The much-anticipated British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia later this year has been named by coach Warren Gatland.
Welsh flanker Sam Warburton leads a 37-man squad that features a reasonable split of talent from the four home unions, although, as is to be expected, there are rather fewer Scots than men from the other three countries.
No place was made for English veterans Johnny Wilkinson or Andrew Sheridan, both of whom currently play in France, with Gatland preferring to select those who play their rugby domestically within the British Isles. That said, the squad is probably the most cosmopolitan Lions outfit yet assembled, with the likes of Sean Matiland, Manu Tuilagi, Matt Stevens, Mako Vunipola and Toby Faletau all born elsewhere and Lions-qualified through residence.
British & Irish Lions: Leigh Halfpenny, Stuart Hogg, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Alex Cuthbert, Sean Maitland, George North, Jonathan Davies, Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Roberts, Manusamoa Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray, Mike Phillips, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole, Cian Healy, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Matt Stevens, Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley, Richard Hibbard, Tom Youngs, Ian Evans, Richie Gray, Alun Wyn Jones, Paul O’Connell, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Toby Faletau, Jamie Heaslip, Dan Lydiate, Sean O’Brien, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton (Captain).
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I think Wilkinson and Brad Barrit are the two unlucky ones this year for not making the squad. The Ausies are playing some good rugby again and it is going to be interesting to see how this BIL tour pans out. My money though is on the BIL’s
Real pity about Wilkinson yes, he played a pretty decent game last week in the semi-finals. All french finals in the HC. Toulon to win though
@Viking (Comment 1) : I am not too sure. Wilko there, even just as mentor, would’ve sealed their fate but this squad lacks a general.
@King Shark (Comment 3) : Well you do have O’Driscoll there as the experienced backline player but Wilko would have marshalled the troups to victory without breaking a sweat.
Sean Maitland? 🙄 True blue Brit. 😐
@McLovin (Comment 5) : Vunipola, Tuilagi…
@King Shark (Comment 6) : At least those two have been in the UK for a good few years. Many tourist have been in the UK longer than McMaitland. 😈
Wilko made himself unavailable for the squad, said his body was not up to a tour. They will bring him in later when injuries occur.
The biggest shock is the selection of Matt Stevens at prop, he is useless. Fat and a liability in the scrums. Every 4N’s prop left out of the Lions squad is a better option than Stevens. The argument that he can play both sides of the scrum is rubbish considering they have 6 props in the squad.
If one thinks of the players not selected, one could come up with a pretty handy side along the lines of:
15. M.Brown 14. Ashton 13. Williams 12. Barritt 11. Zebo 10. Wilko 9. Care 1. Corbeserio 2. R.Ford 3. E.Murray 4. Launchbury 5. Hamilton 6. Robshaw 7. T.Wood 8. Beatie 16. R.Best 17.P.James 18. Lawes 19. K.Brown 20. Laidlaw 21. Hook 22. Foden
Wilko will be there at the business end of the tour.
He was anyway ineligible; the French season doesnt end early enough for him to have made the original squad.
@Saffex (Comment 8) :
Thats 5 more props than they have in Australia!
@McLovin (Comment 5) : have to say, it’s a shocker for me too, he just took up someone’s spot, someone who’s probably dreamt about being a British Lion since childhood. Leaves a bitter taste in one’s mouth, even the Dutch oke, Visser would’ve been justified to go ahead of Maitland
@King Shark (Comment 6) : They grew up in England if am not mistaken, in fact I have a picture of 9 year old Vunipola at school in England. Think Tuilagi grew up there as well
@Ludz (Comment 11) :
I dont really buy that mate.
He qualifies and thus was selected. I dont get how dreams come into it. They anyway needed to at least pick “some” Scottish players and he was the choice.
Anyway, its not the first time. A certain Michael Catt was called up in 1997 and even played against the country of his birth…
@Ludz (Comment 12) :
Who cares where they grew up? Its the British and Irish Lions, not the British- and Irish-born Lions.
There are tendencies at play here…
@VinChainSaw (Comment 10) : Nope bud that was the case some 5 years ago. The Aussies have a handful of good props these days
@VinChainSaw (Comment 14) : bloody agent
@Saffex (Comment 15) :
Saffex, again opinion parading as fact… 😉
@VinChainSaw (Comment 17) : Nope, one only needs to look at the Aussie scrums over the past few years to know that they no longer suffer from being creamed at scrum time.
Aussies being weak in the scrums, rings much like the Boks always being more physical than their opponents……its simply not true.
@Saffex (Comment 18) :
Aussies being weak in the scrums, rings much like the Boks always being more physical than their opponents……its simply not true.
Yeah, but it can be mostly true… there are no absolutes in rugby.
You can add Jamie Heaslip, Dylan Hartley and Ian Evans to players born outside of UK and Ireland. 😆
@VinChainSaw (Comment 19) : True, but its a fallacy that the Aussies dont have good props