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There will be plenty of familiar faces in the British and Irish Lions squad this year returning for their second, third and, in the case of Alun Wyn Jones, their fourth tour.
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There will equally be new names in Warren Gatland’s 36-man squad to take on South Africa, some of whom have benefited from an upturn in form in 2021.
Here is an XV of players who could make their first Lions tour this year:
1 Wyn Jones
Loosehead Wyn Jones made his Wales debut during the 2017 Lions tour, but is now a favourite to start against the Springboks.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
Exeter Chiefs’ Luke Cowan-Dickie looked to have moved ahead of Jamie George in the England pecking order over the Guinness Six Nations which improved his chances to start for the Lions in the first Test.
3 Zander Fagerson
Tadhg Furlong and Kyle Sinckler are the two tightheads that look to almost certain be returning for a second Lions tour, which leaves the likes of Zander Fagerson and Andrew Porter to battle for the final place in what would be the first tour for both.
4 Tadhg Beirne
After a terrific Six Nations, there is little doubt that Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne will be one the Lions tour for the first time this summer.
5 James Ryan
Ireland’s James Ryan also made his Test debut against the USA during the last Lions tour and has since established himself as one of the premier players in Europe.
6 Tom Curry
There are plenty of flankers who have put their hand up to be selected this year, but one player who looks to be guaranteed to make the first of potentially many tours at the age of 22 is England’s Tom Curry.
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7 Hamish Watson
After being named the Six Nations Player of the Championship, Hamish Watson could not have done any more to make his Lions debut.
8 Sam Simmonds
The No8 candidates such as Taulupe Faletau and CJ Stander are already Lions, and Billy Vunipola was originally selected for the 2017 tour. But England outcast Sam Simmonds is in with a chance.
9 Tomos Williams
In one of the most open positions this year, at least one of the scrumhalves is likely to be a debutant and Wales Tomos Williams could be one of them.
10 Finn Russell
Scotland’s Finn Russell did actually play for the Lions in 2017 against the Hurricanes after being called up mid-tour, but he could well be in line to be selected for the original squad for the first time.
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'Farrell, Itoje and their Saracens teammates might be playing in the second leg of the Championship play-off final the week before the Japan game, so does that mean they might be overlooked in favour of players from the PRO14?
The @AndyGoode10 Column ???https://t.co/mxZdulYuyR
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 16, 2021
11 Louis Rees-Zammit
At the age of 20, Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit is another player who is likely to make the first of many tours this year.
12 Chris Harris
Though primarily an outside centre, Scotland’s Chris Harris did all he could during the Six Nations to make the Lions squad. An outside bet, but has the best defensive game of all options.
13 Garry Ringrose
Ireland’s Garry Ringrose was relatively new to Test rugby in 2017, having made his Ireland debut in November 2016, and therefore missed out on the Lions. But he is primed to be selected this year.
14 Jonny May
At the age of 31, England’s Jonny May should make his first Lions tour this year after narrowly missing out in 2017.
15 Hugo Keenan
Seasoned Lions Stuart Hogg and Liam Williams are the standout fullbacks heading into the summer, but Ireland’s Hugo Keenan is a late bolter after the Six Nations and his form for Leinster.
Comments on RugbyPass
Can’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to comments