Ban ends Lions dream for Quinlan

Alan Quinlan is set to miss the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa this summer, after being handed a 12-week ban.The Munster flanker had been one of the surprise inclusions in Ian McGeechan's squad, but is now likely to be the third of the original 37 players to be ruled out.He has been found guilty of making contact with the eye area of Leinster skipper Leo Cullen during Munster's recent Heineken Cup semi-final defeat at Croke Park.And although Quinlan will be able to appeal, the suspension until September 9th currently means he would miss all the Lions games.It comes after scrum-half Tomas O'Leary and centre Tom Shanklin had to pull out of the tour through injury - the former having been replaced by Scotland skipper Mike Blair.England's Tom Croft - who was widely predicted to be selected first time round - is expected to come in for Quinlan, although McGeechan could also opt for Wales captain Ryan Jones.The Springboks are currently 2/5 favourites for the three-Test series with William Hill, while the tourists are priced 13/5 by Totesport.

Written By:- Andy (About our Authors)
Posted on:- 14/05/2009 - 11:50 AM
Filed in:- Rugby Union Betting News