Scotland great Greig Laidlaw has picked his British and Irish Lions XV based on current form with just one England player making the cut and no Welshmen.
Laidlaw toured with the Lions in 2017 and has since moved into coaching, following his retirement from professional rugby, and is now the head coach of Japanese side the Urayasu D-Rocks.
Laidlaw’s picks his Lions XV
This week, the Scotsman was asked to pick his Lions team based on current performances and he has gone with nine Ireland players, one England forward and five Scotland stars.
The fan-favourite former halfback has selected Scotland flyer Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham in his back three along with Ireland’s James Lowe. Sione Tuipulotu and Garry Ringrose are his picks in the centres with Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park the halfbacks.
Ireland feature heavily in Laidlaw’s pack with Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan in the front-row with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan the lock pairing. Tadhg Beirne and Caelan Doris feature in his back-row with England’s Tom Curry and Scotland’s Zander Fagerson at tighthead.
“Zander has been awesome for Scotland, probably one our best players,” Laidlaw told Off the Ball as he explained his selections.
“Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter really pick themselves and then Joe McCarthy has really come through and been a revelation for Ireland. James Ryan as well, I think he’s so important in the Irish team so there’s no reason why he is not going be important for Andy Farrell in the Lions team.”
Greig Laidlaw suggests key role for Owen Farrell during the British and Irish Lions tour
The back row and backs
Moving onto the back-row, Laidlaw revealed who he thinks the skipper might be and added a caveat for Curry’s inclusion after the England star’s torrid run of injuries.
“The two Irish boys again pick get themselves in there on current form and Caelan Doris is probably the favourite to be captain,” he said.
“Again, for Tom Curry it depends on how much he plays but for me he is outstanding.
“Gibson-Park is fairly out in front of the other scrum-halves I’d imagine and I that Finn’s the man out in front for fly-half. His performance have been really consistent now over the last two or three seasons too.”
He added: “At this moment in time, Sione Tuipulotu has probably done enough to start and Ringrose alongside him in that 13 slot. Ringrose is one of Faz’s boys and that has been earned.
“James Lowe is a really smart rugby player and then Darcy who is almost unbelievable in the number of defenders he beats. Blair has been unbelievable since he joined Toulouse.”
After Warren Gatland’s side went winless in 2024, Laidlaw finds it difficult to see any of the Wales players making the squad to tour Down Under.
“You know, I had a fair look, but I just can’t see at this moment in time how you get any Welsh players in the team to be brutally honest,” he said.
Greig Laidlaw’s Lions XV
15 Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), 14 Darcy Graham (Scotland), 13 Garry Ringrose (Ireland), 12 Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), 11 James Lowe (Ireland), 10 Finn Russell (Scotland), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), 8 Caelan Doris (Ireland), 7 Tom Curry (England), 6 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), 5 James Ryan (Ireland), 4 Joe McCarthy (Ireland), 3 Zander Fagerson (Scotland), 2 Dan Sheehan (Ireland), 1 Andrew Porter (Ireland)
READ MORE: Respected Australian pundit floats radical idea for future British and Irish Lions tours
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
