johnny didnt get the nod.. Warburton as Capt.
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johnny didnt get the nod.. Warburton as Capt.
No wilkinson.
Bit of a shame. But the coverage is there for fly half.
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Fullbacks: Leigh Halfpenny (Wal), Stuart Hogg (SCO), Rob Kearney (Ire).
Wings: Tommy Bowe (Ire), Alex Cuthbert (Wal), George North (Wal).
Centres: Jonathan Davies (Wal), Brian O'Driscoll (Ire), Jamie Roberts (Wal), Manu Tuilagi (Eng).
Fly-halves: Owen Farrell (Eng), Jonathan Sexton (Ire).
Scrum-halves: Mike Phillips (Wal), Ben Youngs (Eng), Conor Murray (IRE).
Props: Cian Healy (Ire), Gethin Jenkins (Wal), Adam Jones (Wal), Dan Cole (Eng), Ryan Grant (Scot), Matt Stevens (ENG) Mako Vunipola (ENG).
Hookers: Richard Hibbard (Wal), Tom Youngs (Eng). Dylan Hartley (ENG)
Locks: Alun Wyn Jones (Wal), Paul O'Connell (Ire), Richie Gray (Scot), Geoff Parling.
Flankers: Dan Lydiate (Wal), Sean O'Brien (Ire), Sam Warburton (Wal) Capt., Tom Croft (Eng), Justin Tipuric (Wal).
No.8s: Jamie Heaslip (Irel), Toby Faletau (Wal).
One announcement had Sean Maitland as one of the wingers - anyone know?
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No Ryan Grant either according to this one...
http://www.planetrugby.com/lions-09/...681489,00.html
Yep maitland is in
BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS SQUAD:
Fullbacks: Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Robert Kearney (Ireland).
Wings: Tommy Bowe (Ireland), Alex Cuthbert (Wales), Sean Maitland (Scotland), George North (Wales).
Centers: Jonathan Davies (Wales), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Manu Tuilagi (England).
Flyhalves: Owen Farrell (England), Jonathan Sexton (Ireland).
Scrumhalves: Conor Murray (Ireland), Mike Phillips (Wales), Ben Youngs (England).
No.8s: Toby Faletau (Wales), Jamie Heaslip (Ireland).
Flankers: Tom Croft (England), Dan Lydiate (Wales), Sean O’Brien (Ireland), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Sam Warburton (Wales, captain).
Locks: Ian Evans (Wales), Richie Gray (Scotland), Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales), Paul O’Connell (Ireland), Geoff Parling (England).
Props: Dan Cole (England), Cian Healy (Ireland), Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales), Matt Stevens (England), Mako Vunipola (England).
Hookers: Dylan Hartley (England), Richard Hibbard (Wales), Tom Youngs (England).
Good looking squad. No real surprises though. I can't wait for this series to kick off!
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Interesting 2 of the 3 hookers are from England. Only one of them would be the starting dude, so the other one is so much better than all but one of the other starting #2's in the 6N?
I think they picked Youngs to come off the bench for impact. He was a centre until 5 or so years ago & then Henyeke Meyer turned him in to a hooker. Read somewhere he threw 100% during the 6N's, is very fast & is good with the ball in hand.
Even played 7's for the poms, before Meyer got him on the squats & protein shakes!
A few kiwis in there that couldn't even make super 15 teams
Yeah Youngs is a pretty dynamic hooker. One to watch.
Where's that English #8? Tom someone. He looked bloody good and made a big difference to the Poms when he played.
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Tom Croft is in the squad as a flanker
How the heck did Matt Stevens get in? he retired from international rugby becuase he couldn't hack it any more but gets a go for the lions !! For me the Lions should be recognition for blokes who have played well over a long time for their respective countries
Looking at that I would expect a mouth watering test series and I wouldn't be surprised at all if their first choice 22 are all fit the Lions to walk over the Wallabies. With North and Tuilagi in the centres George North on the wing and Owen Farrell its going to be great to watch I can't wait!
http://twf.com.au/imgcache/1194.png
Jonny Wilkinson will not tour with the British and Irish Lions, while Wales' Sam Warburton has been confirmed as captain for the trip to Australia. Lions boss Warren Gatland has picked Ireland's Jonny Sexton and England's Owen Farrell as his two fly-halves.
