The loss of James Hook for the first international against South Africa on Saturday is far more damaging than that of the unfortunate Scotland prop, Euan Murray. The Ospreys fly half was clearly intended to operate as bench cover for the Lions but the blow to his head that he received during yesterday's confrontational game against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth has ruled him out.

The Lions will have in mind the mistakes of last week which led to Ryan Jones, the Wales captain, flying out as a replacement and returning home 24 hours later after a neurological assessment. Hook's mishap is nowhere near so bad - Jones had taken blows to the head in successive internationals on tour in North America - but quite properly the Lions will rest him this week in the hope that he can play a valuable contribution over the final fortnight of the tour.

But they must now decide how best to cover midfield and whether, when they name their test team tomorrow, Ronan O'Gara has not come up on the rails to start at fly half ahead of Stephen Jones. At a pinch, Jones could cover inside centre though Hook's versatility also allows him to operate at full back and, as he demonstrated against Western Province in Cape Town last Saturday, his long-range goal-kicking is a match-winning asset.

As it is, with Leigh Halfpenny ruled out, the goal-kicking resources hinge completely on Jones and O'Gara which means both must be involved in the match 22 against the Springboks. Luke Fitzgerald has the versatility to cover other positions in the back line but, if nothing else this week, individuals such as Riki Flutey would be well advised to brush up their kicking skills under the guidance of Neil Jenkins, whose accuracy won the Lions the 1997 test series here.

Murray, the Scotland tight-head, travelled from Port Elizabeth to Durban last night with his right leg immobilised in a boot and propped on the seat in front of him. His sprained ankle will be assessed over the next 24 hours before a judgement is made whether to call for a replacement but the Lions are well blessed at prop: the other four, Gethin Jenkins, Phil Vickery, Adam Jones and Andrew Sheridan are all in good shape and fighting hard for the test berths while Murray has not made the impact on the tour he would have wished.