British and Irish Lions squad LIVE: Owen Farrell misses out and captaincy selection revealed
Maro Itoje has been named captain as Andy Farrell unveiled his squad for the tour of Australia
The British and Irish Lions squad has been named but Owen Farrell has been left out of the group that will travel to Australia, with former England teammate Maro Itoje selected as captain.
Farrell misses out on selection for a fourth tour after being excluded from a 38-player group by Lions head coach Andy Farrell, his father. After a season plagued by injuries, Farrell missed out on inclusion as one of three fly halves, with Scotland’s Finn Russell and fellow Englishmen Fin and Marcus Smith preferred.
Itoje was named captain after an injury to Ireland’s Caelan Doris, while English young gun Henry Pollock is included. The one-cap flanker only made his England debut in March, scoring two tries against Wales in Cardiff, but even at 20 years old he has emerged as a blockbuster talent.
Follow all of the latest as the Lions squad is revealed with our live blog below:
Ben Earl: It's been a torturous couple of weeks
A few of the selected players are brought in over Zoom to give their thoughts. Mack Hansen notably walking along a lovely Galwegian beach, says he was just out for a swim!
Meanwhile, England back row Ben Earl reflects on his selection. He’s beaming like a Cheshire cat!
“It has been a torturous couple of weeks,” admits Earl. “For it to come down to today was amazing. The best news I’ve had in my career. I am so pleased.
“It has been painful and it has been long. I am overwhelmed and so excited to get going.”
Full Lions squad - by position
Here’s confirmation of the full squad, broken down by position.
The 38-strong group consists of 15 Irishmen, 13 Englishmen, eight Scots and just two Welshmen
Props
Zander Fagerson (Scotland)
Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
Ellis Genge (England)
Andrew Porter (Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
Will Stuart (England)
Hookers
Luke Cowan-Dickie (England)
Ronan Kelleher (Ireland)
Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
Locks
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland
Ollie Chessum (England)
Scott Cummings (Scotland)
Maro Itoje (England, captain)
Joe McCarthy (Ireland)
James Ryan (Ireland)
Back row
Jack Conan (Ireland)
Tom Curry (England)
Ben Earl (England)
Josh van der Flier (Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Wales)
Henry Pollock (England)
Scrum halves
Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (England)
Tomos Williams (Wales)
Fly halves
Marcus Smith (England)
Fin Smith (England)
Finn Russell (Scotland)
Centres
Bundee Aki (Ireland)
Huw Jones (Scotland)
Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
Back three
Elliot Daly (England)
Tommy Freeman (England)
Mack Hansen (Ireland)
Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)
James Lowe (Ireland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
No Prendergast, no Farrell - Lions go bold at 10
There’s so much to dissect from that announcement. Let’s start at fly half.
All the pre-selection talk was around whether Owen Farrell, son of head coach Andy, would be included and the answer is no. He’s struggled with injury at Racing 92 this year, having stepped back from England duty.
Ireland’s starting No 10 Sam Prendergast also misses out, perhaps not helped by the fact he was outshone by fly half rival Fin Smith in Northampton Saints’s win over Leinster at the weekend.
Smith is one of three 10s included by Andy Farrell along with England teammate Marcus Smith - despite his own dodgy form for Harlequins recently - and Scotland star Finn Russell. Blair Kinghorn, a full back by trade, can also cover 10 if needed. It’s a fascinating set of fly halves
Who is Henry Pollock? England’s one-cap sensation selected for British and Irish Lions
Henry Pollock’s form over the past few months means he has become a quintessential Lions bolter, earning his place on the tour from almost out of nowhere.
The England and Northampton Saints back row is a superstar in the making. Read all about his journey here:
Who is Henry Pollock? England’s one-cap sensation selected for Lions
Owen Farrell left out of British and Irish Lions squad as Maro Itoje named captain
Owen Farrell has been left out the British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia, with former England teammate Maro Itoje named captain of the travelling party.
Farrell misses out on selection for a fourth tour after being excluded from a 38-player group by Lions head coach Andy Farrell, his father.
The 33-year-old has not played international rugby since the 2023 World Cup, taking a break from England duty last year before agreeing a move to Racing 92 in France and thus making himself ineligible.
Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full story on the squad selection:
Owen Farrell left out of British and Irish Lions squad as Maro Itoje named captain
British and Irish Lions backs
And here are the full list of backs set to go. No Owen Farrell, no Sam Prendergast but Marcus Smith tours
- Bundee Aki (Ireland)
- Elliot Daly (England)
- Tommy Freeman (England)
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
- Mack Hansen (Ireland)
- Huw Jones (Scotland)
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
- Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)
- James Lowe (Ireland)
- Alex Mitchell (England)
- Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
- Finn Russell (Scotland)
- Fin Smith (England)
- Marcus Smith (England)
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
- Tomos Williams (Wales)
No Owen Farrell
As Ieuan Evans goes through the backs, there’s no Owen Farrell! He misses out
Henry Pollock gets the biggest roar
Wow! So much to dissect there. Firstly, the biggest roar from the crowd in the arena was for Henry Pollock
Lions forwards named
And here’s the full list of forwards. No Caelan Doris, as feared with his injury.
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
- Ollie Chessum (England)
- Jack Conan (Ireland)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (England)
- Scott Cummings (Scotland)
- Tom Curry (England)
- Ben Earl (England)
- Zander Fagerson (Scotland)
- Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
- Ellis Genge (England)
- Maro Itoje (England) - CAPTAIN
- Ronan Kelleher (Ireland)
- Joe McCarthy (Ireland)
- Jac Morgan (Wales)
- Henry Pollock (England)
- Andrew Porter (Ireland)
- James Ryan (Ireland)
- Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
- Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
- Will Stuart (England)
- Josh van der Flier (Ireland)
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