Who are the best Irish players never to go on a Lions tour?
Between players, coaches and backroom staff, Ireland has never been so well represented at this level. When Thomas Clarkson was called up, it took the number of Irish players up to a staggering 18 in total – which, even allowing for the Ireland head coach being in charge, is a remarkable tally.
Especially when Ireland could frequently feel like an afterthought on these expeditions. You look at the Lions gear, for example, comprising red jersey (Wales), white shorts (England) and navy blue socks (Scotland). What do Ireland get? The green band at the top of the socks. A staggering 18 Irish players have been called up to Andy Farrell's Lions squad. Pic:On the famous 1997 tour to South Africa, Ireland had only four players (Keith Wood, Paul Wallace, Jeremy Davidson and Eric Miller).
Four years previously in New Zealand, they had just two in the original party (Nick Popplewell and Mick Galwey).
It's a long way from there to here and, while Irish rugby can reflect on how far it has come, we should also reflect on the many excellent Ireland players who never got to tour with the Lions.
And there have been more than a few…
15. Jim Staples Jim Staples. Pic: INPHO/Tom Honan
A class player for Ireland at a difficult time in the early 1990s. Fast and brave, Staples being illegally taken out of it by Scotland at the 1991 World Cup very likely cost Ireland a place in the semi-finals.
Bedevilled by injury, the Lions could have used him in 1993 to give character to their midweek side.
14. Andrew Conway Andrew Conway. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Another Irish player cursed by bad injury luck but when Conway was good, he was off the charts. Immense under the high ball, Conway also possessed raw, natural, sprinter's speed – an all-too rare commodity in Irish rugby. Would have excelled in the Lions environment.
13. Andrew Trimble Andrew Trimble. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Trimble was one of the most respected players in Ulster and Irish rugby for more than a decade. Powerful, pacy and perceptive, Trimble was equally effective in midfield and on the wing and his versatility and popularity among coaches and fellow players would have made him a big it in a Lions environment.
12. Jonny Bell Jonny Bell. Pic: INPHO/Patrick Bolger
People often forget about Bell because Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy dominated in his wake but the Ulster man was a class operator who, for various reasons (injury issues and the chaotic nature of Irish rugby in the 1990s) did not hit the heights his talents deserved. The closest thing Ireland had to Tim Horan.
11. Simon Geoghegan Simon Geoghegan. Pic: INPHO/James Meehan
An absolute superstar who provided Irish rugby with its brightest gleam of hope during the dark 1990s. The flying blond winger with the wild run (described once by Bill McLaren as the 'mad octopus') was ridiculously left out of the 1993 tour (for Ian Hunter) and was pencilled in for 1997 only for injury to rule him out. He would have been a cult hero.
10. David Humphreys David Humphreys. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Now the head honcho overseeing the Irish game, Humphreys was a brilliant, instinctive rugby player with natural gas and superb kicking and passing skills. Many felt the Ulster legend would have been better at full-back where his less than robust tackling skills would have been better protected but he would have been an excellent addition to either the 1997 or 2001 tours where the gameplan would have been ideally suited to his style of play.
9. Peter Stringer Peter Stringer. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Possibly the unluckiest of all to miss out. Stringer won 98 caps for Ireland without getting the century status and Lions call-up his talents more than deserved. He was unfortunate to play at a time when quality scrum-halves abounded from Matt Dawson to Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips but Stringer was hugely influential to Ireland's revival in the 2000s and the best and swiftest passer of the lot.
1. Phil O'Callaghan Phil O'Callaghan. Pic: INPHO/Andrew Paton
Younger rugby followers may not be aware of 'Philo', the legendary prop from Ballyphehane in Cork who featured for Ireland in the late 1960s and early 1970. O'Callaghan did not come through the usual Cork PBC/CBC- UCC rugby channels, he was a soccer player as a youngster who wandered into Musgrave Park out of curiosity and ended up playing, and excelling, for Dolphin, Munster and Ireland. Possessed of raw natural strength, Philo was also hugely effective when on the ball in the loose and was well capable of shining for the Lions – it was his misfortune to play at a time when the Lions were overloaded with quality props for the iconic 1871 and 174 tours.
2. Jerry Flannery Jerry Flannery. Pic:There are a few quality Irish hookers over the years who were unlucky to miss out. Terry Kingston was one, at his peak in the early 1990s and a player whose could have provided the leadership the disastrous 1993 midweek team so clearly lacked. Sean Cronin is another hooker who did not get the wider recognition his talents deserved – largely used as a reserve over 72 caps with Ireland, Cronin's lethal speed in the loose would have made him a Lions star. But the unluckiest was Flannery. In 2009, the Limerick man was up with the likes of John Smit and Bismark du Plessis and was picked to tour that year only to be denied by injury. Flannery was so good he could have swung that tight series, the Lions suffering without his presence – especially in the first Test when England's Lee Mears was overpowered.
3. Peter Clohessy Peter Clohessy. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
'The Claw' could have toured in 1997 as a tighthead, or in 2001 as a loosehead. He was selected to travel to South Africa in 1997 but was ruled out but injury with his Irish replacement Paul Wallace going on to become one of the stars of the tour. Was arguably in the form of his career in 2001 but was up against legendary Lion Jason Leonard for the both sides of the scrum bench role.
4. Paddy Johns Paddy Johns. Pic: Patrick Bolger/INPHO
A phenomenally effective second row for Ireland in the 1990s, a period when Irish rugby was at its lowest ebb in terms of results. If he had better players around him, Johns could have been mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Martin Johnson, John Eales and Ian Jones but Ireland's struggles meant he operated largely in the shadows. The Ulsterman would have revelled in the Lions environment.
5. Neil Francis Neil Francis. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Devin Toner deserves an honourable mention here, superb for Ireland through the 2010s, the fact that the likes of Ian Evans and Cory Hill have Lions appearances on their CV and he doesn't is frustrating. As for Franno, his eventful career as an outspoken pundit has taken away from the reality of how good he was as a player. In the era before lifting, Francis was one of the best lineout jumpers in world rugby – earning mentions for his quality in the autobiographies of both Martin Johnson and John Eales. Was far superior to the midweek second rows that proved so underwhelming on the 1993 Lions tour.
6. Alan Quinlan Alan Quinlan. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Full deserving of his selection for the 2009 tour, an unfortunate suspension ruled him out. Quinlan should have won many more Ireland caps over his career and brought far more to the table that any of the Ireland blindsides of the 2000s until Stephen Ferris emerged but Eddie O'Sullivan preferred the solid dependability of Simon Easterby in the No6 jersey. Would have been a brilliant Lions tourist.
7. Nigel Carr Nigel Carr. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
An elite openside, who inherited the Ireland No7 jersey from the great Fergus Slattery in the mid-1980s and more than lived up to the legacy.
Inspirational in Ireland's Triple Crown victory in 1985, The Ulster openside would have been a shoo-in for the 1989 Lions tour to Australia but was caught in an IRA explosion on his way to Ireland training ahead of the 1987 World Cup and never played again.
8. Pat O'Hara Pat O'Hara. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Many will not remember O'Hara and how good he was in the late 1980s and early 1990s because he never had a profile to match his superb performances for Sunday's Well, Munster and Ireland. Capable of playing across the backrow, O'Hara was a no-nonsense, high workrate backrow in the manner of 2003 World Cup winner Richard Hill and would have been perfect for the 1993 Lions tour to New Zealand where some of the forwards selected were clearly not up to it.
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