Maro Itoje has been named the primary English captain of the British & Irish Lions for twenty-four years.
However there may be a frosty environment within the Farrell family after head coach Andy disregarded his son, Owen, out of the touring squad.
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Andy Farrell confirmed his resolution as he introduced his squad for the tour of Australia at The O2 in London – with 2,000 paid supporters in attendance.
The Lions head Down Beneath this summer season for 9 matches, culminating with a three-match Check sequence in opposition to the Wallabies.
talkSPORT could have unique stay protection of the whole tour, with Eddie Jones a part of the published workforce.
Itoje emerged because the main candidate for the captaincy after Eire skipper Caelan Doris’ harm setback.
The Leinster quantity eight has undergone shoulder surgical procedure this week.
In the meantime, Itoje turns into the primary Englishman to captain the Lions since Martin Johnson in Australia in 2001.
The Saracens man, who will probably be showing on his third Lions tour, took over as England captain forward of this yr’s Six Nations.
Though Itoje’s captaincy supplies a lift for England, Wales’ woes proceed with simply two gamers named within the squad.
Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams are the one two Welshman heading to Australia.
It follows a record-breaking 17-match shedding streak which has seen them end backside of the final two Six Nations campaigns.
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British & Irish Lions squad
Forwards:
- Tadhg Beirne – Eire
- Ollie Chessum – England
- Jack Conan – Eire
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – England
- Scott Cummings – Scotland
- Tom Curry – England
- Ben Earl – England
- Zander Ferguson – Scotland
- Tadhg Furlong – Eire
- Ellis Genge – England
- Maro Itoje (C) – England
- Ronan Kelleher – Eire
- Joe McCarthy – Eire
- Jac Morgan – Wales
- Henry Pollock – England
- Andrew Porter – Eire
- James Ryan – Eire
- Pierre Schoeman – Scotland
- Dan Sheehan – Eire
- Will Stewart – England
- Josh van der Flier – Eire
Backs:
- Bundee Aki – Eire
- Elliot Daly – England
- Tommy Freeman – England
- Jamison Gibson-Park – Eire
- Mack Hansen – Eire
- Huw Jones – Scotland
- Hugo Keenan – Eire
- Blair Kinghorn – Scotland
- James Lowe – Eire
- Alex Mitchell – England
- Garry Ringrose – Eire
- Finn Russell – Scotland
- Fin Smith – England
- Marcus Smith – England
- Sione Tuipulotu – Scotland
- Duhan van der Merwe – Scotland
- Tomos Williams – Wales
Wales are on the longest winless run for a tier-one nation within the skilled period.
Previous to this yr’s tour, they’d seen 15 gamers included in 2013, 12 in 2017 and 10 on the final tour 4 years in the past.
Elsewhere, Farrell has not included his son Owen as an choice at fly-half.
The previous England captain is at present ineligible for choice by his nation after becoming a member of Racing 92 final yr.
Fly-half has been an space of a lot debate within the build-up to the tour after Johnny Sexton was named as an assistant coach.
Sexton has been vocal in his criticism of Scotland’s Finn Russell since lacking out on a spot on the 2021 tour to the Tub ace.
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The ex-Eire captain referred to as Russell ‘flashy’ in an interview again in October and mentioned he would take Farrell in his place.
In the meantime, Fin Smith has ousted Sam Prendergast after outshining the Irishman in Northampton’s win over Leinster final weekend.
Smith’s Northampton team-mate Tommy Freeman has additionally pressured his means onto the aircraft alongside James Lowe and Duhan van der Merwe.
The Irish and Scottish wings had been nailed on for a spot in Farrell’s squad within the build-up to the tour.
Nonetheless, Freeman threw his title into the combo earlier this yr with a stellar Six Nations marketing campaign.
The 24-year-old scored a attempt in every of England’s Six Nations matches and has starred in Northampton’s run to the Champions Cup ultimate.
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British & Irish Lions tour of Australia
June 20 – Argentina, Dublin
June 28 – Western Power, Perth
July 2 – Queensland Reds, Brisbane
July 5 – New South Wales Waratahs, Sydney
July 9 – ACT Brumbies, Canberra
July 12 – Invitational AU & NZ, Adelaide
July 19 – Australia, Brisbane
July 22 – First Nations & Pasifika, Melbourne
July 26 – Australia, Melbourne
August 2 – Australia, Sydney
His performances within the event had been capped with a hat-trick of their semi-final conquer Leinster.
England’s breakout star Henry Pollock can even be on the aircraft, one other member of the Saints’ thrilling younger aspect.
Pollock, who is just 20, scored two tries of the bench in opposition to Wales again in March.
The teenager has been hailed as one of many brightest skills in rugby after bursting onto the scene this yr.
The Lions face Argentina in Dublin on June 20 earlier than flying to Australia for 9 matches.
Farrell’s aspect will face Australia on July 19, July 26 and August 2 after a sequence of matches in opposition to Tremendous Rugby franchises and invitational groups.
He will probably be hoping to copy the earlier tour of Australia, which noticed the Lions win the sequence 2-1 in 2013.