Club-by-club Premiership Lions candidates: Part 2 - London Irish to Worcester Warriors
Following on from our initial look at British and Irish Lions contenders from the first half of the Gallagher Premiership clubs, we now turn our attentions to London Irish, Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks, Saracens, Wasps and Worcester Warriors.
There is an unending stream of domestic, European and international rugby between now and the beginning of the tour of South Africa in 2021, something which will give plenty of players an opportunity to impress head coach Warren Gatland and his senior staff.
Although many of these teams have historically had limited representation when it comes to the Lions, there are a number of candidates at these clubs putting their hands up for selection in what is arguably the most anticipated Lions tour in the professional era.
We round up each club’s standout candidates for selection, as well as a notable dark horse who could force their way into the mix with a strong 10 months of rugby.
London Irish
Potential tourists – Ben Loader
Realistically, Loader is the only player at Irish who is potentially in the frame for the Lions. The gifted wing took his opportunities in the Greene King IPA Championship to cement himself into the Irish XV and he has since backed that up with strong displays in the Premiership.
It’s still a long shot for Loader to be involved, although a strong end to the 2019/20 season could help propel him towards an England call-up and that, as well as Sean O’Brien’s age and injury issues, makes Loader the front-runner in Sunbury.
Dark horse – Ollie Hassell-Collins
Hassell-Collins soared to public awareness against Gloucester earlier this season, when he bagged four tries in a 24-20 victory for Irish. He forms one third of an exciting home-grown back three which also includes Loader, as well as Tom Parton. Loader would seem to be the next cab off the rank for Irish in terms of international honours, although do not rule out Hassell-Collins if he continues to turn in clinical performances.
Newcastle Falcons
Potential tourists – Mark Wilson
Similar to Irish, Newcastle really only have one player currently who can be talked about in Lions terms and that is returning back rower Wilson. His time at Sale on loan is done, Newcastle were able to successfully secure promotion back to the Premiership and now the 30-year-old is ready to add to his plethora of appearances for Falcons.
It is a big ask for Wilson to make the cut, with his role with England having diminished amid the rises of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, let alone his rivals from Wales, Scotland and Ireland also coming into the equation. That said, Wilson does offer versatility to play across the back row and brings experience, as well as a toughness and resilience that would serve him well in South Africa.
Dark horse – Josh Basham
Unfortunately, there is no clear dark horse at Newcastle and certainly very few who would stack up alongside the riches that Gatland has to call upon from the four component nations. Basham, though, is a very exciting young back rower and if Dean Richards gives him an opportunity next season, he could well run with it, albeit if not likely all the way to a spot on the plane to South Africa.
Game on. https://t.co/26Sebj0qyk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 4, 2020
Northampton Saints
Potential tourists – Courtney Lawes, Nick Isiekwe, Lewis Ludlam, Dan Biggar, Rory Hutchinson and George Furbank
Both Lawes and Biggar will be confident of being able to make strong cases for their inclusions, especially with the ages of Alun Wyn Jones and Johnny Sexton. Furbank went well in his first tastes of international rugby at full-back and could yet offer some competition for Lions incumbent, Stuart Hogg.
Ludlam was beneficial to England at the recent Rugby World Cup with the carrying that he brought to the back row and Hutchinson has excelled for Saints, although opportunities at international level with Scotland have been limited to this point. Isiekwe’s performances, away from the shadow of Maro Itoje and George Kruis, will be intriguing to watch.
Dark horse – Alex Mitchell
As mentioned in the previous article, there seem to be opportunities opening up for young English scrum-halves over the coming year and Mitchell could throw his hat into the mix with Harry Randall and Jack Maunder as someone who could contribute in the Lions set-up. Cobus Reinach’s boots will not be easy to fill, but if he can, Mitchell will have shown what a capable performer he is.
