Rugby Union: Struggling Bristol short of forwards

It is Last Chance Saloon time for the borderline Lions as Fran Cotton and his fellow selectors cast a final eye over contenders for the three- Test trip to South Africa. There will be any number of hard luck stories when the final 35 names are announced on Tuesday week but, if you want real misfortune, look no further than the Memorial Ground in Bristol.

When the struggling West Countrymen face Sale in one of today's three surviving Courage League games - the rest fell victim to the demands of the World Cup Sevens - Paul Hull will be sitting on the replacements' bench. Remember him? The most exciting running full-back in Britain?

As recently as the summer of 1994, he was wearing an England shirt and galloping around the high veld of the Transvaal like a thoroughbred with his Test performances against the Springboks bordering on the world-class.

Now, nothing. Bristol, the club he captained last season, have relegated him in favour of a university student, Josh Lewsey. Martin Corry, the current captain, describes Lewsey as an "exciting talent who just loves to run with the ball". Hull was like that too, once upon a time.

His decline can be traced to the moment Jack Rowell replaced him with Mike Catt for England's 1995 Five Nations match with Ireland. Hull had done nothing wrong, apart from injure himself during a warm-up international with Canada, but the die was cast. Rowell also omitted him from his World Cup party later that year and it was enough to wreck what remained of his confidence.

Fighting to avoid the ignominy of participation in the end-of-season play-offs, Bristol must face Sale without three injured international forwards. Mark Regan, Simon Shaw and David Corkery are all sidelined by ailments picked up during the Five Nations, so Richie Collins, the former Wales flanker, makes his league debut while Phil Adams and Barry McConnell get a run at lock and hooker respectively.

Sale, challenging hard for a place in next year's Heineken Cup, have problems of their own because of injuries to Simon Mannix, Phil Winstanley, Dave Baldwin and Dylan O'Grady. "I'm not sure how effective we are in terms of strength in depth," said John Mitchell, their player-coach yesterday. "But this is a must-win game for us."

Harlequins give Paul Challinor an outing at full-back against West Hartlepool at The Stoop while Wasps, who face Orrell at Sudbury, welcome back their captain, Lawrence Dallaglio, following a bout of tonsillitis.

In Wales, Cardiff take on South Wales Police in a Swalec Cup quarter- final that is fast being overshadowed by the principality's latest club versus country rumpus. Terry Holmes, the Cardiff coach, reacted furiously to news that his captain, Hemi Taylor, had suffered a severe hamstring injury during weight training with the national squad. "These players are athletes, not machines," Holmes said. "If we could get enough money together, I would like to see us buy our internationals out of their Welsh Rugby Union contracts."

At least Holmes has been spared the problems of his rivals. "We've been badly disrupted by police shift work but I just have to accept it," said the underdogs' coach, Steve Davies.