EVEN MACK HANSEN was lost for words. Which said it all.
Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams could barely hold it together as the emotions bubbled up when he joined the Lions squad announcement show by video link to discuss the honour of being named in Andy Farrell’s squad.
The show had been equal parts interminable and baffling up until Lions chairman Iuean Evans finally started to name the 38 players who made the cut. But those video links with Hansen, Williams, Ben Earl, and the Glasgow quartet were heartwarming.
Hansen was just out of the Atlantic Ocean. When he finally settled himself, he couldn’t resist a gag at his Connacht, Ireland, and now Lions team-mate’s expense.
“Bundee was supposed to do this, but he’s minding the kids!”
Squad naming day in London was a curious blend of the exciting part of the Lions and the insufferable side of the whole thing. Supporters were charged to join the show at The O2 concert arena. The theatre in which it took place was not full. And those present must have wondered early on whether they had been scammed.
Reminders of how special Lions tours are were rammed down throats, there was a strange on-screen video game that allowed attendees to join in via QR code, the mics took a while to warm up, and we heard from a street artist named Nelly. He seems like a sound fella, to be fair.
The prolonging of the actual squad naming was excruciating even for those without any real skin in the game. You could only imagine how unbearable it was for the players waiting to find out if they had made Farrell’s squad to tour Australia.
To his credit, Ireland and Lions scrum coach John Fogarty added humour during his stint on stage in the build-up. He will be a popular tourist. But Ugo Monye summed it all up when his co-host Lee McKenzie asked what it was like finding out he’d be touring in 2009.
“The worst thing was the wait, so shall we crack on?” was Monye’s response. Applause ensued.
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Mack Hansen joins the show from the west coast of Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
And so, the squad was revealed in alphabetical order, starting with the forwards.
This job means becoming a little numb to the excitement that team namings and squad selections can bring, but there was genuine intrigue today. No one knew what was coming, Maro Itoje as captain aside.
Farrell said he was feeling chilled out because his job was already done. The squad was picked. Evans, though, declared himself nervous.
Following along as Evans went through the list, you were waiting as much to see whose surname would be passed without mention.
And it was soon confirmed that Caelan Doris won’t be on this Lions tour. It’s cruel for the 27-year-old to have been injured last weekend, days before the squad was named. There is a strong chance Doris would have captained this tour, but instead he’ll be watching it on TV unless he can make a miracle recovery. No one can forget Alun Wyn Jones being ruled out of the 2021 tour but returning to captain the Lions in their three Tests.
Yet Doris’ absence opens the door for Jack Conan to have a shot at continuing as the Test number eight, his role from 2021. Conan is the only out-and-out number eight in the squad, although Ben Earl has played plenty of rugby there.
There was little controversy in today’s announcement. Even the bolter, Henry Pollock, felt more like an inevitability in recent days. His name brought about the loudest cheer of the afternoon in London. Elliot Daly and Scott Cummings hadn’t been in everyone’s predicted squads but there is sense in their selections.
Farrell’s 15-man Irish contingent didn’t cause any great stir among the media corps from the other nations. The only player who was mentioned as possibly being fortunate was Mack Hansen, who probably edged out exciting Scotland right wing Darcy Graham.
Graham is certainly one of the unluckiest players to be left out, but Hansen has earned Farrell’s trust through excellent performances at the highest level. He is a brilliant rugby player. This season has been injury-disrupted but Hansen will be a Lion in his native land. He’ll also surely be another popular tourist within the group.
Maro Itoje does one of his many, many interviews. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The English media were happy with the 13-man representation for their nation, particularly as that contingent includes exciting 20-year-old Pollock. Farrell was understandably peppered with questions about the bullish Northampton talent.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” said Farrell. “He’s confident, he’s cocky.
“He’s ready to compete. I think you’ll see the fight in him. I think everyone can see that anyway. I’m sure he’ll push all the others that didn’t realise that he was coming. I’m sure that he’ll relish that.”
The likes of Tom Curry, Josh van der Flier, and Jac Morgan have been warned.
There are players such as Jamie George, Robbie Henshaw, Ben White, Jack Willis, and Dewi Lake who must be feeling miserable right now. But it’s difficult to see any egregious omissions from this Lions squad.
Farrell opted against including his son, Owen. For now. The Lions boss said there is scope to add at least two more players to this 38-man squad before they leave for Australia.
Unfortunately, it’s likely that injury replacements will be required, but there’s also the fact that the Lions play Argentina in Dublin before departing. That game is six days after the URC and Premiership finals, while Blair Kinghorn is likely to be playing in the Top 14 semi-finals that weekend.
Maybe players will simply be asked to go again for the Lions so soon after a domestic final, but there is scope for Farrell to add a few bodies for that Argentina game.
So Owen may well feature on a fourth Lions tour.
“We’ve left ourselves some wiggle room to be able to see how people progress because there are a few guys that are trying to play back into fitness form, etc, you know, so we’ll see what we’ve got and if or when that’s needed, we’d like to call them,” said Andy.
Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“Obviously, it depends what we need. Do we need a blend of a player that can play a couple of different positions? Is there a player who’s carrying a bit of an injury and might need to manage it within training? Is there a guy that might be over for three weeks, but he’s definitely worth taking? Is it leadership that we need? We’ll see.”
Today in London was a reminder of the beast that a true Lions tour is. 2021 was forgettable because of the pandemic but also the poisonous atmosphere around the entire tour. The rugby was drab. Not that the Springboks cared. They won.
This squad announcement involved a few nauseating moments and all of this is a money-making machine at the end of the day, but the unveiling also highlighted how much interest the Lions generate. And how much players care about it. The €100k fee is welcome, but the honour is thrilling too. There aren’t many things like the Lions in professional sport. This is a real-life fantasy rugby adventure.
