With the last full round of Autumn Internationals over and Ireland the only European team with a game remaining, the BBC have published a Lions XV based on the statistics from the Autumn Series - with only four of Ireland's players getting the backing of Opta's statistics.
The BBC used Opta Index - a data analysis tool which 'objectively scores each player's performances throughout the campaign' to whittle down the best home nations player according to the data.
However, the data makes grim reading for Ireland who saw only four players included and two of Farrell's most trusted stalwarts snubbed, all while Scotland gained eight inclusions.
Surprise Irish omissions
While it's hard to argue with the data for Ireland's inclusions, it's definitely missed a beat for one or two Irish stars who would have every right to feel aggrieved if they were left out of Andy Farrell's team.
Chief among them would be Jamison Gibson Park, who misses out to England's Ben Spencer. Spencer gains inclusion based on his 1.3 linebreaks per eighty minutes, and the four kicks he saw retained during England's four games. That said, England won just one of their three games.
Hugo Keenan also misses out in favour of Scotland's Tom Jordan. Jordan was the only eligible player to gain over 100 metres per game and ranked in the top three for line breaks, defenders beaten and offloads. One would suspect, however, that particularly fruitful and free-flowing games vs Portugal, Australia and Fiji helped the 26-year-old case.
Opta pick statistics based Lions XV
15. Tom Jordan (Scotland)
14. Darcy Graham (Scotland)
13. Huw Jones (Scotland)
12. Bundee Aki (Ireland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
10. Marcus Smith (Scotland)
9. Ben Spencer (England)
1. Pierre Shcoeman (Scotland)
2. Jamie George (England)
3. Zander Ferguson (Scotland)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
6. Matt Fagerson (Scotland)
7. Josh van der Flier (Ireland)
8. Calean Doris (Ireland)
Bundee Aki
Although Aki is the only Irish player to feature in the backs, his constantly impressive statistics make his inclusion unsurprising. The Irish centre gained a whopping 2.1 line breaks per eighty minutes played, the most of all eligible players barring Scottish wing Darcy Graham.
Tadgh Beirne
Despite the struggles of the Irish lineout over the Autumn Series, Beirne's standout performance there has earned him a spot in this team, the Munster lock claimed 11 line-outs, as well as forty-one tackles, three turnovers and hit 60 rucks.
Josh Van der Flier
Van der Flier has long been one of the statistician's favourite players - famous for his unbelievably high tackle count.
In this Autumn series, the Leinster backrow made 45 tackles and hit 101 rucks, with his averages the most of any player to feature for 100 or more minutes.
Caelan Doris
Ireland's final player comes in the figure of the predicted Lions captain - World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Calean Doris. The Irish eight made 36 carries, more than any other Irish player. Doris was also the country's second-highest tackler, falling two short of Van der Flier with 43 tackles.
While Ireland have only seen four players included, there are a number of factors which are likely to have skewed the available data. The most obvious being that Ireland are yet to play their fourth game of the series, unlike England and Scotland who both kicked off their series a week earlier than Ireland.
Similarly, Scotland who dominated this side with eight players have had an arguably easier run of games, with Gregor Townsend's men taking on Portugal and Fiji in their four-game run. While Ireland have played Fiji, the equivalent of Scotland's Portugal game saw Farrell's men take on Argentina.
SEE ALSO: Stephen Jones' Latest Lions XV Features A Few Eccentric Choices
