• Line-out linchpin free to play in second Test against Lions• Shades of O’Driscoll spear-tackle affair in New Zealand 2005Australia’s captain, James Horwill, has been cleared to face the British & Irish Lions in Saturday’s second Test after escaping a ban for an alleged stamp on the head of Alun Wyn Jones.The incident occurred in the third minute of a thrilling first Test which the Lions won 23-21. The Welsh lock required two stitches to his eye area and the touring team referred the incident to the citing commissioner.”I played in the days when rucking was allowed and I’ve still got some scars that bear witness to the ruckings I had but for me the head was sacrosanct and you stayed away from that,” said the Lions’ head coach, Warren Gatland, before the verdict was announced. There was no official comment from the tourists after the hearing in Melbourne late on Sunday evening Australian time.There are distant echoes of the infamous Brian O’Driscoll controversy in New Zealand in 2005 when no disciplinary action was taken after the Lions captain was invalided out of the tour by a spear tackle.Following a four-hour hearing the judicial officer, Nigel Hampton QC, said he could find no conclusive evidence that Horwill “was acting recklessly” when his foot came into contact with Jones’s face.Horwill is now free to play in Saturday’s second Test but the Australia coach, Robbie Deans, still has to battle with a succession of injury issues. He is in danger of being without the injured Pat McCabe, Christian Lealiifano, Berrick Barnes, Digby Ioane and Adam Ashley-Cooper in Melbourne.The veteran Wallaby flanker George Smith has been called up, as have the Brumbies full-back Jesse Mogg and the Queensland Reds centre Ben Tapuai, but Quade Cooper has been ignored.The Lions are now within touching distance of a first series win for 16 years. Gatland has challenged his squad to “create their own history” and take an unassailable 2-0 lead. Gatland is keen to take advantage of Australia’s injury problems, despite the potential loss of Paul O’Connell and Alex Corbisiero, nursing arm and calf injuries respectively.The Irish prop Tom Court, who was visiting family and friends in Brisbane, has been called up as cover and will sit on the bench against the Melbourne Rebels on Tuesday in place of Mako Vunipola. The Saracens prop is now in line to start the second Test, with Gatland promising a single-minded Lions effort. “I don’t think there’s going to be any complacency at all. I think these players are well aware they’ve got an opportunity to create their own history. Part of the whole remit of 2009 was to put some respect back into that red jersey. But this series isn’t about respect, it’s about delivering. We, and the players, are well aware of that.”For the Lions to continue as an entity we need to be successful. I think world rugby wants the Lions to be successful as well. When you see the crowd and the atmosphere, it’s something special, something nothing else can create apart from a World Cup. We need to keep that fantasy or mystery alive. It’s incredibly special.”Gatland has admitted he almost left the coaching box on Saturday because he could not bear to watch the desperately tense final moments. “I was going to leave with three minutes to go because I couldn’t watch those last three minutes. I was thinking about[losing] three times in a row in the last minute with Wales in Australia last year. I was saying, ‘There is no way this can happen again.’ There was someone up there potentially looking down on us.”The problem with Test match rugby is that there is nothing in between. It is either agony or ecstasy. The ecstasy for us is that we have won the game but, if that kick, had gone over we would be in a completely different mental place.”Gatland, however, had little sympathy for the unfortunate Australian goal-kicker Kurtley Beale, who slipped as he attempted to win the game with a late penalty. “If I was a coach looking at Kurtley Beale coming on, I would be looking at the boots he was wearing. He came on to the field wearing “mouldies” and he slipped over taking that last kick. Why has he come out on the field wearing that sort of footwear in those sort of conditions? You have to turn up with the right tools. It’s part of your job to make sure you are prepared.”On the subject of preparation Gatland is also determined to ensure future Lions squads have more time together. “We’ve got to make sure that, if we do win the series, we think about what happens in four years’ time because the preparation is vital. In four years New Zealand might have to push their season back a little bit to allow the Lions to prepare properly. You want the team going to the southern hemisphere in the best possible shape to create a great series. We feel we’ve been hampered by a few of those issues on this tour.”Gatland expects Tommy Bowe to be available for Saturday’s game, while Manu Tuilagi has been included to face the Rebels in the final midweek game of the tour. “We will be a lot better on Saturday … when you look at the injuries Australia have picked up and the firepower we have coming back, it should serve us well,” said the head coach.Lions tour 2013Warren GatlandRugby unionAustralia rugby union teamBritish & Irish LionsAustralia sportRobert Kitsonguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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