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An excruciating, exciting day in London takes Lions fever up a notch
EVEN MACK HANSEN was lost for words. Which said it all.
Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams could barely hold it together as the emotions bubbled up when he joined the Lions squad announcement show by video link to discuss the honour of being named in Andy Farrell’s squad.
The show had been equal parts interminable and baffling up until Lions chairman Iuean Evans finally started to name the 38 players who made the cut. But those video links with Hansen, Williams, Ben Earl, and the Glasgow quartet were heartwarming.
Hansen was just out of the Atlantic Ocean. When he finally settled himself, he couldn’t resist a gag at his Connacht, Ireland, and now Lions team-mate’s expense.
“Bundee was supposed to do this, but he’s minding the kids!”
Squad naming day in London was a curious blend of the exciting part of the Lions and the insufferable side of the whole thing. Supporters were charged to join the show at The O2 concert arena. The theatre in which it took place was not full. And those present must have wondered early on whether they had been scammed.
Reminders of how special Lions tours are were rammed down throats, there was a strange on-screen video game that allowed attendees to join in via QR code, the mics took a while to warm up, and we heard from a street artist named Nelly. He seems like a sound fella, to be fair.
The prolonging of the actual squad naming was excruciating even for those without any real skin in the game. You could only imagine how unbearable it was for the players waiting to find out if they had made Farrell’s squad to tour Australia.
To his credit, Ireland and Lions scrum coach John Fogarty added humour during his stint on stage in the build-up. He will be a popular tourist. But Ugo Monye summed it all up when his co-host Lee McKenzie asked what it was like finding out he’d be touring in 2009.
“The worst thing was the wait, so shall we crack on?” was Monye’s response. Applause ensued.
And so, the squad was revealed in alphabetical order, starting with the forwards.
This job means becoming a little numb to the excitement that team namings and squad selections can bring, but there was genuine intrigue today. No one knew what was coming, Maro Itoje as captain aside.
Farrell said he was feeling chilled out because his job was already done. The squad was picked. Evans, though, declared himself nervous.
Following along as Evans went through the list, you were waiting as much to see whose surname would be passed without mention.
And it was soon confirmed that Caelan Doris won’t be on this Lions tour. It’s cruel for the 27-year-old to have been injured last weekend, days before the squad was named. There is a strong chance Doris would have captained this tour, but instead he’ll be watching it on TV unless he can make a miracle recovery. No one can forget Alun Wyn Jones being ruled out of the 2021 tour but returning to captain the Lions in their three Tests.
Yet Doris’ absence opens the door for Jack Conan to have a shot at continuing as the Test number eight, his role from 2021. Conan is the only out-and-out number eight in the squad, although Ben Earl has played plenty of rugby there.
There was little controversy in today’s announcement. Even the bolter, Henry Pollock, felt more like an inevitability in recent days. His name brought about the loudest cheer of the afternoon in London. Elliot Daly and Scott Cummings hadn’t been in everyone’s predicted squads but there is sense in their selections.
Farrell’s 15-man Irish contingent didn’t cause any great stir among the media corps from the other nations. The only player who was mentioned as possibly being fortunate was Mack Hansen, who probably edged out exciting Scotland right wing Darcy Graham.
Graham is certainly one of the unluckiest players to be left out, but Hansen has earned Farrell’s trust through excellent performances at the highest level. He is a brilliant rugby player. This season has been injury-disrupted but Hansen will be a Lion in his native land. He’ll also surely be another popular tourist within the group.
The English media were happy with the 13-man representation for their nation, particularly as that contingent includes exciting 20-year-old Pollock. Farrell was understandably peppered with questions about the bullish Northampton talent.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” said Farrell. “He’s confident, he’s cocky.
“He’s ready to compete. I think you’ll see the fight in him. I think everyone can see that anyway. I’m sure he’ll push all the others that didn’t realise that he was coming. I’m sure that he’ll relish that.”
The likes of Tom Curry, Josh van der Flier, and Jac Morgan have been warned.
There are players such as Jamie George, Robbie Henshaw, Ben White, Jack Willis, and Dewi Lake who must be feeling miserable right now. But it’s difficult to see any egregious omissions from this Lions squad.
Farrell opted against including his son, Owen. For now. The Lions boss said there is scope to add at least two more players to this 38-man squad before they leave for Australia.
Unfortunately, it’s likely that injury replacements will be required, but there’s also the fact that the Lions play Argentina in Dublin before departing. That game is six days after the URC and Premiership finals, while Blair Kinghorn is likely to be playing in the Top 14 semi-finals that weekend.
Maybe players will simply be asked to go again for the Lions so soon after a domestic final, but there is scope for Farrell to add a few bodies for that Argentina game.
So Owen may well feature on a fourth Lions tour.
“We’ve left ourselves some wiggle room to be able to see how people progress because there are a few guys that are trying to play back into fitness form, etc, you know, so we’ll see what we’ve got and if or when that’s needed, we’d like to call them,” said Andy.
“Obviously, it depends what we need. Do we need a blend of a player that can play a couple of different positions? Is there a player who’s carrying a bit of an injury and might need to manage it within training? Is there a guy that might be over for three weeks, but he’s definitely worth taking? Is it leadership that we need? We’ll see.”
Today in London was a reminder of the beast that a true Lions tour is. 2021 was forgettable because of the pandemic but also the poisonous atmosphere around the entire tour. The rugby was drab. Not that the Springboks cared. They won.
This squad announcement involved a few nauseating moments and all of this is a money-making machine at the end of the day, but the unveiling also highlighted how much interest the Lions generate. And how much players care about it. The €100k fee is welcome, but the honour is thrilling too. There aren’t many things like the Lions in professional sport. This is a real-life fantasy rugby adventure.
The fun is only beginning.
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