ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Apr 20, 2017

Brian O'Driscoll and Ben Kay react to 2017 British and Irish Lions squad

There has been plenty of reaction from Lions fans and opponents alike on the squad selected by head coach Warren Gatland on Wednesday. Whether for good or for bad, it has generated a debate that will rage on until the first game of the 10-match tour down under.

BT Sport’s Lions veterans Ben Kay and Brian O’Driscoll provided an ex-player’s perspective on the wider squad, and discussed some of the notable inclusions and omissions.

Much of the discussion has focused on England captain Dylan Hartley, who was overlooked in favour of his understudy Jamie George. The Saracens hooker joins Welshman Ken Owens and Ireland captain Rory Best on tour.

There was also some discontent among Scotland fans after another low contingent was selected. Flanker Hamish Watson, who showed so well in the 6 Nations was the notable exclusion as was fly-half Finn Russell who had been tipped by many to be a wildcard inclusion.

The latter’s position went to Dan Biggar who Gatland knows well from the Wales setup. In fact, despite finishing 5th in the 6 Nations, Gatland decided to stick to familiarity by picking 12 Welsh players, only four short of the largest contingent England.

Ireland’s Robbie Henshaw was rewarded for his stand-out season last year with a debut Lions tour while centre counterpart Gary Ringrose was unfortunate to miss out. Lions stalwart Jamie Roberts also missed the cut while England’s Jonathan Joseph will travel to New Zealand despite rumours suggesting he too would miss out.

While Gatland’s 41-man squad is the largest since Clive Woodward’s from 2005 (also in New Zealand), there will still be opportunities for those who didn’t make the cut to come in as injury cover on what is sure to be another brutal Lions tour.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

  • 173 WEEKS AGO

    scottish prop saves fire victim

  • 177 WEEKS AGO

    New Rugby X tournament insane

  • 204 WEEKS AGO

    Vunipola stands by his comments supporting...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Sonny-Bill Williams Gives Irish U20 Star A Shoutout For Classy Offload

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    England and Ireland fans express disappointment in grand slam refereeing decisions

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    England Fullback Shown Red For Collision With Opposite Number

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Springbok Flyhalf Back With A Bang In Huge Development For World Champions

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Shocking Scenes As Rugby Players Attacked Following Rivalry Clash In South Africa

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    "Talk Is Cheap" - Jamie Ritchie Responds To Dan Biggar's Pre-Match Comments

View All

Amateur

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 33 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

View All