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British and Irish Lions stock risers and fallers: Taulupe Faletau rolls back years to put himself in contention

Taulupe Faletau Cardiff

By Charlie Elliott

It’s only a few weeks until the British and Irish ‘ full squad is announced. 

Recency often plays a huge role in selection, with the actions of the few months building up to selection holding greater weight than a lot of the work done in the rest of the four-year cycle. 

This weekend, the Premiership and saw most of the Lions hopefuls going to-to-toe, with some being in direct competition with one another. 

Here are the players whose stock rose and fell the most this weekend. 

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Risers

Taulupe Faletau 

secured a very impressive 26-21 win over Munster, and Wales back row Faletau was the star of the show. 

He put in a classy performance on both sides of the ball, taking fans back to his prime with some truly stunning numbers. 

Faletau made 18 carries and tackles, making 47 metres on the ball, which is a brilliant haul for the Wales star and Andy will have taken note. 

In such a strong position for the Lions, a callup may be tough but he has seriously helped his chances. 

Jacob Stockdale 

Ulster winger Stockdale might be a serious outsider for the Lions, given that it is such a strong position, but he has put himself up there in the conversation despite the 22-19 loss to the Sharks. 

With plenty of Test experience for over the years, it has been a tough few years for him and he hasn’t really had a consistent run of Test matches since 2020. 

He has hit a rich vein of form recently and was outstanding on the wing against the Sharks, which has come at the perfect time to benefit his Lions chances.  

Alex Mitchell 

have had a poor season in the Premiership but brought back a bit of the form that won them the title last season with a convincing 48-31 win over Bears. 

‘s starting scrum-half Alex Mitchell was the star man, as he dictated play throughout and scored a lovely solo try. 

In the game, he was a very good playmaker whilst retaining some quick running with the ball in hand. 

He is highly rated in terms of potential Lions number nines and will not have hampered his chances at all with that performance. 

George Ford 

Ford has been so underrated at Test level for years and might finally get his shot at a Lions tour, which many believe that he should have already had. 

Against Saracens, he was unstoppable with some class playmaking, and he has really come into his own this season as a whole. 

Unlucky with injuries at the start of the season, which had the knock on effect of him not playing at the Six Nations, him being called up is still a bit of a tall order given the competitiveness, but his chances have gone up massively. 

Sale Sharks

Fallers

Ben Earl 

Earl wasn’t particularly bad against Sale but given that he was outclassed by a direct competitor, , this game definitely didn’t help him. 

Still a brilliant player and someone that fans definitely wouldn’t complain about if he was to tour, Curry showed a different level to Earl in such a big game for both teams. 

His whole season has been good, but this individual game will have a negative impact on his likelihood of selection. 

Marcus Smith 

Possibly harsh to describe him as a ‘faller’ given the fact that it is injury that has effectively ended his Lions chances, but he has gone from being in the conversation to having no chance. 

Injury aside, it wasn’t his best game against Leicester Tigers and Harlequins’ reliance on him has seriously harmed him this season, as he tends to get more focus on him which makes him harder to work his magic. 

A blow to his ankle in each half saw him taken off, and he looks set for a spell on the sidelines to end the season, and it would be a huge surprise if he were on the plane now. 

Super unlucky, and it has been a season to forget for the talented fly-half. 

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