LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'There will be a battle royale for all the shirts over the coming weeks'

Where Bordeaux have gone, the Aussies will follow, hunters on the trail of prey, a Henry Pollock safari, the Ice Vein Man in their crosshairs. And that’s exactly as Andy Farrell would want it, the perfect chance to rally round a 20 year old and the sledge-fest that will start from the moment the Lions’ plane touches down in Perth in a few weeks’ time.

There is little doubt that Pollock will be high on the local news agenda, all the more so now that the Champions Cup winners celebrated their well-deserved triumph at the Principality Stadium as if the young Northampton back-rower had been the prime concern to subdue on the day.

There is little danger of Pollock being a peripheral figure on this Lions tour, no matter whether he makes the test side or not. His presence, his personality, the out-front celebratory antics that make Maro Itoje and Ben Earl appear Trappist monks by comparison will be a constant source of interest, a back-handed compliment as has been seen many times on Ashes tours where every trick is tried to destabilise the opposition. The Australian media don’t tend to do understatement. Remember how they reacted to the Lions duffing them up in the second test in 1989 to level the series? “We shouldn’t be surprised at the brutish way Messrs Dooley, Ackford and Richards (all serving members of Her Majesty’s police force) went about their violent business at Ballymore as it was no different to their usual activities patrolling the streets on a Friday night in the UK,” was the view of one commentator.

Pollock should relish the attention. That is how he is. And that is how he has thrived throughout his short career. It would be easy at this point to say just how outlandish it would be for him to be the starting No 7 against the Wallabies in the first test in Brisbane on July 19. His selection for the squad itself was a shock, showing that Farrell is not afraid to make big calls in much the manner of the man he understudied on the 2013 tour to Australia, Warren Gatland. The Lions head coach has long claimed that he was stunned by the furore that greeted his decision to drop Brian O’Driscoll for the decisive third test in favour of Jonathan Davies.

For Gatland, it was a logical call, the culmination of weeks on the road assessing what was right for the team on that day. Likewise Farrell and Pollock. This was no vanity selection, a rush of blood to the head, giddy with the showbiz value of it. Farrell had no need to make the call. But he did. And that is how Pollock’s worth in the back-row debate should be judged. He is as prime a contender for the test shirt as Josh van der Flier or Tom Curry. There should be no passengers on a Lions tour.

The composition of the Lions back-row is critical. No test side can function if it is beaten at the breakdown. And certainly not against the Wallabies.

You can gauge just how significant Pollock’s selection is by measuring his claims against those who missed out on Farrell’s 38-man squad – no Sam Underhill or Rory Darge or Ben Curry or Jack Willis or Tommy Reffell and so on. There is a whole heap of talent that wasn’t present when all the kit and kaboodle was handed out last week.

Of course Pollock will have to go some to get ahead of van der Flier or Tom Curry for test consideration. That he has No 8 potential does add a string to his bow.

The composition of the Lions back-row is critical. No test side can function if it is beaten at the breakdown. And certainly not against the Wallabies. They have a legion of high-end candidates to choose from – Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Harry Wilson. If the Lions can’t best them then no matter what Finn Russell or Tommy Freeman or Blair Kinghorn can conjure, they will be on the back foot and depending on scraps.

At this distance – and from experience of several Lions tours – the names in the frame will change. Injury shapes so much. Martin Corry began the summer of 2001 in Canada with England yet ended up playing a pivotal role for the Lions by appearing in all three tests. Ryan Jones had a similar experience four years later in New Zealand. Who’s to say there won’t be the same sort of tale being told on this trip. Northampton’s Alex Coles, anyone?

Given the riches in the back-row, along with the hybrid possibilities represented by Ollie Chessum and Tadhg Beirne to fill the blindside flanker slot, there could be no argument with whatever trio you come up with.

Ben Earl is a considerable talent. He has speed, skill too, vision and game intelligence. But he is not going to drag the Wallabies over the advantage line by sheer blasting play or brute force.

It’s fair to say, though, that the shoulder injury suffered by Leinster No.8, Caelan Doris, is a blow, to the man himself, obviously, as he had legitimate claim on the captaincy albeit Itoje was edging ahead in those particular stakes, but also to the Lions. Doris’s form had waned during the Six Nations (hence the swing towards Itoje), but things had seemed to be picking up. Doris in his pomp offers vital pick-up-and-go yardage, drive across the gain line which shapes so much of a team’s attack. Jack Conan has done splendid service for Ireland but from the bench. Of course, Conan has plenty of Lions pedigree himself after starting all three tests in South Africa four years ago. He needs to bring that game to Australia.

Ben Earl is a considerable talent. He has speed, skill too, vision and game intelligence. But he is not going to drag the Wallabies over the advantage line by sheer blasting play or brute force in the way a Lawrence Dallaglio or Billy Vunipola at their best used to do. Pollock at No 8? The same would be true.

It is a potential fault line for the Lions. You could make a better case for those left behind: a Coles, Underhill and Tom Willis combo or what about Wainwright, Darge and Faletau?

The presence of Beirne or Chessum in the No 6 shirt will give the Lions much-needed heft and height. Conan offers Lions experience at No 8 although such is Earl’s energy he could easily confound that notion. The Lions are blessed for opensides. It is impossible to raise much of a peep against any of van der Flier, Curry or Morgan. They are all fine players.

There will be a battle royale for all the shirts over the coming weeks. The players will be on show at every turn, in every training session. They have to play for their place but also for their new-found Lions’ teammates alongside. The Aussies may or may not choose to target Pollock. It will make no difference. The Lions are all in this together.