Brilliant Brian O’Driscoll is early charger for Lions place

Selecting a Lions team from the ranks of the Aviva Premiership and the RaboDirect Pro12 is a fraught business at this stage of the season. This is primarily because the English league is competitive right from the start of the campaign, but the lack of promotion and relegation in the Pro12 means that many of the international players in Ireland in particular – and Wales and Scotland to a lesser extent – have been kept fresh to prepare for the Heineken Cup and the autumn internationals.
The upshot is that many of the games in the first five rounds of the Pro 12 have been contested by sides that are not full strength, with many potential Lions candidates only sporadically in view, whereas the Premiership sides have to hit the ground running. This ensures that, barring injury, the top English candidates are on the pitch every weekend.
However, when it comes to the backline, it is still pedigree players from the Celtic nations who are making the early running. Rob Kearney finished on top of Europe last season having won a third Heineken Cup title with Leinster, and the 2009 Lions Test full-back demonstrated at the end of last season, and the start of this, that he is a full-back at the top of his game. Leinster are not yet in full swing, but when they are it is often Kearney who is their inspiration.
The back three is completed by Tommy Bowe and George North on the wings, both of whom have been scoring tries. Bowe’s impressive early-season form after joining Pro12 league leaders, Ulster, indicates that the 2009 Test starter means business, while North has been in exceptional form for the Scarlets. However, if Christian Wade (Wasps) keeps crossing the try line the Lions selectors will find him hard to ignore.
The two outstanding candidates in midfield are both outside centres, with Jonathan Davies and the evergreen Brian O’Driscoll leading the way, and staying ahead of Manu Tuilagi, who was taken out of the Premiership running for a couple of weeks with injury. O’Driscoll was in prime form for Leinster in their away win at Treviso, and has the experience and ability to interchange between 12 and 13, as does the versatile young Welshman, so they are the centre pairing.
Jonathan Sexton has also had a good start to the season, and the Irishman just gets in ahead of Edinburgh playmaker Greig Laidlaw and Gloucester’s sprightly Freddie Burns at fly-half, while at scrum-half Danny Care, who has outshone his Celtic rivals, becomes the first and only Englishman in the backline.
The front row sees the inclusion of two more Englishmen, with rapid learner Joe Marler (Harlequins) nudging out the precocious Mako Vunipola (Saracens) at loose head, and Northampton’s Dylan Hartley bringing a much-improved carrying dimension to his game at hooker to stay ahead of Richard Hibbard (Ospreys). They are joined by Adam Jones, who continues to add such ballast and experience at tight head for the Ospreys and Wales.
A second row of Gloucester’s skipper Jim Hamilton and Alun Wyn Jones is an in-form combination, with the big Scot providing the power and the Wales and Ospreys lock the athleticism. George Robson of Harlequins is pushing hard for inclusion, but, so far, Richie Gray’s move to Sale has not showcased his Lions credentials, and Courtney Lawes has only just returned to Northampton duty.
The side is completed by an all-English back row in which Exeter’s Tom Johnson edges in at blindside ahead of Ryan Jones (Ospreys) and Tom Wood (Northampton) – who has made steady progress since his long lay-off. The remaining two berths are snapped up by two Harlequins, with the veteran Nick Easter consistently the best No.8 in the Premiership over the opening five matches, and Chris Robshaw‘s work rate and effectiveness getting the incumbent England captain the early nod ahead of his Wales counterpart Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues).
Nick Lions form XV (September 2012)
15-Rob Kearney (Leinster)
14-Tommy Bowe (Ulster)
13-Jonathan Davies (Scarlets)
12-Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster)
11-George North (Scarlets)
10-Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)
9-Danny Care (Harlequins)
1-Joe Marler (Harlequins)
2-Dylan Hartley (Northampton)
3-Adam Jones (Ospreys)
4-Jim Hamilton (Gloucester)
5-Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
6-Tom Johnson (Exeter)
7-Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt)
8-Nick Easter (Harlequins)