy obviously comes into it and Chris Robshaw is really putting his hand up at the moment,” he added. “And then you have Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric, who I believe can play together in the back row for Wales. Both would do an excellent job on the tour.
“They both tackle, they’re both great in the lineout and at the breakdown, maybe Justin is a bit more skilful, every time I watch the Ospreys he seems to get man of the match.
“I think that ultimately selection will come down to how Warren Gatland wants his team to play. I think the back row will set the tone for the attacking intent so it depends how far he will go in that sense.
“The great thing about Warren, though, is he’ll keep the game plan simple. In 2005 we didn’t really know what we were all trying to do or how we were trying to play but that won’t be an issue with Warren.
“And it’s a huge benefit he went on the last tour. In terms of how the team gelled and played together, that tour looked to be one of the best and he’ll look to continue that this time.”
Owen might have still be in contention for a place on this summer’s tour had a knee problem not forced him to retire in 2010, aged just 29.
Accepting his fate, Owen set about pursuing a career in the media, as a coach and as a teacher and after dabbling in the first during the 2011 World Cup, he is now combining the latter two and will take up the role of director of rugby at Haileybury School, St Albans.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity and it gives me the chance to continue my teaching career in PE and to focus on the structural side as well,” said Owen, who worked briefly at the school during his teacher training studies.
“You see the kids being inspired and to bring my rugby knowledge to that will hopefully make an impact.
“I felt when I was forced to retire I maybe had about five or six years of my career left but I knew that I had to pursue other paths and this is the perfect opportunity for me.”
GERARD MEAGHER