Former British and Irish Lion Matt Dawson picks his team for first Test with Elliot Daly and Sam Simmonds among his shock inclusions.
Matt Dawson: Lions XV for the BBC
BACK-THREE:
- 15. Liam Williams (Wales)
- 14. Anthony Watson (England)
- 11. Josh Adams (Wales)
Dawson said: "Unfortunately for Stuart Hogg, he needed to face Test-match intensity opposition and he has not. I do not think he has shown himself to be any better under pressure than Liam Williams, who has been pretty faultless."
CENTRES:
- 13. Elliot Daly (England)
- 12. Bundee Aki (Ireland)
Dawson said: "I was torn between Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki. I would go with Henshaw because Aki is maybe a bit more predictable. Henshaw can still do the hard yards."
HALFBACKS:
- 10. Dan Biggar (Wales)
- 9. Conor Murray (Ireland)
Dawson said: " Biggar has been the stand-out fly-half. Over the past 18 months he has matured. He has shown less petulance and more assurance. He can deliver the run-pass-kick game but strategically he seems a bit sharper than Owen Farrell. I do not think Gatland will go with newcomer Marcus Smith at 10, he might put Smith on the bench if he needs to ramp it up. We have all seen plenty of Marcus to know he can do that."
FRONT-ROW:
- 1. Mako Vunipola (England)
- 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (England)
- 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
Dawson said: "I think Cowan-Dickie has been the stand-out hooker in England. Everybody saw how England got beaten up in the World Cup final against South Africa and one of the reasons is that they did not have an edge up front. "
SECOND-ROW:
- 4. Maro Itoje (England)
- 5. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
Dawson said: "Jones should be captain. He came on against the Stormers after his swift recovery from injury and went straight back into it. He didn't shirk. He has got all the experience, the communication with the referee and the game management."
BACK-ROW:
- 6. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
- 7. Tom Curry (England)
- 8. Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
Dawson said: "To have a back row like Sam Simmonds who is such a threat, who can step and score and pass and link as well as compete out wide gives you a completely different dimension."
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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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