The Lions Are Coming – The Forwards

Back Row

Openside Flanker

The Lions will have to pick at least one specialist openside flanker in the squad to combat David Pocock over the ball.

Steffon Armitage has not been considered for England because he plays in the Top 14, but he is one of the form fetchers in Europe. He is not strictly an openside because he always packs down on the left-hand side of the scrum and is on the blindside of it half the time, but it’s his presence at the breakdown that matters.

He is one of the few Lions-eligible candidates who could match Pocock over the ball and is arguably a better linker than the Aussie. Ironically he plays for Toulon and could be discriminated against in a different way — because his team are a good chance to be in the Top 14 final.

Sean O’Brien is not strictly an openside either but he has been playing there lately, is good over the ball and effective in choke tackles. He is coming back from injury but he had enough bullocking runs against Wales to signal his return to test form.

Missing out: Sean Warburton, who has had no great form for club or country since the Rugby World Cup, which is sad because otherwise he would have been a chance to be the Lions’ captain. Justin Tipuric, a linking flanker of the Hooper type, ís just getting a chance now to start for Wales because of Warburton’s injury, but it may be too late to impress Gatland.

Blindside flanker

Dan Lydiate was the player of the 2012 Six Nations tournament and would be the first blindside flanker I would pick if he were healthy because he is a skilful, tough player with a big engine. Although he broke his ankle last September, he should be playing again in a few weeks time which will give him enough rugby to prove his fitness. As with Tommy Bowe: I would give him special treatment.

Chris Robshaw is a courageous hard worker who is admired by everybody, though you wouldn’t say that he was the greatest natural athlete . Who cares?  He has played for Harlequins and England mostly wearing the 7 shirt but he doesn’t play like an openside flanker. Despite that his match stats are terrific and he should tour on merit as an flanker on the blindside.

Missing out: The selectors won’t trust the state of Stephen Ferris’s knees.

No. 8

Gatland would like to pick Picamoles of France or Parisse of Italy because there is nobody like them who are Lions-eligible. A few months ago I would have picked Nick Easter of Harlequins because of his top club form but others are emerging now.

James Heaslip had a forgettable game against England recently but he had a good Autumn Test series. He has a wide skill base, is as tough as nails and is probably the front-runner for the position.

Toby Faletau doesn’t have the range of play of Heaslip, but is a better power runner, though he can isolate himself. To be fair sometimes it’s because others can’t keep up with him, but at other times he heads off where nobody would be likely to help him. Accordingly, he doesn’t always give a long presentation of the ball when tackled which detracts from continuity.

Missing out: Ben Morgan was in excellent form against the All Blacks in the Autumn Tests, and Scotland in Six Nations, but his injury in the latter game could be a case of bad timing. David Denton is not in the form of last year.

Utlility forwards

Donnacha Ryan has profited from O’Connell’s absences for Ireland and has established himself in the second row, but he has started for Munster and Ireland on the blindside flank.

Kelly Brown has started in all the back row positions for Scotland and has looked good in Six Nations this year. He would be the ideal midweek captain.

Missing out: Based on recent form Ryan Jones could play a part as 6 or 8 when the team is picked in April – or even in the second row, where he has started for Wales. His form against France was excellent. Similar remarks could be made for Tom Wood who has played Test rugby in all the back row positions.

Best forward pack: 1. Cian Healey, 2. Simon Best, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Geoff Parling, 5. Richie Gray, 6. Dan Lydiate, 7. Steffon Armitage, 8. Jamie Heaslip.

 The captain

As ever, the Lions’ captain should be a forward and he should be a virtual certainty to be starting in the Test matches. None of the forwards I have listed, who are captain candidates, can be so described.

It all depends what Gatland thinks of Robshaw and his style of play. As mentioned earlier: he nearly always wears the 7 shirt but doesn’t play the typical game of an opensider. His game stats are impressive, as mentioned, but will Gatland think his style of playing is the right kind to counter David Pocock over the ball?

Or will he look at how Robshaw played on the openside for victorious England against Richie McCaw of the All Blacks at Twickenham and say: ‘That is good enough for me.’

My captain at the minute is a back: Brian O’Driscoll