Andy Farrell has selected his 40-player squad for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia this summer. 

With so many quality players up for selection, there were always going to be big names missing out as well as a few surprises included. 

Given that it is a squad, different players will have been called upon to play different roles, which means that difficult decisions need to be made to help the balance of the squad. 

Here, Charlie Elliott goes through the biggest winners and losers from selection. 

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Winners 

Marcus Smith 

Most of the squad was seemingly selected with recent form in mind, which makes Smith’s inclusion even more surprising. 

He hasn’t been at his best this season for either Harlequins or England, which has led him to play as a fullback in the Six Nations instead of his native fly-half after namesake Fin burst onto the scene. 

Perhaps that brief stint at 15 ended up doing his Lions chances a huge favour, as it showed that he was more than capable of playing the position to a very high level, which adds another dimension to his game, versatility. 

The talent is clear to see with Smith, and ability-wise, he deserves to be in the Lions squad, but when recent form is considered, it is a slightly surprising decision. 

Elliot Daly 

Daly is the ultimate utility back, so in many ways his inclusion into the squad should come as no surprise. 

However, when you consider that Farrell has selected 40 names, it does beg the question as to how important versatility is given the number of players that he will have to choose from. 

Someone who is more suited to Test rugby, Daly can play any position from ten upwards to a good level and will be a good asset to have. 

When you consider that someone like Darcy Graham has missed out though, Daly was slightly fortunate to be included. 

Mack Hansen 

On the topic of Graham, winger Mack Hansen being selected in the squad is a huge surprise given his shortfalls when compared to the Scotland winger. 

His form has not been amazing this season, especially when compared to Graham, so he is very fortunate that his head coach at Test level is also the main man at the Lions. 

Hansen was born in Australia and has played for the Brumbies, also representing the Wallabies’ U20 side, which could also have benefited his selection. 

Losers 

George Ford 

This was surely Ford’s last opportunity to play on a Lions tour, with the fly-half now being 32 years old, and he will go down as one of the best ever players to never play on a tour. 

His lack of selection really stems from an injury that he picked up at the start of this season that caused him to not play for Sale Sharks, which led to him not playing in the Autumn Internationals for England, which then harmed his Six Nations hopes, which then hampered his Lions hopes. 

Described as being like another coach on the pitch by those who have played with him, Ford would have been a good player to have around the dressing room and would have been a leader. 

Given Marcus Smith‘s form compared to Ford’s this season, he can feel very hard done by. 

Darcy Graham 

As mentioned, Hansen over Graham was a very surprising pick, with the latter losing out as a result. 

His game is very heavily focused on pace and he has an uncanny knack to score tries, the former being a big difference between him and pretty much all the wingers who were selected. 

Tommy Freeman and James Lowe cannot be disputed as deserving to tour, but both are similar players to some extent, being bulkier wingers. 

Having a different type of winger, one who is more diminutive, would have added another dimension to the squad and could have meant that if the Lions wanted to switch it up a bit, they could. 

Jack Willis 

The Lions squad is meant to be the best players from Britain and Ireland, but you can’t help but feel like one of the best players from the four nations has missed out. 

Willis has been outstanding for Toulouse this season, but ultimately him playing in the Top 14 has ruined his chances, because of the potential selection issues that may arise. 

If his side were to get to the Top 14 final, he would have to miss a portion of Lions action, something which was clearly seen as a deal breaker by Farrell. 

Playing in France has also meant that he hasn’t played internationally for England since the 2023 World Cup. 

On ability alone, Willis was more than deserving of a place, but was a victim of his circumstances. 

Ben Curry 

Another backrow option who has been in incredible form this season, the competitiveness of the position is ultimately the thing that has impacted his selection. 

Although he has been in better form than Jac Morgan recently, and if the Wales flanker hadn’t put up obscene numbers in the Six Nations, his selection may have been more at risk. 

Only selecting six players to directly cover the three positions seems a bit light given the amount of quality that hasn’t been picked. 

The Curry brothers have been outstanding for Sale this season and while Tom has just about been better, there is not much to split the two in terms of form. 

It opens a door for him to play for England this summer, but that will be of little consolation to him at this point.