Yesterday British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland named a 37-man squad for their upcoming tour to South Africa. As expected, the squad was full of surprises and a shock omission or two.
The squad comprises mostly of English players with 11 of Eddie Jones’ men in the squad pipping Wayne Pivac’s Welsh charges who take up 10 spots. Scotland and Ireland have 8 apiece.
Bet Central explores the composition of the squad and all the narratives as Warren Gatland looks to push for a third successful tour.
A Push Too Far For Alun Wyn Jones?
As many would have anticipated, Alun Wyn Jones was named as the Tour captain ahead of Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell who were the other players in contention for the captaincy.
It makes sense when one considers how long Gatland has worked with Jones, he trusts him to be his on-field brains, but does Jones have the capability to have any meaningful impact on the field against the Springboks at his age? With the excellent form of Maro Itoje, Tadgh Bernie and Iain Henderson, on form, he should not crack the starting XV.
It remains to be seen how Gatland uses him and while his leadership credentials aren’t in question, his on-field contributions could be the Lions’ unravelling.
No Place For James Ryan
James Ryan would be the first to admit that his form hasn’t been great in 2021, but still, there would have been value in taking the undoubtedly talented young second-rower who has put in big performances in the Irish jerseys in seasons past.
The 24-year-old is a proven force at Test level and with more than two months before the Test series between the Boks and Lions, it was enough time for Ryan to get back on form and at least contest for a spot in the Test match-day squads.
It is an opportunity lost particularly with the selection of Jonny Hill in the squad, while an accomplished player in the Exeter Chiefs side that is a dominant force, Hill is still a largely untested quantity at Test level, unlike Ryan. Should second-row injuries occur, it could be tricky for Gatland to thrust Hill into the Test side.
Sam Simmonds’ Golden Opportunity
Unlike his Exeter Chiefs teammate Hill, Sam Simmonds is in the form of his life, so it was nigh on impossible for Gatland to leave him out of the squad when they are looking for every inch of dominance they can accrue over the reigning world champions.
At this early stage, Gatland will in all likelihood favour Taulupe Faletau as his starting eight, but Simmonds is certainly good enough to change his mind and he will relish the opportunity to show what he can do at Test match level having not featured for England since 2018.
It will also be an opportunity to showcase why he is the most dominant number eight in the European domestic rugby at the moment and perhaps show Eddie Jones that he can contribute at Test level.
South African Flavour
Maybe a bit of luck played a factor in the selection of Duhan van der Merwe, in all likelihood the winger would have missed out had George North not gotten injured. North’s injury opened the door for van der Merwe who will be looking to dominate his country of birth.
His selection gives the Lions squad a South African element not simply because he is born here, but also his sheer physicality which is a major trait of the South African rugby makeup. He in effect counters fire with fire because of his abrasive presence out wide certain to cause problems for the Lions’ opposition.
Balance & Countering Springboks’ Physicality
The one South African-born player most people expected to feature in the squad is CJ Stander, but there was no space for the loose forward or any of the home nations’ traditional blindsides. Instead, a flurry of locks who can play blindside have been included.
This points to an approach in which Gatland is trying to find a Pieter-Steph du Toit like presence at blindside to step up in the physicality stakes. It is also about finding balance as the selection of smaller loose forward like Simmonds and Hamish Watson lightens backrow.
The same can be said in the centres, Gatland went for balance and sheer power. A typical example is Chris Harris, he is a modest offensive contributor but possesses defensive capabilities that could lock up the Springbok centres.
All in all the squad is a good one, a squad capable of unseating the Springboks, but there may certain selections or non-selections that come back to haunt the Lions.
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