Remarkably, Wood has already been given the all-clear to begin non-contact training. https://t.co/Fcr0jqGf7v
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 3, 2020
Sale Sharks
Potential tourists – Tom Curry and Manu Tuilagi
Curry is one player who has arguably cemented himself into Gatland’s plans barring injury and has shown his capability across the back row already for England. There is no doubt he would be licking his lips at the prospect of getting another opportunity against the Springboks, albeit in the red of the Lions rather than the white of England.
Similarly, Tuilagi, if fit, is surely on the plane to South Africa. He brings an ability to get over the gain-line to the midfield that no other players in the British Isles can match. Whether it is through his pace and his outside break, or through his ability to step inside and carry over and through defenders, very few players in the world can match up with a fit and in-form Tuilagi.
Dark horse – Ben Curry
If you like Tom Curry enough to pick, why not double down with another player built in the same mould? In fairness, Ben is a slightly different player to his twin brother, with more skill as a natural fetcher, although the trade off is that he does not quite have Tom’s level of physicality. Gatland does not lack for options in the back row, although doubling down on the Curry twins wouldn’t be the worst move.
Saracens
Potential tourists – Manu Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly
This celebrated sextet should all head out to South Africa assuming they are fit and it is unlikely that a season in the Championship and/or a loan spell to France is going to change Gatland’s mind on that. At least five of the six would seem strong bets to be in Gatland’s strongest XV.
Whether or not a lower calibre of opposition in the Championship prompts Gatland to rethink one or two of the players’ spots in his starting XV is a potential debate, though it should not see any of them miss making the overall squad.
Dark horse – Duncan Taylor
Injuries have blighted Taylor’s career, but when fit there is arguably no better defensive outside centre in the British Isles. That may not be enough to see him earn a place amongst the likes of Tuilagi, Jonathan Joseph and Garry Ringrose, though he does offer something different to the other players in the mix.
Wasps
Potential tourists – Joe Launchbury, Brad Shields and Dan Robson
Launchbury is the standout player at Wasps and has led the club on and off the pitch admirably. That said, lock is one of the positions of real strength for Gatland and it is that level of competition, both in terms of quality and quantity, that has seen Launchbury miss out in the past.
Shields’ first moments in an England jersey came in South Africa and he flashed his ability then, whilst Robson is a player that fans have called for to be involved with England for years now, only for Eddie Jones to turn a deaf ear. The trio have plenty of talent between them, though it would not be surprising to see Wasps go without representation next year, either, such is the intensity of the position battles going into 2021.
Dark horse – Jack Willis
If Gatland wants to hurt South Africa in transition and pick a player built to provide turnovers, he could do worse than have a look at Willis. Whether or not he has done enough to keep out players like Curry, Underhill, Justin Tipuric and Dan Leavy is a valid question, but his performances at club level have been consistently excellent.
Ibitoye leaves Quins with immediate effect. https://t.co/q2mzzRayVy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 3, 2020
Worcester Warriors
Potential tourists – Ted Hill
Having recently been named club captain at just 21 years of age, Hill is a player with a swiftly-filling rugby resume. He has already made his England debut and brings an almost scary level of physicality to his tackling as a blindside flanker. In any era which does not boast two such exciting young back row talents as the ‘Kamikaze Twins’, Hill would be being ordained as England’s future.
Can Hill turn himself into that Pieter-Steph du Toit prototype on the blindside this season? It will not be an easy task in a Worcester side that could struggle at times over the next year, though he is clearly a young man with his head well and truly screwed on and intent on improving as a rugby player.
Dark horse – Ollie Lawrence
There are not many more exciting rugby players than Lawrence and he has shown that he has the maturing all-round game to go alongside the exhilarating attacking moments that he is capable of creating at the flick of a switch. He has not looked out of his depth at all since transitioning from age-grade rugby to regular appearances in the Premiership and if Gatland wants to inject power and pace into his midfield, Lawrence could be at the top of a relatively short list of bolters.
Comments on RugbyPass
Big difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
29 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
29 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
29 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
29 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
29 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to comments