Surprise call-up is so sweet for Sheri

Andrew Sheridan

If Andrew Sheridan fulfils his enormous potential on this tour, former All Black selector Peter Thorburn could have a lynch mob after him.

While coaching Bristol three years ago, Thorburn persuaded the massive Sheridan that his future lay in the front rather than the middle row.

It was a huge call to make. Sheridan was 22 at the time and didn't have much of an idea about propping but, at 1.94m and 122kg, Sheridan's frame would never be lifted high enough in the lineout nor transported round the paddock quickly enough to play lock at the highest level, said Thorburn.

The new breed of modern locks were all long-limbed, wiry types who could scamper like underfed Great Danes, yet were durable enough to not snap when they hurtled into physical contact.

Sheridan himself could see he was a very large square peg trying to fit into a round hole and had been mulling the move before Thorburn suggested it. It meant he didn't need his arm twisted, which was a good job as those arms were capable of bench pressing 215kg.

As Sheridan recalls: "I was interested in making the move and Thorbs helped me out. It was pretty good of him. He persevered and gave me some chances in the second team at Bristol and then put me into the first team.

"I thought the move would suit my physique. I prefer scrums to lineouts. Dancing round at the lineout ... I prefer scrums. I have now played more games at prop than I have at second row. I'm getting pretty comfortable with the technique."

Obviously he is, he's been selected for a Lions tour. Although some eyebrows have been raised at his inclusion, as his was one of the least predictable selections. He has only one England cap, earned as a replacement against Canada last year, and he couldn't get a game during this year's Six Nations.

He did, however, screw more than a few heads off while playing for his club, Sale. It wasn't enough to convince England coach Andy Robinson but Sir Clive Woodward could see how such brute strength and his massive frame could be invaluable in New Zealand.

Woodward can talk about keeping his strategic options open but the non-negotiable is dominance up front. The Lions will look to attack at set piece and see if they have a scrummaging edge - Sheridan can't be discounted.

The other looseheads, Gethin Jenkins, Graham Rowntree and Matt Stevens, come with more functions, though none would give Carl Hayman sleepless nights.

Sheridan would also rank as one of the best lineout lifters in the party and worked with Julian White while at Bristol, the Lions' likely tighthead for the first test.

Sheridan sees it this way: "Everyone is going to get an opportunity. That's what Clive says. Admittedly some won't get as much of an opportunity so you will have to take them when they come.

"I think all the teams that we play are going to be formidable. All the provincial games, they are going to want to take us on at the scrums. That is what it is all about. If you get the edge it's a great feeling. If you are going backwards it's one of the worst feelings in the world - you don't want to be playing.

"I don't think bench-press strength has any relation to your ability to prop. It is more your neck, your back and your legs that take all the pressure when you are scrummaging. The tighthead is trying to pull you down and out with all his weight on the back of your neck. But I certainly don't believe we will meet any particularly weak scrummaging teams out here."

Maybe he's only an outside chance of making the test team but Lions tours have a habit of cutting relative unknowns the slack they needed. Jeremy Guscott only had a solitary cap before cracking the 1989 Lions test team; the uncapped Will Greenwood was one of the stars in 1997; and Martin Corry, not originally selected in the 2001 tour party, started all three tests.

Sheridan's transition from lock to prop was not without turbulence. He's not the finished article but there is a growing sense that he might be the right article to give the Lions that foundation they are looking for.

And if that turns out to be the case, there will be a lot of New Zealanders cursing that Peter Thorburn.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY