In the 16 months since Farrell was appointed head coach he may have pored over everything from confidential GPS data on players’ rugby and physiological performance to testament from other coaches around England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to his plans for how the Lions will play and what to expect from their Wallaby opponents.
This is more a prediction of who Farrell will go for, as opposed to our personal preference – although to be completely objective about the Lions is frankly impossible.
Ellis Genge had a strong Six Nations with England (Photo: Getty)
As with every Lions selection, we have a mix of the most recent international form in the Six Nations (though obviously this does not include England’s exiles in France), and anything else Farrell deems pertinent.
Some pundits will tell you Andrew Porter can’t scrummage straight and Genge can’t scrummage at all, while others say the opposite or like a bit of wily crookedness if the referee doesn’t cotton on.
Rory Sutherland, Bevan Rodd, Fin Baxter and Cian Healy are other candidates.
Hooker
A great example of where it would be handy to be sure of Farrell’s Lions game plan.
A serial try scorer, Sheehan has everything on his day, and the only question is how far his stock and others from Leinster and Ireland might have fallen.
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George has the credentials to captain this year’s Lions, either in midweek games, or as a kind of overall father figure of the whole shooting match, if Farrell unexpectedly goes against the more regularly predicted Maro Itoje and Caelan Doris, who will undergo shoulder surgery this week.
His compatriot Theo Dan offers Sheehan-like open-field wizardry, and Ronan Kelleher has rarely let Ireland down, while Dave Cherry, Elliot Dee, Gus McCarthy and Ewan Ashman are among the outside bets.
Tadhg Furlong has been the main man for so long, but he managed only 320 minutes in the Six Nations due to injury, and did not stand out in Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final exit.
Zander Fagerson and Will Stuart had much stronger Six Nations form, while Finlay Bealham has his fans, Joe Heyes has been improving and Kyle Sinckler could be whistled up from Toulon in France.
Second row
Maro Itoje is Hugh Godwin’s choice to captain the squad (Photo: Getty)Itoje, Tadhg Beirne and Ollie Chessum look to be nailed-on picks, while leaving room for a big banger of a second row.
Dafydd Jenkins was watched by Farrell in a recent Exeter club match, while other candidates include Scotland’s Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist and Sam Skinner – will assistant coach John Dalziel press their case? – and James Ryan (the captaincy favourite in early 2024), Iain Henderson, Will Rowlands, Jonny Gray and Jonny Hill, who is possibly the finest big lump on his best form, and toured in 2021.
Back row
It is tricky to subdivide this unit with complete validity, although the Lions should have a No 8 who is familiar with the set-piece demands, and the Six Nations front-runners are Doris, Jack Conan, Ben Earl, Jack Dempsey, Tom Willis and Taulupe Faletau.
Then there is an array of flankers including the world-class Tom Curry who can do a job at eight, as can Matt Fagerson.
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And what about Sam Underhill? The Bath man missed the Six Nations but when fit you can rely on him to tackle Wallabies all day long.
Courtney Lawes is among the exiles in France who have not been playing Test rugby this season. Will Farrell see this as a weakness? Blimey, the back row is difficult.
A sigh of relief here, as the speculation narrows to the three clear ante-post favourites Jamison Gibson-Park, Alex Mitchell and Tomos Williams.
Prediction: Jamison Gibson-Park (Ire), Alex Mitchell (Eng), Ben White (Sco).
Fly-half
Fin Smith has excelled for club and country in recent months (Photo: Getty)Finn Russell is arguably the best passer in the world, there is nothing wrong with his kicking and defence, and to question his temperament over a couple of missed kicks at Twickenham in the Six Nations is ridiculous as every fly-half has missed the sticks in big matches – no one is perfect.
Will he go for a 6-2 bench, which means one scrum-half, always, and then just one other back?
A 5-3 split gives those fly-halves more of a chance, alongside fly-half/centre Owen Farrell, although he would be a pick based on character and a history of three tours, not current form.
Prediction: George Ford (Eng), Finn Russell (Sco), Fin Smith (Eng).
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Fin Smith or Sam Prendergast for Lions fly-half? The debate is settledRead More
We need a fitness report on Sione Tuipulotu, the all-court Scotland centre and captain.
Ollie Lawrence is also out injured, but that still leaves a choice from Six Nations front-liners Huw Jones – whose Scotland combo with Tuipulotu has immense appeal – Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw and Tom Jordan.
Back three
Selection here again depends on the unknown of how Farrell sees the positional make-up of his Test 23, plus a bit more unknown fitness news surrounding Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the dynamic wing who dislocated his shoulder in December but might be ready in time to tour.
Duhan van der Merwe has Test pedigree, while Elliot Daly returned with England in the Six Nations to show his value in multiple positions.
And we end, perhaps aptly as he has been one of the most talked about players of recent years, with Marcus Smith.
Prediction: Elliot Daly (Eng), Tommy Freeman (Eng), Darcy Graham (Sco), Hugo Keenan (Ire), Blair Kinghorn (Sco), James Lowe (Ire).
Hugh Godwin’s 37-man British & Irish Lions squad
Back three (6): Elliot Daly (Eng), Tommy Freeman (Eng), Darcy Graham (Sco), Hugo Keenan (Ire), Blair Kinghorn (Sco), James Lowe (Ire).
Centres (4): Bundee Aki (Ire), Huw Jones (Sco), Garry Ringrose (Ire), Sione Tuipulotu (Sco).
Fly-half (3): George Ford (Eng), Finn Russell (Sco), Fin Smith (Eng).
Scrum-half (3): Jamison Gibson-Park (Ire), Alex Mitchell (Eng), Ben White (Sco).
Props (6): Ellis Genge (Eng), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Zander Fagerson (Sco), Tadhg Furlong (Ire), Will Stuart (Eng).
Hooker (3): Luke Cowan-Dickie (Eng), Jamie George (Eng), Dan Sheehan (Ire).
Second row (5): Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Ollie Chessum (England), Maro Itoje (England, captain), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Dafydd Jenkins (Wales).
Back row (7): Tom Curry (Eng), Caelan Doris (Ire), Ben Earl (Eng), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Jac Morgan (Wal), Henry Pollock (Eng), Josh van der Flier (Ire).
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