Selecting a touring party is never straightforward, and the 2025 Lions squad is no exception. We take a look at five players who were unlucky not to book a seat on the plane.
While the spotlight rightly shines on those selected for the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia, there will be no shortage of heartbreak among the players who came close but ultimately missed out on Andy Farrell’s squad.
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4 hours ago Jonny McCormickThere are always players disappointed at being left out but we have picked five that can feel the most hard done by. While injuries ruled out major names like Caelan Doris and Ollie Lawrence, this list focuses on five fit players who were in genuine contention for a seat on the plane to Australia — and can count themselves unlucky to miss out.
Jack Willis (Stade Toulousain)
Jack Willis is regularly rated as one of the best back-row players in Europe and his pilfering skills are second to none. Since his debut in the French TOP 14 in November 2022, he has won a mammoth 39 jackal turnovers, eight more than any other player in the league.
Despite being ineligible for England due to his club status in France, those restrictions don’t apply to the Lions, as evidenced by the selection of Toulouse teammate Blair Kinghorn. It is a bit of a shock not to see Willis included too.
Having said that, the back row is potentially the most competitive positional group for the Lions.
Another surprise in Willis’ exclusion is his versatility, usually a key attribute in finding your spot on a Lions tour, as players like Elliot Daly and Marcus Smith have shown.
While 16 of his starts in France have come with a seven on his jersey, his favoured position, he also has 12 starts on the other flank and four at number 8 — the type of multi-role capability that often gets rewarded on Lions tours.
Tom Jordan (Glasgow Warriors)
Utility value is often key when it comes to Lions selection, which is why Tom Jordan’s absence from the Lions 2025 Tour squad announcement could be seen as harsh.
The New Zealand-born playmaker has featured across the backline for both Glasgow and Scotland, slotting in at fly-half, centre and at full-back with no drop-off in his impact.
Having made his Test debut during last year’s Autumn Nations Series, Jordan quickly established himself as a key member of the Scotland team. Playing at full-back, he showcased his ability to both break the line himself and put teammates through gaps. In fact, he was one of just two players to both make and assist at least five line breaks in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, along with teammate, and 2025 Lion, Huw Jones.
His adaptability continued into the 2025 Six Nations, where he stepped into the No. 12 jersey in the absence of Sione Tuipulotu, helping Scotland maintain their shape and attacking threat.
His omission highlights just how difficult Farrell’s final decisions must have been, especially in the backs.
Sam Prendergast (Leinster Rugby)
Sam Prendergast’s stock has continuously risen over the last couple of years. Long touted as a star at underage level, the retirement of Lions assistant coach Jonny Sexton opened the door for the Kildare native to claim Leinster, and subsequently, Ireland’s No. 10 jersey.
While doubts persist over Prendergast’s ability in defence and his tendency to fall off tackles, there’s no denying how potent an attacking weapon he’s proven to be at Test level.
Since his international debut during the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, Prendergast has registered 14 line-break assists — more than any other player in Test rugby over that period. He also led all fly-halves for kicks in play (47) during the 2025 Six Nations and was the only one to land a successful 50/22.
A lack of experience may have counted against Prendergast in the end though. He was notably beaten one-on-one by Henry Pollock, the youngest member of the Lions 2025 squad, in the Champions Cup semi-finals last week — a moment that perhaps sealed his fate.
He has a long career ahead of him yet though, and while he may not be travelling Down Under this year, he’s already in a good spot to hop across the Tasman Sea with the Lions to New Zealand in 2029.
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby)
Darcy Graham has been as free-scoring as any Test-level winger in the last couple of years, crossing the try line 19 times across his last 15 Tests since November 2022, the joint-most of any player in that time, alongside Damian Penaud and Duhan van der Merwe.
He’s fought tooth and nail with Duhan van der Merwe for the title of Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer, with the accolade passing hands several times during this year’s Six Nations, and it may not even have been a contest had Graham not missed the 2024 Championship through injury.
His return from injury last summer has been explosive, averaging 6.2 defenders beaten per 80 minutes — the best mark among Tier 1 backs, and second only to Louis Bielle-Biarrey for tries per 80 (min. 400 minutes).
His record against Australia has been below his usual dazzling standards though, failing to score in three Tests against the Wallabies, one of just two sides he’s faced more than once without getting on the scoresheet (also Ireland, 6), a fact which may have influenced Andy Farrell’s decision.
Ben White (RC Toulon)
The Scotland and Toulon scrum-half wouldn’t have been in many provisional Lions squads 12 months ago, however his form for Scotland in 2025 put him in contention to nab the third and final scrum-half spot on the Lions Tour 2025.
It wasn’t to be in the end for the former England Under-20 captain, who has an eye for the try line. Across the last four Six Nations campaigns he’s scored six tries – more than any other scrum-half in that period. He dotted down for a try in each of the first three rounds of this year’s tournament, the first Scotland player to manage that in a campaign and the first scrum-half from any nation to do so.
His kicking game has been solid this year too and no doubt Farrell would have assessed that area of the game when selecting his number nines for this year’s tour, with it being such a strength of his Ireland team.
Only Alex Mitchell (56) made more box kicks in this year’s Men’s Six Nations than White (48) who saw five of those kicks claimed outright by a teammate, a tally only Jamison Gibson-Park could better (7).
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