Healey won't be gagged

An unrepentant Austin Healey has promised that his autobiography to be published in October will be as explosive as the newspaper column that has left him facing the threat of disciplinary action from the RFU and an England ban.

The Leicester winger caused uproar in Australia on the eve of the final Test in Sydney when he called Wallaby lock Justin Harrison 'an ape, a plank and a plod' - an attack that backfired when Harrison's man- of- the- match performance earned Australia a series-clinching 29-23 victory.

While Healey, who has already been fined an undisclosed sum by the Lions, began his holiday in Hawaii, senior officials confirmed yesterday that the RFU is considering charging him with bringing the game into disrepute.

Lions manager Donal Lenihan said: 'The matter is currently under consideration at the Lions office in Dublin.'

England manager Clive Woodward also took a tough line with Healey and Matt Dawson, whose own newspaper column was critical of the Lions management.

Speaking en route to England from Australia where he worked as a TV pundit during the tour, Woodward said: 'You

season because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic, will be played just 11 days after the publication of Healey's book, provisionally called Foot in Mouth.

The book could earn Healey, nicknamed Mr Gobby, around £100,000. Lance Ames, managing director of Greenwater Publishing, said: 'The gloves are off.

'Austin knows he won't be involved in the next Lions tour, so he intends to say exactly what he thinks about what went on in Australia, especially as Clive Woodward, for whom he has great respect, was not part of the management team.

'He told me before the tour that he hated Australians. That goes back to when Bob Dwyer was coach at Leicester. Their relationship was so bad that Austin considered giving up rugby.'

Ironically, Healey wanted Woodward to write the foreword to his life story - but that now appears unlikely.

Like a boomerang which keeps coming back, Healey's feud with Harrison caused the departing tourists further embarrassment yesterday with the Australian claiming that he