A 38-man British & Irish Lions squad dominated by Ireland and England players, with lots of Scottish backine selections and Maro Itoje as captain. Still, some big calls and razor-thin cuts had to be made, to get there.
Andy Farrell's next time in front of the cameras should be at the announcement of his assistant coaches for this summer's tour to Australia. Farrell, wisely, stayed away from microphones and recording devices during the 2025 Six Nations but we may glean some playing squad hints when those coaches are unveiled, next week.
Currently on a nine-month sabbatical from his coaching gig with Ireland, Farrell will officially announce his touring squad at a live event in London, on Thursday, May 8th.
With a bow now tied on the Six Nations, and France the champions, just about every outlet, show and podcast that covers rugby has taken a crack at naming prospective and form Lions squads for the trip Down Under. This headline from The Times certainly caught my eye - Our experts’ Lions squads, captain and XVs (look away, Caelan Doris). That one got my click but the worse it gets for Doris is all their writers opting for Maro Itoje as their captaincy pick. Doris is in every squad and in five of their six writers' Test XV.
From my online, newspaper, TV and audio trawl, here are the player names mentioned in just about every Lions squad:
- (PROPS) Andrew Porter, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Tadhg Furlong, (HOOKERS) Dan Sheehan, (LOCKS) Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Tadhg Beirne, (BACK ROW) Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Caelan Doris.
- (SCRUM-HALVES) Jamison Gibson-Park, (OUT-HALVES) Finn Russell, Fin Smith, (CENTRES) Bundee Aki, Sione Tuipulotu, (BACK THREE) Tommy Freeman, James Lowe, Blair Kinghorn, Hugo Keenan.
So, you have 20 consensus picks and ones that most fans would agree on, too. A couple of would-be selectors have noted Furlong and Tuipulotu would only make their squads if they can prove their fitness before May 8th.
Out of those 20, nine are from Ireland. Farrell may have his own ideas, but he has worked closely with the Irish players for almost a decade now and knows what his top names are capable of. A conservative estimate of final squad picks would be a dozen from Ireland. In our squad (below), there are 15 players heading to Oz.
Tadhg Beirne made the Lions squad for the tour to South Africa, in 2021. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile)
Selecting our British & Irish Lions squad
Most pundits, podcasts and former pros are going off the 37-man Lions squad Warren Gatland selected, in 2021. For my squad, I am going with 38 players, to accommodate the late arrival of Blair Kinghorn.
The Scotland fullback, as well as England's Jack Willis, could be in Top 14 Final action, with Toulouse, on the same weekend as the Lions' first warm-up game in Australia. In all likelihood, Kinghorn may not feature until the midweek Waratahs game, on July 5. My extra player, then, is England's Marcus Smith, who can cover 10, 15 and, at a push, 12.
I won't get into the weeds on all 37 of my other selections. I will make cases for my the other six Ireland players that I would selected along with the other Lions locks I have noted (above).
First up is Rónan Kelleher. No-one is as frustrated that Kelleher was hit with neck injury issues in the championship than the man himself. Kelleher and Sheehan, both fit, are a brilliant tandem duo. That was evident at the start of the championship. If he can get back consistently playing for Leinster, I would take him. If he has more set-backs, Dewi Lake gets the call.
Ireland players, from left, Joe McCarthy, Rónan Kelleher, Jack Crowley and Mack Hansen will all be hoping to make the 2025 Lions squad. (Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)
Taking an Ireland 10 to Australia
James Ryan was another that was looking good for a Lions spot. He still might, but he loses out in a tight call to Joe McCarthy. The big man is the closest thing Ireland have to those French battering rams. Just needs to cut out the silly penalties, but he makes the cut.
You can accuse me of bias with the back row selections, and you would have a fair point. Josh van der Flier has been class for four years now, but it was concerning to see him unable to stem the French tide, in defence, or punch any holes in attack. Jack Conan is my luxury pick, with apologies to Jac Morgan.
Keeping up the home-town calls, if Andy Farrell really wants to help Ireland over the next couple of years, he needs to bring an Irish 10 to Australia. Such tours have benefitted the likes of Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara and Rob Kearney over the years - showing them what was needed to get to the next level. For me, it could be Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley, as long as one of them travels. One of the side-perks of being Lions coach should be to elevate some of your own prospects with exposure to elite athletes, and teammates.
Some rugby heads, including those from England and Wales, have selected Lions squads with three Ireland centres. I was leaning that way, pre-championship, but none of that Irish trio blew me away. So, alonmg with the near-certain pick of Bundee Aki, I am choosing Garry Ringrose over 2017 and 2021 tourist, Robbie Henshaw.
MY 2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD
Props: Andrew Porter (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Nicky Smith (Wales), Zander Fagerson (Scotland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Will Stuart (England)
Hookers: Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Rónan Kelleher (Ireland), Jamie George (England)
Locks: Maro Itoje (England), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Ollie Chessum (England), Dafydd Jenkins (Wales), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), George Martin (England)
Back row: Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Ben Curry (England), Tom Curry (England), Caelan Doris (Ireland), Ben Earl (England), Jack Conan (Ireland)
Scrum-halves: Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Alex Mitchell (England), Ben White (Scotland)
Out-halves: Finn Russell (Scotland), Fin Smith (England), Sam Prendergast (Ireland)
Centres: Bundee Aki (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Garry Ringrose (Ireland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
Back three: Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Tommy Freeman (England), James Lowe (Ireland), Darcy Graham (Scotland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Marcus Smith (England)
*Ireland players unfortunate to miss out - Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Mack Hansen, Jamie Osborne.
Andy Farrell will announce his British & Irish Lions squad live from the O2, in London, on May 8th. As for how our Lions XV for the First Test would look, check it out here.
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