Rob Howley has declared that the British and Irish Lions have yet to see the best of “phenomenal athlete” George North after the Wales wing was passed fit for Saturday’s first rugby Test against Australia.
Just hours after being deflated by their dismal 14-12 defeat to the Brumbies in their first loss Down Under, the tourists were told that North has made a complete recovery from his hamstring injury.
The destructive 21-year-old had been in magnificent form prior to limping off against the Combined Country XV, with his ability to break and evade tackles identifying him as one of the Lions’ key threats.
Now he is set to be unleashed on the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium after assistant coach Howley confirmed he is available to fill the left wing.
“It’s great to have someone like George available because of his physicality, power and speed,” Howley said.
“I believe we’ve only seen glimpses of him, he’s a phenomenal athlete and hopefully he’ll have that opportunity to show it over the next few weeks.
“He’s probably one of the best athletes I’ve been involved with as a coach. He can change direction very quickly, has a great step, power and speed.
“His work rate off the wing is phenomenal. We want our wings to be involved because you want your best players on the ball as often as possible.
“He works tirelessly hard at his game and it’s good for the Lions to have someone like him available.”
North’s presence has taken on greater importance with centre Jamie Roberts and wing Tommy Bowe almost certain to miss the series opener because of their respective hamstring and hand problems.
The shock and awe gameplan of head coach Warren Gatland is heavily reliant on the power running of North, Roberts and Bowe, with Jonathan Sexton and Brian O’Driscoll providing the subtlety.
Losing all three wrecking balls would have been a significant setback that Howley admitted could possibly have forced the Lions to rethink their gameplan.
Further firepower could be provided by Manu Tuilagi after Howley revealed he has an outside chance of facing the Wallabies this weekend, potentially forcing Gatland to choose between him and Jonathan Davies to partner O’Driscoll in the centres.
“Manu is improving every day after taking a stinger (shoulder injury). The strength is coming back into his shoulder and he’ll be touch and go,” Howley said.
It is hoped that Roberts and Bowe will have recovered in time for the second Test and Howley has taken comfort from the level of medical expertise that has enabled North to plot a collision course with the Wallabies.
“Five or six years ago if someone had a grade one hamstring injury you wouldn’t have known how to load him because you wouldn’t have the sports science knowledge that we do now,” he said.
“Now we’ve got all that data what he’s doing in a game and in training and we can make more informed decisions.”
Australia will have seized upon the Lions’ setback against the Brumbies, their first defeat to a provincial team since 1997, noting especially the tourists’ difficulties at the breakdown.
Howley believes the response to events in Canberra will gauge the level of resilience within the squad.
“Sometimes a loss gets you on edge. Our pride has been hurt we are disappointed and frustrated at losing. You take that hit and it’s about how you react to that hit,” he said.
“Many factors in the game were very disappointing, but you have to move on when you’re on a Lions tour and our aim is to win the Test series.”