LIONS BOSS ANDY Farrell was watching on at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening as a host of potential tourists battled it out in their Six Nations opener.
Farrell will also have closely studied Wales’ heavy defeat to France and Scotland’s win over Italy to assess the performances of a crop of other Lions candidates.
Here, our rugby writers pick out six players who may have impressed Farrell in round one.
James Lowe
There were calm overhead catches, powerful right-handed fends, battering carries, probing kicks, and three try assists in a superb display by the Ireland left wing against England. This was only his second game back from the calf injury he sustained in November but Lowe is clearly in excellent nick.
His all-action showing combined athletic power with composed skills as he delivered several game-breaking moments. Farrell is already a big fan of Lowe’s combativeness and there were plenty of signs of his trademark spikiness too. This was big-boy stuff from the hard-working, balanced Irish left wing. Murray Kinsella
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Jac Morgan
The Welsh skipper was the only silver lining as the clouds continued to assemble above Warren Gatland’s all-time-awful side. At the Stade de France, Morgan made a whopping 15 carries for a team-leading 83 metres on a night in which Wales were otherwise starved of go-forward ball.
The Ospreys man put his team on his back, and put a few French defenders on theirs too: he completed 21 tackles amid relentless French pressure. He had a spotless game discipline-wise, too, and was unfortunate not to be rewarded on a couple of attempted poaches. Very few Welsh players look like they’ll cut the mustard on a Lions tour but Morgan would complement any Test 23 rather than being a tokenistic pick. Gavan Casey
Dan Sheehan
When Sheehan tore his ACL last July there was every reason to fear for his Lions prospects. It was going to be a difficult road back and we’ve all seen enough ACL injuries to know there was no guarantee of a smooth recovery. What the hooker has done since is simply remarkable. The seven-month turnaround is a feat in itself, but the way Sheehan has come back has been astonishing to watch.
Andy Farrell at the Aviva Stadium. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
He was sharp for Leinster against the Stormers, but on Saturday he changed the game for Ireland. The pace and power were still there, and his handling was world-class. In 30 minutes, Sheehan put himself in pole position to be the Lions’ starting hooker. Catch him if you can. Ciarán Kennedy
Marcus Smith
While Smith is a shoo-in for squad selection, his attacking display against Ireland furthered his case for starting a Lions Test, not to mind backing up Finn Russell as a 10/15 option off the bench. Smith turns 26 this month and recent evidence would suggest his prime years will yield prime form.
His broad palette of passing and transition attack dissected Ireland at the Aviva during the first half in particular, the Harlequins man identifying and exposing several disconnects in the hosts’ line. While Henry Slade had an excellent game at 12 in his own right, the prospect of Smith playing with either Sione Tuipulotu or Bundee Aki immediately outside him in Australia is enticing. GC
Huw Jones
A Six Nations hat-trick is a good way to catch the eye of the Lions’ coaches. With Sione Tuipulotu sidelined Jones needs to be a leader in the Scotland backline and he did just that against Italy.
The 31-year-old has a razor-sharp attacking edge and ran good support lines for his first two tries, but his third was the pick of the bunch, calmly stepping inside two defenders and showing good strength to score. That’s now 22 tries in 54 caps for Scotland. The battle for those Lions centre spots is going to be tasty, but Jones’ name is right in the mix. CK
Jamison Gibson-Park
Already the clear favourite to wear the Lions’ number nine shirt this summer, Ireland’s scrum-half underlined his claim with a strong showing in their bonus-point opener. There were a couple of misplaced passes early on but Gibson-Park quickly got to the pitch of the game and helped Ireland to shine.
The side-stepping finish for his first-half try was classy as he was rewarded for smart support play, while his decision-making with his passing began to cause real problems for the English defence. Throw in some good kicking and defence and this was a fairly complete performance. MK
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6 players who furthered their Lions credentials in the Six Nations
LIONS BOSS ANDY Farrell was watching on at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening as a host of potential tourists battled it out in their Six Nations opener.
Farrell will also have closely studied Wales’ heavy defeat to France and Scotland’s win over Italy to assess the performances of a crop of other Lions candidates.
Here, our rugby writers pick out six players who may have impressed Farrell in round one.
James Lowe
There were calm overhead catches, powerful right-handed fends, battering carries, probing kicks, and three try assists in a superb display by the Ireland left wing against England. This was only his second game back from the calf injury he sustained in November but Lowe is clearly in excellent nick.
His all-action showing combined athletic power with composed skills as he delivered several game-breaking moments. Farrell is already a big fan of Lowe’s combativeness and there were plenty of signs of his trademark spikiness too. This was big-boy stuff from the hard-working, balanced Irish left wing. Murray Kinsella
Jac Morgan
The Welsh skipper was the only silver lining as the clouds continued to assemble above Warren Gatland’s all-time-awful side. At the Stade de France, Morgan made a whopping 15 carries for a team-leading 83 metres on a night in which Wales were otherwise starved of go-forward ball.
The Ospreys man put his team on his back, and put a few French defenders on theirs too: he completed 21 tackles amid relentless French pressure. He had a spotless game discipline-wise, too, and was unfortunate not to be rewarded on a couple of attempted poaches. Very few Welsh players look like they’ll cut the mustard on a Lions tour but Morgan would complement any Test 23 rather than being a tokenistic pick. Gavan Casey
Dan Sheehan
When Sheehan tore his ACL last July there was every reason to fear for his Lions prospects. It was going to be a difficult road back and we’ve all seen enough ACL injuries to know there was no guarantee of a smooth recovery. What the hooker has done since is simply remarkable. The seven-month turnaround is a feat in itself, but the way Sheehan has come back has been astonishing to watch.
He was sharp for Leinster against the Stormers, but on Saturday he changed the game for Ireland. The pace and power were still there, and his handling was world-class. In 30 minutes, Sheehan put himself in pole position to be the Lions’ starting hooker. Catch him if you can. Ciarán Kennedy
Marcus Smith
While Smith is a shoo-in for squad selection, his attacking display against Ireland furthered his case for starting a Lions Test, not to mind backing up Finn Russell as a 10/15 option off the bench. Smith turns 26 this month and recent evidence would suggest his prime years will yield prime form.
His broad palette of passing and transition attack dissected Ireland at the Aviva during the first half in particular, the Harlequins man identifying and exposing several disconnects in the hosts’ line. While Henry Slade had an excellent game at 12 in his own right, the prospect of Smith playing with either Sione Tuipulotu or Bundee Aki immediately outside him in Australia is enticing. GC
Huw Jones
A Six Nations hat-trick is a good way to catch the eye of the Lions’ coaches. With Sione Tuipulotu sidelined Jones needs to be a leader in the Scotland backline and he did just that against Italy.
The 31-year-old has a razor-sharp attacking edge and ran good support lines for his first two tries, but his third was the pick of the bunch, calmly stepping inside two defenders and showing good strength to score. That’s now 22 tries in 54 caps for Scotland. The battle for those Lions centre spots is going to be tasty, but Jones’ name is right in the mix. CK
Jamison Gibson-Park
Already the clear favourite to wear the Lions’ number nine shirt this summer, Ireland’s scrum-half underlined his claim with a strong showing in their bonus-point opener. There were a couple of misplaced passes early on but Gibson-Park quickly got to the pitch of the game and helped Ireland to shine.
The side-stepping finish for his first-half try was classy as he was rewarded for smart support play, while his decision-making with his passing began to cause real problems for the English defence. Throw in some good kicking and defence and this was a fairly complete performance. MK
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