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Let the speculation end, replaced by the 38 certainties that remain. The quadrennial whirring vortex of projection and conjecture, the black hole into which all rugby debate has been dragged over the last six months, can stop spinning – the British and Irish Lions squad has been named.
The ceiling of The Indigo is rather less ornate than that of the Sistine Chapel, and white smoke emanating from the O2 would have been a rather worrying sign, but Thursday’s other major announcement was no less consequential to rugby worshippers than events at the Vatican. A worldwide brand of considerable financial and cultural heft seen as antiquated, anachronistic and insular by its detractors? Stretching the metaphor we may be, but the Lions and the Catholic Church certainly have their similarities.
There has been plenty of pontification on the touring squad over recent months, but the ultimate conclave was rather small by comparison to the selection party in Rome. Andy Farrell, the Lions head coach, gathered his coaching staff at a plush room in London on Wednesday morning at eight o’clock sharp, hoping to have whittled down the lucky few travellers to a reasonable number within the hour after weeks of ongoing conversation. It took until 3pm for consensus to be reached and the 38 names to be etched in stone.
To preserve the suspense, with a captive and seemingly captivated audience of Lions supporters in attendance in east London watching the unveiling live, only a single member of the squad was made totally certain of their inclusion. Who knows where Farrell and his staff might have ended up had Caelan Doris not suffered the most untimely of shoulder injuries, but the Ireland No 8’s misfortune left just one true candidate for the captaincy: Maro Itoje, outstanding in both meanings of the word.
The England lock is appointed to lead a squad reasonably short of shocks and surprises. The well-lubricated attendees at the O2 Arena provided a pantomime feel to proceedings, joshing with host and former Lion Ugo Monye over a faulty microphone, but there were no boos and few true oohs and aahs. Selecting a Lions squad is a thankless task – it is impossible to placate each and every rugby fan across the British Isles – but there is sense to each and every selection made by Farrell, as might have been expected.
The head coach had lapped up each and every squad prediction in recent days and seemed to wear as a badge of pride the fact that not one he had seen had got it totally spot on. Injury has perhaps accounted for likely lads in Doris, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Martin; complex logistics and certain other circumstances have left Blair Kinghorn as the sole French-based representative.
That leaves Owen Farrell on the outside looking in, though potentially only temporarily. The familial connection between coach and contender guaranteed that the former England fly-half would hit the headlines regardless of which way his father fell, but his initial exclusion feels the right call, the 33-year-old short of form and fitness since his move to Racing 92. It may be, however, that the call does come, with Farrell senior likely to add more bodies to his squad, as Warren Gatland had to on trips to Australia (in 2013) and New Zealand (2017).
“I know where he’s at fitness-wise, and what he’s building to and that all comes into the mix like it does with everyone else,” coach Farrell said of the player. “We’ve made the decision at the end of the day with regards to what we think is best practice for today and what could happen in the future.”
With Premiership and United Rugby Championship (URC) finalists unlikely to feature in the Lions opener against Argentina in Dublin on 20 June given they will be in club action six days prior, there may have to be some chopping and changing between now and the party embarking on tour. A number of individuals – the unfortunate England hooker Jamie George was name-checked on Thursday – will be urged to keep fit and firing, knowing that injuries will sadly strike others over the coming weeks.
There are a number of instructive selections contained within the 38. The fly-half array is intriguing in Farrell’s absence, with Marcus Smith in as much for his capacity to cover 15 as for what he can do as a pure fly-half. “Marcus isn’t competing against a Sam Prendergast or George Ford or whatever because he can play 10 and 15,” Farrell explained. “Those lads would be competing against Fin and Finn. You've got to make those type of decisions in all positions.”
“M Smith” got a notable cheer when his selection was confirmed, while the proclamation of Henry Pollock’s name provided the noise of the day. If there was little surprise that a largely English audience would celebrate two of their brightest young sparks, it did at least go to show the cut-through a pair of entertainers can generate.
There is an exuberant edge to the selection as a whole, from Russell and Tomos Williams in the halves to the multi-faceted Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Beirne up front. Just 11 of the squad have been capped by the Lions before, creating a fresh look that will be exciting – all will be encouraged to express themselves, which could make for a compelling encounter with a Wallabies side built to thrill.
Pollock’s rapid rise is reflected in the fact that his inclusion was broadly expected – with the Lions a unique selecting challenge with no thought to the future needing to be given, he is in simply because he is one of the best-performing back rows in Britain and Ireland. “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” his new head coach said of the 20-year-old. “He’s ready to compete. I think you’ll see the fight in him. I think everyone can see that anyway. I’m sure he’ll push all the others that didn’t realise that he was coming. I’m sure that he’ll relish that.”
Pollock is one of smattering of sevens vying for selection, while a six-lock party perhaps reflects a desire to use the versatility that Beirne and Ollie Chessum offer to provide an extra lineout leaper wearing six. These may have been tougher months than Leinster and Ireland are used to, but one can still expect a heavy Dublin brogue to the eventual Test utterings – the Irish capital club provides 12 of the 15 inclusions familiar with Farrell from the national team. Jac Morgan and Williams are the lone Welsh representatives, worthy tourists both.
Sheehan and Jamison Gibson-Park look like strong bets to earn starting shirts in addition to skipper Itoje, but there are few certainties otherwise. And so it should be.
Amidst the agonising over plenty of tough calls and difficult decisions, Farrell also spoke of the privilege and pleasure that picking between the best of four proud rugby nations had been. With his selection at last confirmed, and a first training camp in Portugal little more than a month away, now the proper fun can really begin.
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