LIST: 5 Lions hopefuls who saw their chances rocked this weekend
Rugby NewsSunday, 25 April 2021 at 17:27
These five Lions contenders saw their chances rocked by injuries or poor performances as the countdown to the squad announcement gets into full swing.
Gatland will confirm his 36-man travelling party to. face the Springboks on 6 May.
The lack of travel across multiple times zones to get to South Africa, allied with the Lions not having a midweek match leading into the first Test next July, were the reasons why Gatland said his squad number would be reduced, adding that the forwards/backs split could potentially be 20/15.
#1. George North
The powerhouse is facing an anxious 48 hour wait to learn whether the injury he suffered on Saturday afternoon will rule him out of British and Irish Lions contention. Early in the second half of the Ospreys' 36-14 Rainbow Cup victory over the Cardiff Blues, North went down in agony, clutching his right knee. FULL STORY
#2. Johnny Sexton
For the second time in his career, the Ireland fly-half has been stood down from action after a succession of head injuries. In 2015, the then Racing 92 out-half was given 12 weeks out of the game by French neurologist Dr Jean-Francois Chermann and, yesterday, Leinster confirmed that he will miss Saturday’s tie with Munster after being replaced following a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) for the third time in nine weeks against Exeter Chiefs. FULL STORY
#3. Kyle Sinckler
Up against Ben Moon as Bristol took on Exeter Chiefs, Sinckler worrying at times struggled under pressure in the scrum, conceding a penalty for pulling it down as well as being pushed backwards at times. Although still likely to make the squad, this poor performance will do him no favours in his battle tos start
#4. Garry Ringrose
A first outing for Leinster since his March 14 injury for Ireland at Scotland, there was rustiness in defence while he also lost the ball in one first-half collision with Chris Farrell. Overall he looked poor before he was replaced after 58 minutes.
#5. Joe Launchbury
The Wasps and England second-row saw his hopes of a first British and Irish Lions tour appear in serious danger after suffering a knee injury. He twisted awkwardly in the 32nd minute of Wasps' Gallagher Premiership round 17 clash with Bath at the Ricoh Arena. FULL STORY
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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