England’s Maro Itoje is unveiled as Lions captain at the squad’s naming ceremony. Photo: www.lionsrugby.com
Australians, Kiwis and South Africans have been named in the 38-man strong British and Irish Lion rugby squad to tour Australia next month.
Overnight, Ireland and Lions coach Andy Farrell named 21 forwards and 17 backs in his squad for the nine-game tour.
Of the 38 players, 15 are from Ireland, 13 from England, eight from Scotland and two from Wales.
The captain is England forward Maro Itoje, now on his third Lions tour and the first Englishman to lead the side in 24 years.
LIONS DOWN UNDER 2025
- June 21, vs Argentina in Dublin (warm-up)
- June 28, vs Western Force, Perth
- July 2, vs Queensland, Brisbane
- July 5, vs NSW, Sydney
- July 9, vs ACT Brumbies, Canberra
- July 12, vs Anzac XV, Adelaide
- TEST 1, July 19, vs Australia, Brisbane
- July 22, vs First Nations/Pasifika, Melbourne
- TEST 2, July 26, vs Australia, Melbourne
- TEST 3, August 2, vs Australia, Sydney
Aussies Mack Hansen (Ireland) and Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) made the squad as did Kiwis Bundee Aki, James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park. At least two South Africans were named as well.
A notable absentee from the squad is Farrell’s son, Owen, who is now playing in France and was concussed last weekend.
“What you are after more than anything as a coach is the right balance, the right blend and set standards,” Farrell told a launch event in the UK and reported via the Lions website.
The live launch was attended by 2000 fans, according to media reports.
“You can see throughout the squad they will be vying for respect and that is what it is about; respect from your peers. These are the best of the best and you want to be remembered forever.”
The squad was not finalised until Wednesday morning as the coaching panel considered up to 75 players.
“It has been a robust process but that’s the way it is supposed to be isn’t it?” Farrell asked the launch audience.
“If it’s not difficult then you don’t have a good squad.
“Going from 75 players and getting it down to 55 — that’s tough enough. Getting it down to the final 38 was hard.
“To get from 55 players to the 38 is extremely difficult. We got to 90 per cent of the squad and then the final 10 per cent was torture but that is how it is supposed to be.”
THE SQUAD
Forwards: Tadhg Beirne, Ollie Chessum, Jack Conan, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Scott Cummings, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Zander Fagerson, Tadhg Furlong, Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje (C), Ronan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy, Jac Morgan, Henry Pollock, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Pierre Schoeman, Will Stuart and Josh van der Flier.
Backs: Bundee Aki, Elliot Daly, Tommy Freeman, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Huw Jones, Hugo Keenan, Blair Kinghorn, James Lowe, Alex Mitchell, Garry Ringrose, Finn Russell, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe and Tomos Williams.
