The British and Irish Lions squad was announced on Thursday, with head coach Andy Farrell announcing the 38 players who are going to tour and confirming that two extra spots will be available.
Some players will have been surprised by the news that they were selected, and even those who fans saw as certainties would have known full well that it is a privilege and not a guarantee to be picked.
Here is a look at some of the players who stood out this weekend following their selection, with a couple of injuries also thrown into the mix.
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Marcus Smith
Harlequins fly-half and fullback Marcus Smith has struggled to gain form this season, with his Quins side relying heavily on him often to his detriment, whilst also not having the best of forward packs to support him.
In his first appearance since his Lions call-up, however, he looked to have a new lease of life as his side comfortably beat Gloucester in the Premiership.
Smith wasn’t as flashy as he usually is, but delivered a composed performance that will definitely be seen as a positive.
If he can deliver another couple of strong games in Quins’ last two Prem games, he will massively boost his chances of making the Test squad.
Tom Curry
In less positive news, Tom Curry had to come off during Sale Sharks’ defeat against Leicester Tigers with a leg injury suffered in the first half.
He tried to run it off, but was taken off by Alex Sanderson, perhaps as a precautionary measure given Sale’s crucial run-in to try and secure the top four.
The only news regarding it so far has been Sanderson saying, “It was a hamstring problem which will need assessing.”
Curry has suffered and played through a few injuries this season, and hopefully this one is nothing serious and won’t jeopardise his Lions selection.
Caelan Doris
Everyone’s worst fears regarding Doris were confirmed earlier today, as Leinster have announced that he will be out for four to six months following an injury suffered against Northampton Saints last week.
He was very likely to have been captain on the tour and would have certainly been picked given his quality, so this injury is a huge miss for Andy Farrell’s side.
For him personally, it is cruel that he will miss out this way, and hopefully it will just be a temporary setback, and he bounces back to be on the 2029 tour, no matter how far away that sounds at the moment.
Ellis Genge
Genge put in a shift for Bristol Bears against Bath and boosted his chances of being the starting loosehead, with any of him, Andrew Porter and Pierre Schoeman having the ability to play in the Tests.
He showed a bit of needle in the derby match against their local rivals, scrummaged well and was solid around the park with some huge carries.
All in all, he did his selection chances absolutely no harm.
Schoeman scored a try for Edinburgh, but Porter didn’t play, so the loosehead position is still massively up for grabs.
Jack Conan
Possibly the beneficiary of Doris’ injury, although we will never know who would have made the squad if the Leinster eight wasn’t injured, Conan has filled the void left by Doris at club level, too.
The Irish side absolutely battered Zebre Parma 76-5 at the Aviva Stadium to bring a bit of positivity back to Dublin following their Champions Cup exit to Northampton Saints.
Conan was one of the best players on the pitch and struck up a great partnership with fellow Lions back row Josh van der Flier.
He scored an outstanding try for which he ran 40 metres up the pitch, before turning playmaker and providing a stunning offload for Ronan Kelleher.
A true number eight for all intents and purposes, Conan could be a shout to start in the first Test.
Tadhg Beirne
Beirne’s best position is still up for debate, and it remains to be seen whether he will be a lock or a blindside flanker for Andy Farrell’s Lions.
Wherever he plays, though, he is outstanding, and he doesn’t look out of place in either of those two positions.
Munster‘s win over Ulster saw him play in the second row and drop an absolute masterclass.
13 tackles, two turnovers won, and some good work with the ball in hand was a good outing for Beirne.
It may encourage Farrell to pair him up with Maro Itoje as the two locks, which would be a deadly partnership.
By Charlie Elliott
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