Gavin Henson has a groin strain and is out of the Lions dirt-trackers' clash against Manawatu.

I would love to discuss this little statement in full, but for legal reasons I can't.

One day the full story will emerge and remember at that point, few others had the courage to question this particular injury.

What we can talk about is just how effective Sir Clive Woodward's spin department, led by former Labour media man Alistair Campbell, has been in negating the full impact of Saturday's appalling 21-3 First Test defeat in Christchurch.

Instead of discussing Sir Clive's woeful decision to play a load of England World Cup winners based on reputation rather than plenty of Welsh Grand Slam winners on current form, we find the rugby writers concentrating on Tana Umaga's spear tackle which put Brian O'Driscoll out of the series after one minute at the Jade Stadium.

Now we hear that All Black captain Umaga is trying to find O'Driscoll's mobile telephone number.

Apparently he wants to have a conciliatory chat with O'Driscoll.

I said on Saturday Umaga was getting away with near-murder throughout the match and French ref Joel Jutge chose to ignore it. Very few of the rugby writers mentioned it. Strange how it's now become the big talking point.

But all this, sadly, is history.

New Zealand are 1-0 up and the Lions are facing a 3-0 'All Blackwash', despite the record-breaking £10million investment and 50 players used to make themselves competitive for this, the toughest of tours.

All that matters now is the second Test in Wellington on Saturday.

But Sir Clive, thanks to plenty of efficient media manipulation, has been able to cloud the issue effectively through the O'Driscoll incident - pretty clever making Welsh wing Gareth Thomas the new captain I thought - and Danny Grewcock's 'harsh' punishment.

It's all spin of course.

Poor old Louisa Cheetham, the lovely lady who ran the media operation for Zurich during the World Cup campaign, finds herself belting out hundreds of emails harping on about Grewcock, O'Driscoll and Thomas, with Sir Clive saying: "Gareth Thomas is an outstanding player and a natural leader. We are going to need big characters out there who can dig deep and show real fight and courage. Gareth is such a character. I am in no doubt we can beat New Zealand. Gareth's leadership will be central to meeting that challenge."

It's all just window-dressing of course.

The truth is, Sir Clive got his selection for the first Test wrong. That's why Jason Robinson is playing against Manawatu along with Martin Corry.

In fact, he's got selection wrong throughout the tour, experimenting endlessly rather than trying to find a settled Test team every Saturday.

Woodward, if you read deeper into the current flurry of quotes coming out of New Zealand, confesses: "I can also hold my hand up and say, with hindsight, I got one or two things wrong, which I intend to fix this week."

Here's how to fix it Clive.

A lad called Steve O'Brien, one of the many anxious Lions fans who emailed me hoping for better things on Saturday, suggests this team (1-15) for Saturday: Jenkins, Bulloch, Sheridan, O'Callaghan, Kay, Owen, Jones, M Williams, Dawson, Wilkinson, Thomas, Henson, D'Arcy, S Williams, Lewsey.

Yup, Scotsman Bulloch in for the hapless first Test hookers Shane Byrne and Steve Thompson, who managed to give the All Blacks near-perfect possession from most of our line-outs.

Or was it just that Ben Kay and Paul O'Connell couldn't compete with Ali Williams and Chris Jack?

He also suggests an all-Welsh loose-forward trio of Michael Owen, Ryan Jones and Martyn Williams for the all-English threesome of the injured Richard Hill, Neil Back and the apparently axed Corry. Certainly there will be changes there, but Corry himself reckons we might be looking at Lewis Moody, Simon Easterby and Jones.

Me? I'd keep Back, despite his 36 years, Jones and Owen with Williams on the bench as an impact replacement.

With O'Driscoll out, Henson has to play at centre while I'd like to see him next to Tom Shanklin (or England's Ollie Smith) with two more Welshmen, captain Thomas and quick-footed Shane Williams on either wing.

England's Mark Cueto, with nine tries in nine internationals, deserves a look while Josh Lewsey remains my full-back of choice.

The suggested halfback pairing of Matt Dawson and Jonny Wilkinson won the World Cup in 2003 but in 2005 they have been overtaken by Stephen Jones and Dwayne Peel, the first Test failures.

I'd stick with the Welshmen myself, creating a backline of six Welshmen and Lewsey but I suspect Sir Clive will go for Wilko and Dawson. And regret it. Again.

These are difficult days for the Lions. With Brent Cockbain becoming the 50th Lion and Jason White the 51st, nobody has had much of a chance to prove themselves.

The debate over team selection will be endless.

Bulloch doesn't look like a Lions-class hooker to me, Robinson could score a hat-trick against Manawatu and look like the old Billy Whizz, Wilko is world class and may yet bounce back to form.

Dawson can be annoying but effective, Andrew Sheridan certainly deserves a chance to prove he's the strongest man in world rugby, but Julian White is a great scrummager.

The Irish backs, Geordan Murphy, Shane Horgan and Gordon D'Arcy, will feel aggrieved not to get a Test chance while Mefin Davies, must wonder why he's spent the summer in Canada instead of New Zealand.

Lock Robert Sidoli may feel the same way, and how about Colin Charvis if it's experienced loose forwards the Lions need?

But it's all too late for that now.

Let's leave the last word to JPR Williams, who has been consistently outspoken about Sir Clive's selection policy right from the start.

He told Radio Five Live: "As an ex-Lion I was embarrassed by our performance on Saturday. Sir Clive said he would pick the side on form, he hasn't. Things have to get better."

Spot on as always, JPR.

Let's hope Campbell and Sir Clive were listening.