Lions 2017 – Revealed
After months of waiting and dummy squads and the haves and have-nots for the 2017 Lions squad , all of us were put out of our misery when a 12 noon today the 41 men that will take the hopes of four countries under the British and Irish Lions banner will face the mighty New Zealand this summer in three Tests. They will also face several New Zealand’s Super Rugby Teams in the games leading to the three Test Matches.
Now that the squad has been named we can finally begin to focus on Tour that starts on June 3rd. There are several players that will not tour from the start but they could get a belated call up due to any injuries that players may pick up between now and when the Squad sets off.
For all the players who missed out on selection they may still be needed because if the last few Tours have taught players anything it is that other players will get hurt and then there time will come and in that case they will need to come in if they get the call and hit the ground running.
This Tour will be the most difficult Tour since 2005 when they last headed for New Zealand because since then New Zealand have won two World Cups in 2011 and 2015 and even though they have lost several key cogs they will be hell bent on making sure The Lions won’t be winning a first Series since the John Dawes captained side of 71.
Warren Gatland will also be very hopeful that his captain Sam Warburton will be fit and firing to lead The Lions on June 3rd. If you look through this selection it is littered with Club captains like Peter O Mahony , Ken Owens and Rory Best.
This squad is also full of first time Lions but it is also sprinkled with guys that have been on multiple Tours like Alun Wyn Jones who will tour for a third time and Owen Farrell who will head away with The Lions for a 2nd time.
Having won the Test Series 2-1 in 2013 in Australia at least this Tour will have positive memories unlike other times like the 2005 Tour where The Lions were whitewashed 3-0 and Dan Carter announced his name on the World Stage. Like 2005 , New Zealand will have the best 10 in World Rugby at their disposal in Beauden Barrett and they may will also face his brother Jordie when they face the Hurricanes in between Tests 1 and 2. Who knows he may be in a Black Jersey by the time The Lions come calling to play the Test games.
Whatever way you look at the squad selection , you can’t argue with the way he has selected the squad although they players that have been left out might argue the other way. He has gone for a number of big ball carriers in his forward selections with the Vunipola brothers , Sean O Brien , Jack Mc Grath and Joe Marler all selected to do some heavy duty carrying. All of the 41 players will be asked to play multiple games and will each get game time in the hope of pushing their case for Test inclusion.
Going on the 2013 Tour, don’t be one bit surprised if he goes against the grain in each of his Team selections because as his decision in 2013 to leave Brian O Driscoll out of the third Test proves he isn’t one bit afraid to make the tough calls like it or not !!
There are big calls in the 41 , with combinations like , Ben Youngs , Jonathan Sexton and Owen Farrell all included they all toured in 2013 , You also have Conor Murray , Jonathan Sexton , Robbie Henshaw , Jared Payne , four men that were in a team that beat the All Blacks in Chicago in November 2016. Look to Wales and you have Webb , Biggar , North , Jonathan Davies , Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny , all players that toured New Zealand last June and impressed down in the land of the long white cloud. One thing Gatland can’t be accused of is not selecting combinations and he has a number of ways he can mix and match this talented bunch. Whatever way you want to cut it , This tour is shaping up to be really special one and here’s hoping the feel good factor of the 2013 win in Oz can be built upon.
For now though , It’s time Gatland settled back and watched his squad do battle on the European front and also domestically. June 3rd can’t come fast enough but we will have to wait another few weeks before battle will commence. Huge Congratulations to all 41 players in particular the 11 Irish Lions , including CJ Stander , Peter O Mahony and Conor Murray.
By
Cian Mc Gibney
19/04/2017
