SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Losing Alun Wyn Jones is huge blow to the Lions but team has exciting potential

My heart goes out to Alun Wyn Jones and the Lions, it’s a disappointing start to the tour and his absence as both skipper and totem pole player will be keenly felt.

There is no disguising the fact that this is a major blow. It will feel worse because he hadn’t even made it on to the plane. For some ridiculous reason it might have been more palatable if the injury had occurred in the opening match on South African soil this Saturday.

All that said, however, the history of the Lions is littered with big-name players getting injured and the squad having to cope on the hoof, make new plans and react positively.

On my first Lions tour as a player in 1980 we picked up eight major injuries. Our manager Syd Millar seemed to spend most of the time at various airports saying a sad farewell to the lame and hello to the new arrivals.

And as coach in 2005 we enjoyed no luck either with Lawrence Dallaglio doing his ankle early in the first game, Brian O’Driscoll lasting less than a minute of the first Test and Richard Hill joining him in the medics room moments later. 

By the end of the tour only one player in the Test team I had pencilled in at the start of the tour — Paul O’Connell — was available for selection in his specialist position. 

So injuries happen but such an early injury to the skipper is doubly difficult — you are not just replacing a player, you are looking for a leader who is guaranteed a place in the starting Test side.

I was pretty certain Maro Itoje would get the nod as he is one of the few cast-iron certainties. Having said that we are not privy to how players have been shaping up. 

When on top form and fully fit Conor Murray comes into the automatic selection category and also has two successful Lions tours under his belt. If Warren Gatland has seen enough from him in recent weeks, and he has the chemistry needed, then his selection makes perfect sense. Murray was excellent on Saturday.

I liked the look of the Lions against an enterprising Japan team and am excited by their potential. This Lions team will play at pace, are brimful of skill and I suspect they are going to fully employ big power runners like Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki in the midfield. 

The injury and withdrawal of Justin Tipuric is also a big blow, a great player who would have been a Test starter for me although the Lions are well blessed in the back row. His replacement Josh Navidi was pretty unlucky not to make the original tour party.