Sir Clive Woodward names his matchday 23 to beat the Springboks
Rugby NewsTuesday, 15 December 2020 at 15:17
Sir Clive Woodward has named the full matchday 23 he'd start against South Africa if he was leading the Lions in 2021.
Here is who the World Cup-winning coach picked, including 12 England players.
However, a number of big names, including Finn Russell, Johnny Sexton and Jacob Stockdale all missed out on the World Cup-winning coaches selection.
Check out who made his matchday 23 by scrolling down:
BACK-THREE: Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Liam Williams (Wales), Anthony Watson (England)
"I'd start these three, but could have Jonny May and Josh Adams adding pace off the bench."
CENTRES: Manu Tuilagi (England) & Jonathan Davies (Wales)
"Similar partnership to Te'o and Davies in 2017, but with even more power."
HALFBACKS: Owen Farrell (England), Conor Murray (Ireland)
"I don't want to see Owen in the centre, his best position always has been 10. Murray will set the pace with someone like Tomos Williams coming off the bench."
FRONT-ROW: Mako Vunipola(England), Jamie George (England), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
"My first-choice front row would be Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Tadhg Furlong with Rory Sutherland, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Kyle Sinckler on the bench if required."
LOCKS: Maro Itoje (England) & James Ryan (Ireland)
"For me they are the two best locks anywhere at the moment. World-class."
BACK-ROW: Tom Curry (England), Sam Underhill (England), Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
"In the back row I would now start with Tom Curry and Sam Underhill either side of Taulupe Faletau at No.8. Billy Vunipola and Justin Tipuric would have big roles to play off the bench."
Replacements: Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Kyle Sinckler (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Billy Vunipola (England), Tomos Williams (Wales), Jonny May (England), Josh Adams (Wales)
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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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