A slight cloud hangs over Malcolm O'Kelly's Lions' tour after the Irish secondrow was again rendered hors de combat by abdominal muscle problems.
A brief statement confirming O'Kelly's inability to take his place on the bench against Bay of Plenty (on Saturday) - after being sidelined from duty against the Pumas last week - cited "a recurrence of similar symptoms after today's training session". Donncha O'Callaghan has been called up in his place.
O'Kelly seems a little non-plussed by the problem. "It's a sowas muscle, which I didn't even know existed. I've had some groin problems since the beginning of the season; it's something that follows on from that. There's a lot of spasm in there. I'm not going to pull anything. It's not like a hamstring, I'm not going to pull up, but it causes a lot of discomfort and limits what you can do."
The problem was aggravated on the last session before the Pumas game. "It was very frustrating but that's sport. It's never nice and easy and straightforward. It bites you in the ass sometimes."
At the time, lunchtime, O'Kelly was confident he would be fit to take his place on the bench in Rotarua, but was subsequently ruled out and pending further tests there will be a more precise update today.
The Bay of Plenty coach, Vern Cotter, selected a full-strength team yesterday after prop Simms Davison and centre Alan Bunting were declared fit after recovering from a back injury and a broken thumb, respectively.
BAY OF PLENTY (v Lions): A Cashmore; F Bolavucu, A Bunting, G McQuoid, A Tahana; M Williams, K Senio; S Davison, A Lutui, B Castle, M Sorenson, B Upton, W Ormond (capt), N Latu, C Bourke. Replacements: J Pareanga, T Filise, P Tupai, W Smith, C Hubbard, R Moon, A Stewart.
