The 5 Englishmen confirmed to be on Warren Gatland's Lions standby list

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 at 11:04

byRugby Rucker

The five following English players are on Warren Gatland's 35-player British & Irish Lions tour standby list, the Telegraph has confirmed.

All will now be told to keep themselves ready for when injuries strike on the notoriously brutal tour to South Africa.

The report adds that any player who receives a call-up will be required to submit a test before flying to South Africa and will then be subject to further testing and a short period of quarantine before being allowed to join up with the squad.

1. Manu Tuilagi

Age: 29
Position: Centre
Club: Sale Sharks

When he’s fit, England are a different team. But he’s not fit, at least not yet. It’s been reported in the Telegraph today that Tuilagi did recieve a letter and there is every chance that he could end up in South Africa during the tour at some point.

Last week Lions attack coach Gregor Townsend deliberately left the door open for Tuilagi to come in as a wild-card selection. “If he shows what he is capable of and gets a lot of gametime, then we know that he’s on that stand-by list and he could be an option,”

Did you know? He was named Manusamoa, after the name of the Samoan national team, Manu Samoa, because his brother Freddie was selected for Samoa at the World Cup in 1991, the year Manu was born

2. Marcus Smith

Age: 22
Position: Fly-half
Club: Harlequins

A surprise pick for the standby list is 22-year-old Quins No 10 Smith, who is uncapped but has featured in England training squads as an 'apprentice' in the past.

His partnership with Care at Quins has seen him flourish this season, but his selection by Gatland is a bit of a shock given the experience of players such as Johnny Sexton and George Ford at fly-half.

DID YOU KNOW? His Dad, Jeremy Smith lived in Hong Kong from 1992-97, playing for Valley and the national side at fly-half.

3. Kyle Sinckler

Age: 28
Position: Prop
Club: Bristol Bears

The tighthead-prop remains in contention for a Lions injury call-up after Warren Gatland decided to place more than 30 players who received invitation letters on his standby list.

Sinckler has achieved a huge amount in his career thus far, including 44 caps for England and three Test appearances for the British & Irish Lions against New Zealand in 2017.

Did you know? According to Sinckler, he was a keen footballer though his physical nature resulted in him dropping the sport

4. Ben Spencer

Age: 28
Position: Scrum-half
Club: Bath RFC

The Telegraph reported that the four cap England international has been sounded out by Lions head coach Warren Gatland.

Spencer, who joined Bath from Saracens last summer, has not played for his country since being flown in as a late injury replacement for Gloucester's Willi Heinz in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final which England lost to the Springboks.

5. Danny Care

Age: 34
Position: Scrum-half
Club: Harlequins

Without question the form scrum-half in the Premiership and at 34, a Lions call-up didn't seem that absurd when reports emerged he could be a shock inclusion last week.

However, The Telegraph have revealed Care is on the standby list and have suggested he would be the next scrum-half to fly out to South Africa

The 34-year-old has not played in the red rose since November 2018 against Japan following a reported bust-up with head coach Eddie Jones.

Did you know? At age 11 he was invited to join the Academy at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club where he played up front alongside a young Jamie Vardy