England scrumhalf Matt Dawson will remain on tour with the British and Irish Lions after apologising for criticising the team management.
Dawson criticised the Lions management, especially coach Graham Henry, in his weekly column with a London newspaper, claiming, among other things, that some of the players were so fed up they wanted to quit the tour.
But Lions manager Donal Lenihan said today he spoke with Dawson about the article and the player had apologised for his comments. Lenihan added that Dawson would be dealt with "internally" but said there were no plans to send him home.
"Personally I was very disappointed by his comments and I know some of the other players were as well," Lenihan said.
"I've spoken with him and he regrets what he said and he has apologised for that and so we will deal with the matter internally."
Welshman Rob Howley was chosen ahead of Dawson as the scrumhalf for Saturday's first test in Brisbane, won by the Lions 29-13. Dawson was selected on the replacements bench but did not take the field.
Reuters