One Lions nation gets the jump as selection race heats up

Extra.ie​

4 hours ago

The heat followed the British and Irish Lions squad back to Dublin as Andy Farrell's troops arrived back on Irish soil on Sunday after five days in the Algarve sun.
The Lions spent last week training at the world-class, high-spec Campus sports facility in the plush surroundings of Quinta do Lago. It's been Ireland's port of call for many years now.
Farrell felt it was the perfect setting to get this newly assembled playing group into the groove. There were plenty of gruelling pitch and gym sessions. A few cold beers in the sun, too. It's all part of the bonding process. Andy Farrell's troops arrived back on Irish soil on Sunday. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
The Leinster and Bath contingent were due to arrive on board on Monday. Fresh from their respective URC and English Premiership triumphs, the 14 arriving champions will need to hit the ground running the coming weeks.
Because the crew which have been on duty since the first training camp in Dublin a fortnight ago have already got a bit of head stat in the race for Test spots.
It was a point not lost on Johnny Sexton on Monday, the Lions assistant coach recalling when he rocked up for late for duty ahead of the 2013 tour Down Under because Leinster had just beaten Ulster in a league final. Johnny Sexton during a training session with the Lions on Monday. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
'I remember coming into camp in 2013 after winning the whatever it was the time… the Pro14 was it? Might have been the Rabo (Direct Pro12)?,' he recalled.
'You come in, they've already had a couple of weeks of training and you feel like you're behind. You feel like you're chasing already. And then the guys that have been in camp will get a chance to play on Friday and put a marker down so those Leinster and Bath boys will be going wow, we're a little bit behind here. 'There's an advantage but also the environment Andy creates demands that the guys that have been here for a good week in Portugal fill the guys in, make sure they know what's going on and they'll be keen to get out on the pitch and make an impression as well because the players that have been here this week have really made an impression so far.'
And that's a bit of a worry for the sizeable Irish contingent. There may be a record number of representatives (which has swelled to 16 since Finlay Bealham was called up) and a record number of Irish coaches on the backroom team, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Lions starting XV will be dominated by Irish players. Johnny Sexton playing with the Lions in 2013. Pic:Right now, it feels like a lot of the English personnel are in pole position to start the Test series against the Wallabies.
Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman have all been on board since the start of this Lions project.
All those mentioned above are primed to play prominent roles ahead of Friday's pre-tour clash with Argentina at Aviva Stadium.
It's likely that a smattering of the Leinster players, as well as the other latecomers such as Finn Russell, Will Stuart and Ollie Chessum might see some bench duty in Dublin. Maro Itoje training with the Lions on Monday. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Otherwise, an English-heavy selection is likely to feature in the tour opener this week.
A lot of these players have already had a few weeks in camp, soaking up all the detail, and a strong performance in game one will put them in a strong position when this squad's chartered flight lands in Perth early next week.
Indeed, Opta has just released a stats-based starting XV based on data collated from this season and it features six England players (Genge, Stuart, Itoje, Earl, Fin Smith and Freeman) with five Irish starters (Dan Sheehan, Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe).
Such a development would have shocked many pundits and fans just a few months ago.
However, it was clear by the conclusion of the Six Nations that England were a team on the rise – spearheaded by young guns such as Pollock and Fin Smith – while Ireland were going through something of a dip.
Northampton's storming Champions Cup semi-final win against Leinster in May merely cemented suspicions that this crop of English players could be set for a big summer with the Lions. Genge is the kind of player who could thrive on tour. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Genge is the kind of player who could thrive on tour. Andrew Porter is a powerful, durable and mobile loosehead prop with a serious engine but his English rival ticks all those boxes and is also an aggressive scrummager with a fiery side. The kind of a player who could get under Australian skins. The Bristol front-rower could have a big summer. No doubt, Farrell is a big fan.
Ditto, Mitchell. Gibson-Park, who is recovering from injury, will be feeling the heat from the Northampton scrum-half. Mitchell can off the same high-tempo approach as his Leinster rival while his kicking game is also a real point of different.
Freeman, meanwhile, looks to have the right wing slot virtually nailed down while Earl, the powerfu Saracens backrower, will be eyeing up the No8 spot now that Caelan Doris has been ruled out. Jack Conan will have plenty to say about that but Earl will back himself. Same goes for Curry and Pollock, who bring so much energy and physicality.
Yes, the Leinster frontliners ended the season in storming fashion with that emphatic display against the Bulls at Croke Park.
But past performance is no guarantee of future success and, staying on the financial theme, even though a lot of these Irish players have plenty of credit in the bank with Farrell, the Lions is a new venture. The slate has been wiped clean and the form players will make the cut for the Test series.
Right now, it feels like a lot of those candidates are from the England camp. Crucially, those personnel have a head start on their Irish rivals. Even the Irish players who were in Portugal are facing a monumental fight to get into the series reckoning. Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen, in particular, have no shortage of high-calibre rivals in their respective departments.
It's going to be a fascinating few months. The race for Lions spots has begun, and it feels like England are out in front.