Warren Gatland: Watched with pride as Wales beat England

Lions coach Warren Gatland viewed the intensity of Wales' win over England in the 6 Nations title decider as ideal preparation for the summer.

After a bright start, the quality of rugby on show during the Six Nations disappointed Gatland - until the championship reached its sensational climax in Cardiff.

Wales retained their Six Nations crown with a record victory over England in what was a perfect scenario for a Lions coach ahead of the trip to Australia.

Gatland said: "We felt there was a little bit of a fall-off in the quality of some of the games but not in terms of the character and guts that were shown.

"And on the last weekend, we couldn't have asked for any more for the finale with one team playing for the Grand Slam and the other team still in with a chance of winning the championshop.

"That set it up for us with a good level of intensity and physicality. There was some fantastic rugby played over the first weekend."

But the Six Nations is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to selection.

Gatland and the Lions coaches held another meeting this week and experienced players like Paul O'Connell, Dan Lydiate and Tommy Bowe, who all missed the championship through injury, remain in contention.

Lydiate will make his return from a broken ankle on Friday night, when he plays for the Newport Gwent Dragons, while O'Connell will also make a timely return for Munster this weekend.

England loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero is also still in contention, another who, it appears, will only have to prove his fitness rather than his form to get on the plane.

For others, the European semi-finals weekend will be the final opportunity to nail down a place on the tour. Four years ago, one player was selected just an hour before the squad was announced.

The Lions management expect to still be having final discussions on the night before the April 30 announcement, when they will no doubt be dissecting performances from the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finals.

Gatland had been asked to name his touring squad a week earlier but put his foot down because of the important lessons he can learn from watching players perform with a final place at stake.

"We came under a bit of pressure to name the squad a week earlier from the suppliers who have to get a lot of the gear out, get the players suits done and stuff," Gatland said.

"But that is a week that could potentially be significant where there is a lot up for grabs and it gives players who may have been injured more opportunity to come back."