At long last, significant smoke has also emerged from the British & Irish Lions’ chimney. Maro Itoje will be leading a 38-strong squad to Australia and a couple of the names on the list would raise any cardinal’s eyebrows. Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith will be heading down under with their head coach,Andy Farrell, clearly keen to make an immediate impact next month.
Farrell has chosen a hefty cohort of 15 Irishmen alongside 13 Englishmen, eight Scots and two Welsh representatives, but the inclusion of the 20-year-old Pollock sends a clear signal to Australia that the 2025 Lions will be neither geriatric pussycats nor obsessive slaves to conservatism. The squad should contain enough flexibility to cope with most eventualities and sufficient talent to be highly competitive.
They are not, however, the most experienced pride of Lions selected. Farrell has left behind a bucketload of Test caps, with Jamie George, Courtney Lawes, Taulupe Faletau and, last but not least, his son Owen all missing out. Farrell Sr has played and watched enough rugby in Australia in his time to know that, sporting-wise, it tends to be no country for too many old men, particularly with the modern game growing faster by the week.
In many ways it is refreshing although, equally, a Lions tour is no place for diffident ingenues. Even those who went on the last, Covid-affected,tour to South Africa in 2021did not have to contend with rabid home crowds and endless Lions punters wanting selfies and autographs. But Farrell is clearly confident Pollock and his Northampton teammate Fin Smith, among others, are made of the right stuff. “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” said Farrell, who has seen enough of Pollock to know he simply had to tour. “I like what I see.”
More youthful players than Pollock have become Lions in the past – Louis Rees-Zammit was a few days younger last time around – but what really counts is the speed at which all the disparate parts start purring in unison. Farrell has been merciful towards one or two Leinster representatives, 12 of whom have been included despite their disappointing defeat inlast Saturday’s Champions Cup semi‑finalagainst Northampton, but will now expect them all to repay him big time on tour.
There are other discernible themes, all of them either pragmatic or quietly astute. Aside from one exception – Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn – Farrell has resisted the chance to draw on the expat talent available in the Top 14, which has counted against Jack Willis, Ben White, David Ribbans and others. In one or two instances, too, he has favoured mood enhancers who will keep the squad buoyant. Connacht’s Mack Hansen, picked ahead of Edinburgh’s unlucky Darcy Graham, is one and Sale’s Luke Cowan-Dickie another.
That may not be the main takeaway in Wales, with Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams comprising the smallest Welsh contingent since the second world war. But, with the final selection meeting having stretched into an eighth hour, plenty of other contenders from the four home nations have also had their hopes dashed, from Scotland’s versatile Tom Jordan to the in-form George Ford. The heart also bleeds for the lucklessCaelan Doris, injuredat the worst possible moment last Saturday.
On the flipside Marcus Smith will be ecstatic, having endured a dispiriting season for the most part. He owes his selection primarily to his ability to play at full-back and, potentially, to add dash off the bench in big games. Ditto, potentially, Elliot Daly. Equally thrilled will be Glasgow’s Scott Cummings, who has been picked to add some ballast to the pack.
It is also certain that others will be whistled up to fill gaps later in the tour, by which time Manny Feyi-Waboso, for one, should be fit again. And who would not want to be part of this Lions campaign? The team will once again be roared on by their travelling “sea of red”, with hopes of a record attendance of 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the second Test in late July.
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Nagging doubts? A few, particularly with Australia under shrewd management and Doris’s injury reducing the options at No 8, where Jack Conan and Ben Earl are theoretically the main men, with Tom Curry and Pollock in support. Much could yet depend on the goal-kicking accuracy of Finn Russell and Fin Smith, another reason why Johnny Sexton’s presence on the coaching ticket will be fascinating.
Hopefully, the next time they put ona live announcement showit will take less time to cut to the chase. At times the endless preamble made you pine for the days of old-school letters dropping on doormats. Part of the Lions’ appeal is their mystique and rich heritage, neither of which is necessarily accentuated in the depths of the O2on a Thursday afternoon with Giving Me, by Jazzy, playing over the public address system.
You still cannot beat a Lions expedition, though, once it actually commences. The suspense, the rivalry, the passion: and that’s just the first training session. “I want us to play with passion and energy and the zeal you would expect of a Lions squad,” said the newly ordained Itoje. Every Lions tour is an epic adventure and this one should be no exception.