Warren Gatland has named a solitary Welshman in the Lions XV he would choose today, opting for no fewer than nine Ireland players in the wake of their historic series victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand.
The former Wales coach's starting XV for The Daily Telegraph sees Josh Adams named on the wing, while the only other Welsh representation is Taulupe Faletau on the bench, along with five Englishmen in the team and no Scot selected. Only players who featured in the second and third Tests from the summer tours were eligible.
Explaining his wing deliberations, Gatland admitted he made a mistake in omitting Adams from the first two Tests of last year’s British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa. Adams was omitted from the opening two games against the Springboks last summer despite scoring seven tries in his first three matches on tour. Instead, Scotland’s Duane van der Merwe and England’s Anthony Watson got the nod on the wings.
The Kiwi said: "I originally selected Louis Rees-Zammit because of his finishing prowess, but after an 11th-hour rethink went for Josh. I didn’t want to make the same mistake as I did in South Africa, leaving Josh out of the first two Tests. He has the uncanny habit of scoring tries when they matter. For example, he had a great opportunity to score in the third Test last year which would have put us in a commanding position to win the series, but unfortunately the pass wasn’t made."
Adams was eventually drafted in for the deciding Cape Town Test, in place of Watson, and looked poised to score a crucial try only for the pass not to come from Liam Williams, with the tourists ultimately losing 19-16 to go down to a 2-1 series defeat. Now Gatland has made the revelation that he got it wrong, as he includes the top try scorer from the 2019 World Cup at No. 14 in his 2022 Lions team, opposite Ireland's James Lowe.
The only other Welshman to make his Lions 23 for an imaginary one-off Test is Taulupe Faletau, who provides the back row cover among the replacements. Gatland commented: “He looks like his body is starting to hold up better, with his form returning and he would bring experience and ball-carrying power off the bench.”
As for the rest of the Lions XV, Maro Itoje somewhat surprisingly only makes the bench despite being a Test starter on the two last Lions tours, where Gatland has been at the helm, while 37-year-old Johnny Sexton is named at fly-half after completely missing out on Lions selection last summer. Gatland said of that call: "In South Africa I was concerned about his injury record and whether he could get through the tour, and I still probably ask myself now whether it was the right decision to leave him at home."
The Chiefs director of rugby, who has said he is open to a coaching return in the UK, reaffirmed that his toughest selection call during his Lions career was dropping Brian O'Driscoll from the third Test against Australia in 2013, but stresses that forming a XV is simply a matter of opinion.
"You can have a huge database on each player but sometimes it comes down to what a player has done for you in the past, even if he is currently out of form, and sometimes it just comes down to your gut instinct," he added. "I know I have not always got it right. Some of my selections I still turn over in my head to this day. At the end of the day, selection is just opinion and getting the dynamics right for a Lions tour is one where the learning process never ends. On last year’s tour of South Africa, I was probably too conciliatory at times in picking the Test team.
“This hypothetical selection has been a lot more fun. With so little preparation time, I have included some national combinations but also tried to ensure that all four countries are represented in the 23-man squad. It is also probably the first time that the selection is all mine! I hope it stirs up some debate.”
Gatland's Lions XV of today: 15. Freddie Steward (England), 14. Josh Adams (Wales), 13. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland), 12. Owen Farrell (England), 11. James Lowe (Ireland), 10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland), 9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), 1. Ellis Genge (England), 2. Jamie George (England), 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), 4. James Ryan (Ireland), 5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), 6. Courtney Lawes (England), 7. Josh van der Flier (Ireland), 8. Caelan Doris (Ireland).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Zander Fagerson (Scotland), Maro Itoje (England), Taulupe Faletau (Wales), Ali Price (Scotland), Marcus Smith (England), Jack Nowell (England).
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