The British and Irish Lions’ injury jinx will follow them into their South Africa tour opener against a Royal XV tomorrow. Wales number eight Andy Powell is battling to overcome a hand problem and Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris, who is due to be among the replacements this weekend, has a calf muscle injury.

A final decision on the fitness of both players will be made tomorrow.

But the latest problems come after a disruptive tour build-up that saw Tomas O’Leary, Tom Shanklin and Jerry Flannery all fall by the wayside through serious injuries.

On top of that, Munster flanker Alan Quinlan was sidelined by a 12-week suspension, while Wales wing Leigh Halfpenny will join the tour late after remaining in Cardiff for intensive treatment on a thigh injury.

“We’ve got a couple of niggles,” said Lions assistant coach and scrimmaging specialist Graham Rowntree, at the tourists’ remote hillside retreat 10 miles outside Rustenburg.

“Andy Powell picked up a bit of a hand injury this week, and didn’t train fully this morning. We will assess that tomorrow morning. And Stephen Ferris has got a bit of a calf injury, which we will assess tomorrow as well.

“We’ve got a great medical team, and we are certainly not ruling people out the day before a game. We’ve got various contingency plans. With all the back-row options we have, we can make decisions on the day of the game.”

If Powell is ruled out, Lions head coach Ian McGeechan could conceivably switch Joe Worsley from blindside flanker to number eight.

Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip would be another option tomorrow, although McGeechan is keen not to involve any of the seven Leinster, Leicester or Northampton players who contested European finals last weekend.

McGeechan’s men are expected to record an emphatic success against a representative team making its first competitive appearance.

Players from Vodacom Cup sides the Griquas and Leopards make up a team whose work will be cut out to avoid anything less than a 50-point defeat.

And the match promises to be little more than an appetiser to tomorrow’s main rugby event in South Africa, the Super 14 final between Pretoria-based Blue Bulls and Waikato Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld.

Rowntree, though, is fully aware the Lions cannot afford to take their opponents lightly.

He added: “There is a trap waiting for us if we think they are the weakest team we will face on this tour. If I was playing for them (Royal XV), it would probably be the biggest game of my life, a huge opportunity to turn over a Lions team that is playing together for the first time.

“They will be licking their lips waiting for us. I expect an onslaught from them. It doesn’t matter if it is a team thrown together — they will fancy their chances.

“If I was one of those players, it would be such a massive game for me. Those early collisions will be a good test.”

The Lions will be led into battle by tour captain Paul O’Connell, whose pack is a vastly experienced unit boasting exactly 400 caps.

And Rowntree can see images of his former Leicester and England captain, the revered Lions leader Martin Johnson, in O’Connell.

“Paul is a real competitor, very professional in how he goes about things,” said Rowntree. “What has impressed me about him is that he is obviously under a lot of pressure as captain of the Lions, but he has not said too much.

“He has not said things that haven’t needed to be said — he has said things at the right time, and I think that is a great characteristic of a captain. Martin Johnson was very good at that, and I have been impressed with what he has said at the right time.

“He has not gone overboard, and the way he goes about his business is exemplary.”