Legendary coach Sir Clive Woodward has named his British & Irish Lions XV for the Mail Online with Tom Curry missing out on a starting place.
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD LIONS XV:
BACK-THREE:
- 15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
- 14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
- 11. Anthony Watson (England)
Woodward said: "On the wings young Louis Rees-Zammit and Anthony Watson, returning from injury, have been on fire."
DID YOU KNOW? In 2012, following his Scotland debut, Stuart Hogg discovered he was a distant relative of George Best. A close relative of Best recognised the link after seeing Hogg play on television
CENTRES:
- 13. Chris Harris (Scotland)
- 12. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland)
DID YOU KNOW? His musical and sporting versatility have earned him the nickname "One Man Band" and "Old Man Bob Henshaw" amongst his teammates
HALFBACKS:
- 10. Owen Farrell (England)
- 9. Conor Murray (Ireland)
Woodward said: "To beat South Africa, I believe you will need either Owen Farrell or Jonny Sexton at 10 and I’ve gone with Farrell, who among other things, seems to steer clear of serious injury."
DID YOU KNOW? Owen was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin
FRONT-ROW:
- 1. Rory Sutherland (Scotland)
- 2. Jamie George (England)
- 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
SECOND-ROW:
- 4. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) - Captain
- 5. Maro Itoje (England)
Woodward said: "There are two outstanding candidates in my mind, Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje. Of the two, I would unquestionably opt for the Wales skipper — which says everything about Jones as there is no bigger fan of Maro than me."
DID YOU KNOW? Alun Wyn Jones was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to rugby union football in Wales
BACK-ROW:
- 6. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
- 7. Justin Tipuric (Wales)
- 8. Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
