WARREN GATLAND, ANDY Farrell, Steve Borthwick and Rob Howley sat down yesterday for their first Lions selection meeting.
There were no decisions made, however, with this gathering of the coaching staff merely being a conversation starter after the November Tests.
The selection meetings have begun already. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England all had ample opportunity to impress over the course of recent weekends, and the Lions coaches picked out a base of around 50 players they felt had stood out.
The final Lions squad won’t be announced until April, meaning there is plenty of water still to pass under the bridge before then. The Six Nations will be essential to many of the decisions.
Let the debate over who should travel commence.
“We sat down yesterday as coaches and we went through the squads from the autumn and who’s impressed us,” said Gatland today.
I haven’t added up the number of names but there are probably 50 names who have made an impact in the autumn from the four squads. We haven’t looked at trying to narrow that down at the moment but there have been some really impressive performances.
“If I was to name a squad now, I could probably pick 15 or 20 players that I would say are pretty good chances of going, but that will definitely change over the next few months.”
Several Ireland players will feel they strengthened their Lions claims by beating the All Blacks and the Wallabies, with the likes of Conor Murray and Jack McGrath leading the charge.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, Eddie Jones’ Englishmen continued their streak of wins to impress the watching Gatland.
Rugby can change quickly, however, meaning Scotland and Wales – both of whom delivered positive performances in November – will have some hope of shining in the upcoming Six Nations.
Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw staked their claims in November. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Gatland says the Lions will not settle on a captain until they have actually finalised their squad, with the picking of the personnel coming before the selection of a leader.
However, in saying he was looking at one of the current national team captains, the New Zealander did suggest that one of England’s Dylan Hartley, Wales’ Sam Warburton and Ireland’s Rory Best would lead his squad, with Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw an outside bet.
That would appear to rule Alun-Wyn Jones out of the running, although the Welshman is favoured in some quarters.
“The process will be that we’ll pick the squad first and pick the best players and then try and identity a captain,” said Gatland.
A lot of people have talked about dual captains. I don’t think we’ll go down that process. Whoever we do select as a captain, the first thing is, it will be a massive honour for that person.
“The second conversation with them will be that, just because you’re captain, there is no guarantee that you were going to be playing on all the Tests. Form on the Lions is paramount.
“Probably it will be someone who is doing the captaincy role at the moment. Let’s see how the Six Nations goes. I haven’t got someone definitely in mind at the moment but hopefully that will evolve over the Six Nations.”
Before the November Test series, optimism for the Lions’ trip to New Zealand was in scarce supply among Northern Hemisphere supporters and media.
However, the fact that the All Blacks were beaten by Ireland and tested by France in Paris has seen the belief that the Lions can compete grow.
The odds will remain firmly in the Kiwis’ favour, of course, but having seen their lengthy winning streak ended by Ireland, Gatland must be feeling more confident.
“The hardest thing for the All Blacks is maintaining that winning record and keeping that momentum,” said Gatland.
“They had done that for a while. I don’t think there’s a vulnerability but they missed a couple of key players in Chicago, particularly the second rows and they made a couple of changes in the backs as well.
I thought when they came back to Dublin, they really shut up shop and their whole focus wasn’t about going and playing expansive rugby; they were focused on getting out of here and winning the game.
“That makes sense and that’s why they’re such a good team. The good thing about it at the moment is that Ireland have seen that there are some opportunities in terms of attacking against them.
“The good thing is that the rest of us, in terms of Wales, England and Scotland, haven’t played the All Blacks, so there’s a bit of an uncertainty for both sides about the next six to eight months. That’s what really creates the interest.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Gatland's Lions coaches narrow in on 50 players after November Tests
WARREN GATLAND, ANDY Farrell, Steve Borthwick and Rob Howley sat down yesterday for their first Lions selection meeting.
There were no decisions made, however, with this gathering of the coaching staff merely being a conversation starter after the November Tests.
Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England all had ample opportunity to impress over the course of recent weekends, and the Lions coaches picked out a base of around 50 players they felt had stood out.
The final Lions squad won’t be announced until April, meaning there is plenty of water still to pass under the bridge before then. The Six Nations will be essential to many of the decisions.
Let the debate over who should travel commence.
“We sat down yesterday as coaches and we went through the squads from the autumn and who’s impressed us,” said Gatland today.
“If I was to name a squad now, I could probably pick 15 or 20 players that I would say are pretty good chances of going, but that will definitely change over the next few months.”
Several Ireland players will feel they strengthened their Lions claims by beating the All Blacks and the Wallabies, with the likes of Conor Murray and Jack McGrath leading the charge.
Meanwhile, Eddie Jones’ Englishmen continued their streak of wins to impress the watching Gatland.
Rugby can change quickly, however, meaning Scotland and Wales – both of whom delivered positive performances in November – will have some hope of shining in the upcoming Six Nations.
Gatland says the Lions will not settle on a captain until they have actually finalised their squad, with the picking of the personnel coming before the selection of a leader.
However, in saying he was looking at one of the current national team captains, the New Zealander did suggest that one of England’s Dylan Hartley, Wales’ Sam Warburton and Ireland’s Rory Best would lead his squad, with Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw an outside bet.
That would appear to rule Alun-Wyn Jones out of the running, although the Welshman is favoured in some quarters.
“The process will be that we’ll pick the squad first and pick the best players and then try and identity a captain,” said Gatland.
“The second conversation with them will be that, just because you’re captain, there is no guarantee that you were going to be playing on all the Tests. Form on the Lions is paramount.
“Probably it will be someone who is doing the captaincy role at the moment. Let’s see how the Six Nations goes. I haven’t got someone definitely in mind at the moment but hopefully that will evolve over the Six Nations.”
Before the November Test series, optimism for the Lions’ trip to New Zealand was in scarce supply among Northern Hemisphere supporters and media.
However, the fact that the All Blacks were beaten by Ireland and tested by France in Paris has seen the belief that the Lions can compete grow.
The odds will remain firmly in the Kiwis’ favour, of course, but having seen their lengthy winning streak ended by Ireland, Gatland must be feeling more confident.
“The hardest thing for the All Blacks is maintaining that winning record and keeping that momentum,” said Gatland.
“They had done that for a while. I don’t think there’s a vulnerability but they missed a couple of key players in Chicago, particularly the second rows and they made a couple of changes in the backs as well.
“That makes sense and that’s why they’re such a good team. The good thing about it at the moment is that Ireland have seen that there are some opportunities in terms of attacking against them.
“The good thing is that the rest of us, in terms of Wales, England and Scotland, haven’t played the All Blacks, so there’s a bit of an uncertainty for both sides about the next six to eight months. That’s what really creates the interest.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
‘Joe is the boss’ – Farrell has no say in Ireland’s defence coach plans for Japan
‘Rob gets a lot of criticism in Wales, but it’s the worst place in the world for criticism’
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
50 Names Early Days gatty November Tests Lions Warren Gatland