Sam Warburton names Lions team he would pick after 2023 Six Nations
Two-time British and Irish Lions tour skipper Sam Warburton has named the first Test team he would pick if a Lions tour was taking place this summer. The famed tourists, whom he led to a series victory in Australia in 2013 and a drawn series in New Zealand in 2017, aren’t scheduled to play again until the 2025 trip to take on Eddie Jones’ Wallabies.
In the meantime, Warburton has had a bit of fun with RugbyPass in a Rugby World Cup year, naming the Lions Test team he would pick on the back of what has recently unfolded in the Guinness Six Nations. Now working as a TV pundit and as an Asahi Super Dry ambassador, the former Wales back-rower had already named his team of the Six Nations tournament for the BCC.
That XV contained seven players from the title-winning Ireland, including veteran out-half Johnny Sexton due to what the risk-averse Warburton described as his fewer errors style of play, and the selection was completed by four Frenchmen (Damien Penaud, Gael Fickou, Antoine Dupont and Thibaud Flament), three Scots and an Italian (Sebastian Negri).
However, who would Warburton stitch into a Lions Test XV if he had to replace the five players named from France and Italy, the two mainland European countries not involved in the Lions?
“I’d replace Flament with (Ollie) Chessum. I was really impressed with Chessum. Six, I’d probably think of someone who didn’t actually play. England missed (Courtney) Lawes big time and (Tom) Curry. I’m going to go with Lawes there. I’d make him fit for the summer. That is the caveat.”
The other caveat would be that the youthful Chessum wouldn’t be available as his recent training ground ankle dislocation will sideline him for between five and six months. Nevertheless, Warburton insisted the breakthrough Test lock deserved kudos for his Six Nations. “Very mobile, athletic, aggressive, good lineout operator, works really hard in defence, not just from a tackle perspective but at the ruck as well trying to be a nuisance with counter rucking.
“I just thought he looked very comfortable at Test level, I just thought he looked very good. All the England players had a hiccup against France but take that game out of it, I thought he had an excellent campaign.
“He has had an ankle dislocation which is a horrendous injury to have, probably one of the worst you can get in rugby, so hopefully he can come through that and get fit over the summer and have an impact at the World Cup.”
Switching to the backs, where Warburton included three Frenchmen in his team of the Six Nations, he suggested picking three Irishmen to slot in, taking their representation in his Lions XV to 10 to go with three Scots and two English.
“My nine, I’d have to go with (Jamison) Gibson-Park. He only played one game but when he is up and running, he would be the nine. Someone for Penaud on the right wing? I really like James Lowe but he is left-wing and so is Duhan (van der Merwe). I’m thinking between (Anthony) Watson/(Mack) Hansen and would probably have to go with Hansen, he has got a bit more form.
“At 13 instead of Fickou, I’d have Garry Ringrose. I really like him. He has got proper gas but defensively at 13, I have been watching quite closely and we are seeing so many teams that run that frontline runner and back option, and loads of people are just getting sucked in on that front one which opens up the space in the back.
“He is making those reads brilliantly as a defensive 13. His attack is great, but I am seeing him as a defensive 13. He comes off that line and when that ball is going out the back, he reads it and comes out so quickly and reads the play. From a defensive perspective, he has been excellent at 13.”
Ringrose curiously finished joint third on the Six Nations list of missed tackles, though, matching England’s Owen Farrell with 15 misses and finishing one behind Italy’s Giacomo Nicotera and two behind the table-topping Azzurri winger, Pierre Bruno.
It’s not the chart you would normally want to finish so high up on, but Warburton insisted that it didn’t detract from the effectiveness of Ringrose in the four championship matches that he played for Ireland prior to the concussion that ruled him out of the title clincher versus England.
“The reason that is probably the case is 13. We see loads of sevens and second rows with 100 per cent tackle rates. It is because you are tackling players who are pretty non-evasive because you are tackling forwards who are running straight off a nine. It is a heck of a lot easier to have a 100 per cent tackle rate when you are back row.
“When you are 13, you are tackling constantly within probably a 15-metre space against the most evasive players in the game and you have got to make a read on a frontline and backline player. So, if you saw someone just running straight at Garry Ringrose, he would never miss that tackle. He would make those.
“It’s the one where he is having to make a late read and an adjustment because he is having to deal with some footwork and that is probably why he has got that statistic.”
To wrap up, would Warburton go for a different Lions head coach than Warren Gatland, the boss of the past three tours who posted a one-win-from-five campaign back at the 2023 helm in Wales? “Andy Farrell,” emphatically said the retired skipper.
“He has had the natural progression to it. He has been an England assistant, an Irish assistant, an Irish head, a Lions assistant – the natural progression for him would be a Lions head.
“For me, that would make sense and given his track record recently, he has been on two Lions tours, knows what Lions tours are about, has worked in two home nations, is a part of a Grand Slam and potentially a team that is almost certainly going to be at least a World Cup semi-finalist and potential winners, he has ticked all the boxes so far for me.”
Sam Warburton’s Lions XV:
15. Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
14. Mack Hansen (Ireland)
13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
12. Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
1. Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
2. Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
4. James Ryan (Ireland)
5. Ollie Chessum (England)
6. Courtney Lawes (England)
7. Josh van der Flier (Ireland)
8. Caelan Doris (Ireland)
Head coach: Andy Farrell (Ireland)
- Asahi Super Dry are the Official Beer Partner of Rugby World Cup 2023 and will be taking fans beyond expected this summer
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben 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.
19 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.
7 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.
19 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 commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments