Former England international Austin Healey has selected his Lions XV more than a year ahead of the 2025 tour of Australia.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Sky Sports has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour, promising viewers live coverage of all three Tests and six warm-up matches.
In light of this, the hypothetical scenario emerges: if Lions head coach Andy Farrell were to assemble his squad today, who would make the cut for the journey Down Under?
Below, Healey picks his 2025 Lions XV with five England players included in the team.
Austin Healey’s 2025 Lions XV:
1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadgh Furlong
Healey said: “My middle name is Sean. That’s the Irish in me!”
4. Joe McCarthy, 5. Maro Itoje
Healey said: “I’ve gone for McCarthy and Itoje. I think people will think, ‘Hold on a sec, he could have some of the other second rows around’. But when Itoje’s on his game and I think when he’s in the Lions shirt… He’s had a bit of an illness, he’s claimed, over the previous couple of seasons.
“McCarthy we spoke about earlier – he is going to be one hell of a player. He’s so young and so talented. And that’s a tough position. There’s load of strength there.”