The British & Irish Lions will embark on their Tour of Australia next year with coach Andy Farrell set to step away from his Ireland responsibilities in December to focus on the Lions.
Players have the ongoing autumn internationals and the Six Nations, as well as club competitions, to show why they should be on the plane.
Who at the moment is performing well? Who needs a run of good matches to seal their spot?
PROP
Potentials: Andrew Porter (Ireland), Finlay Bealham (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Zander Fagerson (Scotland) Will Stuart (England), Ellis Genge (England).
Trending in: Porter.
Trending out: Stuart.
Porter more or less has his name on the team sheet already, barring injury or a dramatic loss of form. He has been a safe pair of hands for Farrell during a golden spell for Ireland. His side may have been beaten by the All Blacks, but the result had little to do with Porter, who showed his immense strength and power.
Another option is Bealham, who has covered the injured Tadgh Furlong, a Farrell mainstay who toured South Africa with the Lions in 2021.
Fagerson and Genge are the other incumbents in the position having been selected three years ago, so have credit in the bank too.
One player yet to make their mark is Stuart.
Perhaps the spotlight is brighter on the English tighthead given the side’s recent struggles, but their scrum hasn’t been excellent so far this month. He is yet to properly stake his claim for a Lions spot in this autumn Test series.
HOOKER
Potentials: Ronan Kelleher (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Ewan Ashman (Scotland), Jamie George (England), Dewi Lake (Wales).
Trending in: Kelleher, Ashman.
Trending out: Lake.
There’s no doubt George is the best option at the moment for England. His country’s recent fortunes and inability to ice games will do him no favours with Farrell but he will surely be on the plane. He could yet be captain, too.
Kelleher has been such a force in Ireland’s side it’s hard to see him missing out, while Ashman has been showing promising form with the Six Nations still to come.
It leaves Dewi Lake as an outsider, with a decent but unremarkable performance against Fiji last weekend unlikely to cement his place in the side. He will likely need to put on a better show in the months ahead to book his spot.
LOCK
Potentials: Joe McCarthy (Ireland), James Ryan (Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Grant Gilchrist (Scotland), Maro Itoje (England), George Martin (England).
Trending in: Itoje, Beirne.
Trending out: Martin.
A position where the Lions can expect to have some depth; Beirne (who can also cover in the back row) and Ryan have been the favoured choice for Ireland, with 23-year-old McCarthy also making his mark in recent times.
Itoje continues to stand out in an England side struggling for wins, and he remains arguably their most important player. Gilchrist could offer some experience in a young squad, while Martin will be pushing for better form to finish the autumn.
BACK-ROW
Potentials: Caelan Doris (Ireland), Tadgh Bearnie (Ireland), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Rory Darge (Scotland), Scott Cummings (Scotland), Tom Curry (England), Chandler Cunningham-South (England).
Trending in: Cunningham-South, Doris
Trending out: N/A
Cunningham-South has taken his chance for England this month, proving an excellent asset for Borthwick by adding size and power to their pack. With only nine Test caps, he is the kind of bolter that makes a Lions squad. His performances for England haven’t gone unnoticed among his teammates, either.
“Seeing him really step up was impressive,” England No. 8 Tom Curry said after the New Zealand game. “The stuff you saw, the physicality and the big hits, they are kind of the end process.
“But the whole week, Steve Borthwick was brilliant with him in terms of his lineout role, technique-wise and getting him up to speed knowledge-wise.”
More strong performances and he could find himself weating a Lions jersey next summer.
A more obvious name on the teamsheet is Doris. The Ireland captain could be handed the Lions armband too, with Farrell among his biggest fans.
SCRUM-HALF
Potentials: Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Alex Mitchell (England) Ben White (Scotland), Tomos Williams (Wales).
Trending in: Gibson-Park.
Trending out: Williams.
Farrell will be wanting a scrum-half to really step up over the next five months, with Gibson-Park likely in the box seat. Mitchell has been Borthwick’s first choice since last year’s World Cup,, and has proved himself at the top level, but he has not played a part this month amid a neck injury.
Meanwhile, White’s partnership with Russell should not be overlooked. Williams has been blighted by injury — he missed the Test against Australia with a shoulder issue — but has been a key performer for Gloucester this season. He could be in an uphill battle to win Farrell’s favour in time for the summer tour.
FLY-HALFS
Potentials: Finn Russell (Scotland), Marcus Smith (England), George Ford (England), Owen Farrell (England), Jack Crowley (Ireland).
Trending in: Smith.
Trending out: Ford, Crowley.
Finn Russell, regarded as one of the best fly-halfs in the world, is almost certainly on the plane to Australia. Joining him will be at least one of England’s trio of options at the position — a headache that Farrell will inherit from Borthwick for this tour.
Marcus Smith has staked his claim with a pair of impressive performances against Australia and New Zealand this autumn. He even has a chance at being the Lions’ starter ahead of Russell, if he can continue to star for both club and country.
As for the third option, it gets a little more interesting. Farrell has been unavailable for England selection since joining Racing 92. However, his overseas club career would not prohibit his Lions availability, and he has said he would love to take part in next year’s tour. “It’s a massive thing for any British player, but it’s a long way away,” Farrell said. Given his own father is coaching the tour, he looks to be with a good shout for a place.
Ford has mostly lost the starting fly-half spot for England, with Borthwick now preferring to bring him on late on, although that has coincided with his recovery from a muscle injury. It makes him an outside choice at present, but he could provide some valuable experience and a more steady alternative to his teammate and Russell.
As for Crowley, it is likely a tour too early for the Ireland No. 10, who is still finding his feet at Test level after replacing Jonny Sexton.
CENTRES
Potentials: Bundee Aki (Ireland), Garry Ringrose (Ireland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Henry Slade (England), Ollie Lawrence (England).
Trending in: Slade, Tuipulotu.
Trending out: Aki.
Expect Tuipulotu to grow even more in stature having taken over the Scotland captaincy this month. Aki played in South Africa on the last tour, and was excellent for Ireland at the World Cup, but he has tough competition to keep his spot as he gets into the latter stage of his career. He still has a great chance to go, given his rapport with Farrell, but his ineffective performance against New Zealand last weekend has led him to be dropped for Friday’s clash with Argentina. He will need to up his game to make sure his place isn’t in doubt.
Meanwhile, Slade has come back into favour and helped England’s midfield concerns, and a big Six Nations could push him into contention.
Huw Jones is also making his case to wear the Lions shirt. He missed out on the last tour amid a career slump that saw him dropped first by Glasgow, then by Scotland. However, he worked his way back into both setups and has been enjoying some of the best rugby of his career, most recently with a two-try performance in his side’s demolition of Fiji earlier this month.
OUTSIDE-BACKS
Potentials: James Lowe (Ireland), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England).
Trending in: Feyi-Waboso.
Trending out: N/A.
Another position where the Lions are set to have plenty of options to work with. A strong Six Nations campaign to back up his club form and autumn series would surely get Feyi-Waboso a place in the squad.
Farrell can turn to the likes of Lowe and Keenan as familiar options he knows can perform. Van der Merwe will also be knocking on the door and will want to go better than he did in South Africa in 2021 where he failed to score in any of the Tests.
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