The SEVEN Biggest names left out of the British & Irish Lions squad - Includes three former England captains

With competition fiercer than ever and selectors forced into some brutal decisions, a number of top-tier players have found themselves on the outside looking in. Here, we break down the five most high-profile omissions—and why they might still have a point to prove.

It was Maro Itoje, the newly announced Lions skipper, watching on as the rest of the squad was announced. If Ireland’s leader, Caelan Doris, hadn’t been injured last weekend as Leinster fell to Northampton Saints, it could quite possibly have been the Mayo man in Itoje’s place.

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Whilst we are unaware of the extent of his injury, it is surely enough to keep him out of the tour and now it is likely to be Ben Earl and Jack Conan who will be fighting for the starting number eight jersey.

The former England captain, a hugely popular figure both on and off the pitch, will be gutted at falling short in his pursuit to get on a third Lions tour. International teammate Luke Cowan-Dickie has claimed one of the three spots as hooker in the squad.

George, unlikely to have supplanted Ireland’s Dan Sheehan as starting hooker, would have been a leading candidate to captain the midweek side. It now remains to be seen whether the Saracen will head on tour with his country to Argentina this Summer…

The former Wasp has reignited his career at Toulouse following the English club going into administration, but has ultimately not been able to convince Andy Farrell of a place on the plane.

There is no doubt that he has been in impressive form this year, and perhaps the scheduling nightmare owing to the clash with the French season and the tour has counted him out this time around.

The man who has been picked to replace Johnny Sexton at a club and international level had been touted as one of the three potential fly-halves to be picked. However, the Leinster man has ultimately fallen short, perhaps having been outshone by rival Fin Smith last weekend in the Aviva Stadium.

At only twenty-two years of age and the rest of his career ahead of him, a Lions tour surely awaits.

Both of these men, who have achieved so much in the game, do deserve their own paragraphs. Yet, because of their friendship off the pitch as well as the similar positions they find themselves in their careers, having suffered injury-hit seasons and have been replaced in the international arena by younger 10s, it made sense to write about the Northern fly-halves as one.

There was much speculation that one of these two men would be picked to fly out to Australia, yet Farrell Senior has resisted the urge and has picked on form and versality when it comes to the out halves at his disposal.

As the Edinburgh wing’s teammate Duhan van der Merwe was confirmed to be in the squad, one can only feel sympathy for Graham. His country’s second highest try scorer, only three behind Duhan, is one of the world’s best attacking prospects when fully fit. With Mack Hansen nursing an ankle injury, don’t be surprised to hear of criticism aimed at Andy Farrell over snubbing the Scottish star.