England captain Chris Robshaw also fails to make the 37-man squad. England front rowers Dylan Hartley, Mako Vunipola and Matt Stevens, Scots duo Stuart Hogg and Sean Maitland, and Ireland's Conor Murray all tour.
In total, there are 15 Welshmen, 10 players from England, nine from Ireland and three Scots for the tour, which culminates in a three-Test series against the Wallabies.
World Cup-winning former England fly-half Wilkinson put himself in the frame with a man of the match performance as Toulon beat Farrell's Saracens side in the Heineken Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
Gatland spoke to the 33-year-old on Monday about making the trip to Australia but Wilkinson said he was committed to Toulon and that he was not sure if his body was up to touring. However, Gatland said the pair will speak again in a couple of weeks, adding "if we do have an injury later in the tour we can have conversation then" about Wilkinson potentially being called up as injury cover.
On the subject of only choosing two fly-halves, Gatland said: "We just felt we wanted to give both an opportunity to get three or four games under their belt before the first Test. "We've taken a risk and we admit that. Stuart Hogg can cover us there and if we do pick up injuries, we'll just have to call on a replacement." Speaking about his captain Warburton, Gatland said he had "huge respect" for the 24-year-old, whom he appointed as Wales captain in 2011. "For the last two or three years, he has been the most successful captain in the northern hemisphere," added Gatland. "It's a fantastically strong squad but if I think about naming the team tomorrow, Sam would be one of the players in there. He leads from the front."
Warburton said he had known he would be captain for "nine or 10 days". "It's been the hardest secret I've ever had to keep, but I kept it in," added the 24-year-old. "It's unbelievable, it's an accolade which very few people can achieve. To be able to do this is an honour."
Wales supply four back rowers, with Justin Tipuric, Toby Faletau and Dan Lydiate joining Warburton and Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip on the plane. England second row Geoff Parling tours ahead of fellow England lock Joe Launchbury, while there is no third fly-half option.
The likes of Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw, Wales back James Hook and England inside centre Billy Twelvetrees, who could fill in at fly-half if needed, all miss out, with Scotland full-back Hogg viewed as the utility player who can step in at 10 when required.
Gatland added: "We've looked at the last few weeks in terms of performances. We've had a number of players who have come back from injury.
"The benchmark for a lot of the squad was the Six Nations and then looking at some club form and assessing whether there was the same physical intensity to draw comparison and then finally make the selection of those players.
"If you look at previous tours, there are six to eight players who always get injured. There will be a key group of players who will potentially be called up." Lydiate and Scotland second row Richie Gray both make the cut, despite injury-hit seasons.
Wales prop Gethin Jenkins is leaving Toulon at the end of the season and it is understood he will be released for the entire trip by the Heineken Cup finalists.
The Lions kick off their tour against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on 1 June, before flying to Australia for a series of warm-up matches against state sides ahead of the Test series against the Wallabies, which takes place on three consecutive Saturdays.
The Lions' last tour of Australia in 2001 ended in a 2-1 series defeat but overall they have won 75% of their games against the Wallabies, with 15 victories in 20 Tests.
Lions down under 2013
Sat 1 June v Barbarians, Hong Kong
Wed 5 June v Western Force, Perth
Sat 8 June, Queensland Reds, Brisbane
Tue 11 June, Combined NSW-Queensland, Newcastle
Sat 15 June, NSW Waratahs, Sydney
Tue 18 June, ACT Brumbies, Canberra
Sat 22 June v Australia, Brisbane
Tue 25 June, v Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne
Sat 29 June, v Australia, Melbourne
Sat 6 July, v Australia, Sydney
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22352825
---------- Post added at 05:59 ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 ----------
Still pissed Wilkinson's not coming :( Would've been good to see him one last time on Australian soil.
Gatland confirmed what I thought last night. If they get an injury in the backs I'd day that Johnny will be overnighted to aus