Wounded Lions call in 11 new Test caps

England flanker Neil Back was the latest casualty today as the Lions were forced to name a depleted team for the First Test against Australia.

A rib injury ruled Back out of contention for the match in Brisbane on Saturday.

The injury jinx which has dogged the squad since they arrived Down Under has forced coach Graham Henry to name a side which features 11 men making their Lions Test debuts.

Neither centre Will Greenwood (ankle) nor hooker Robin McBryde (thigh) were available for selection and five players - Lawrence Dallaglio, Dan Luger, Mike Catt, Phil Greening and Simon Taylor - have already been ruled out of the remainder of the tour.

For the Brisbane showdown, Matt Perry is preferred to Bath team-mate Iain Balshaw at full-back and is joined by seven other Englishmen, three Welsh players, three from Ireland and a solitary Scot, loose-head prop Tom Smith.

Henry said: "We've got a game plan in mind that we had before we left England, and the personnel selected for this Test haven't made any difference to that plan.

"We have seen one or two things that we think we can take advantage of in the Australian team and we've been working on those areas.

"I think that this team will produce a marvellous performance on Saturday. We have picked a team based on performances on tour and the attitude and commitment is total. I am sure they will produce a performance they can be proud of."