Three Lions players whose stock has fallen massively this tour

There’s still plenty to play for heading into the second test, and as we enter the final stages of the season we’ve decided to look back and reflect on the tour.

Six weeks can prove an awfully long time in rugby and this list of players have seen their fortunes suffer a sharp downturn during the current campaign, here are three stars whose stock has fallen massively this season.

The back rower’s exclusion from the Lions side for the first Test with South Africa came after a fragmented run-in to the series during which he played bits of games here and there, including a stint at openside after Justin Tipuric picked up an injury in the campaign opener against Japan. Despite all this, he could turn it all around with an impactful performance from the bench against the Springboks this weekend.

A player who has been hurt by the isolations due to Covid and injury since the Lions arrived in South Africa. Flashed a lot of his potential against the Sigma Lions, but will ultimately see this tour as another 'what could have been' moment in a career full of near misses.

All of the pre-tour hype following his record-breaking haul of tries during the 2020/21 Premiership season seem to have completed faded.

There have been flashes from Simmonds so far, but he seems to have little chance of featuring in the Test team with Jack Conan the standout Number 8 star.

Hopefully, this will still act as a kickstart to his international career with a recall from Eddie Jones hopefully coming this Autumn.