By Tom Fordyce

Woodward was the obvious choice as Lions coach

It's a good thing that Clive Woodward enjoys a challenge.

Leading the British Lions to New Zealand next summer might just be the toughest job he has ever taken on.

No-one would seriously argue that Woodward is not the best man for the job. It's just that the job of head coach comes with more baggage now than ever before.

Here's the first dilemma.

Woodward, no misty-eyed sentimentalist, will want to pick the very best squad open to him.

Trouble is, that could conceivably mean that the British Lions suddenly become the English Lions plus a few friends.

If you narrow his choices down from squad level to a first choice XV, the problem is thrown into even starker relief.

While we are still a long way off selection, a post-World Cup team would be dominated by Englishmen to a previously unmatched degree.

Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll could be sure of a starting place; Welshman Jonathan Thomas and Scot Simon Taylor are in with a shout. But beyond that, we're into the realms of heated national debate.

All of which leads to an uncomfortable question: what is the real purpose of a Lions team in the professional era?

Henry was accused on the last Lions tour of failing to understand his players

Is it to win the Test series, even if that means selecting a team that undermines the very Britishness of the side?

Or is it to build a team out of disparate national parts, where the concept of a forging a side from all around the British Isles takes precedence over results?

Whichever way he goes, Woodward should not expect an easy ride.

Over two years after the event, former Lions and England captain Martin Johnson is still heavily critical of what he sees as pro-Welsh bias in Graham Henry's 2001 squad.

One of the reasons behind the success of the 1997 Lions in South Africa was that Ian McGeechan did not allow national cliques to form.

If the majority of Lions are England team-mates, that trick becomes a lot harder to pull off.

Backroom boys

Even off the pitch, the accents are more likely to be English than Irish, Scottish or Welsh.

Before he was confirmed as coach, Woodward said, "I wouldn't want to do it unless I had the majority of the people I work with here with me on the Lions tour."

Telfer issues Lions plea

Already confirmed in the party are Bill Beaumont as tour manager and Englishwoman Louise Ramsay as team manager.

Lions chief executive John Feehan has admitted that the Lions committee will let Woodward choose the rest of the backroom staff as he sees fit - and few coaches would decide not to use a team that has just won the World Cup.

Once the touring party reaches New Zealand, another area of conflict could rise to the surface.

Woodward is many things a coach should be - dedicated, imaginative, obsessed with even tiny improvements - but he is also a passionate man, and that can sometimes compromise his diplomacy.

Witness the public spats with Australia coach Eddie Jones during the World Cup.

When the opposing coach in New Zealand is none other than Graham Henry - a man who Woodward has not always seen eye-to-eye with in the past - you can understand why there might be a few dry throats among Lions committee members.

Guiding England through the forthcoming Six Nations campaign suddenly seems rather relaxing by comparison.