The British & Irish Lions have two new injury worries after Stephen Ferris and Leigh Halfpenny were both sent for scans. Ferris, the Ireland flanker who has scored tries in both of his appearances so far, went for a scan in Durban yesterday after pulling up with a sore knee during training. Halfpenny, the Wales wing, is the bigger concern, though. The Cardiff Blues player arrived in South Africa late after remaining at home to undergo intensive treatment on his thigh problem.
Halfpenny linked up with the squad in Johannesburg last week, but he has aggravated the same injury in training. He was named on the bench for tonight's fourth tour fixture against the Natal Sharks at Absa Stadium, but his place has now been taken by Wales colleague James Hook. Halfpenny will undergo a scan to try and gauge the full extent of the injury, and the Lions are waiting for an update. "He recovered very well last time," said the Lions assistant coach Shaun Edwards.
"He was doing some extra work at the end of training and he just felt it strain." Meanwhile, Willem de Waal and Danwel Demas have been called up to the Emerging Springboks squad to face the Lions in Cape Town later this month. De Waal, the Stormers fly-half, comes in for his Bulls counterpart Burton Francis, while Cheetahs winger Demas replaces the Golden Lions full-back Louis Ludik. Both Francis and Ludik have picked up knee injuries since the 22-man team was named on June 1.
The Emerging side, coached by national assistant Dick Muir and captained by Bulls forward Dewald Potgieter, will face the tourists in their final midweek game of the tour on June 23. * With agencies
